1955 Chevy Cameo Roadster

[Peter Lombardo]

A few months ago, I posted in the “underglass†section, pictures and a video shot ( from my cell phone) of my 1999 Ford F150 Lightning pick up truck with a motorized retractable hard top. I received some interest on how the engineering works. I tried to write it out, but it is just too difficult to explain without pictures. The F150 is painted with a dark color so detail photos are tough. A year later I built another truck with a retractable top but it is a lighter color so the photos of the mechanics come out better. This is an AMT 1955 Chevrolet Cameo pick up. I molded the pickup bed to the cab of the truck and cut off the top. The top was made from a Revell Sidewinder roadster top cut into two pieces and hinged. The windshield is from a 55 Chevy coupe and the interior was custom built with a new console made from scratch. The truck was painted with Mopar Pearl White and the flames were hand cut from masking tape and painted with HOK pearls. Ok, enough about the truck. The point of this post is the mechanics. I drew out a sheet with a rough diagram of the way this works. It is fairly simple to do. There is one motor under the tonneau cover that moves a rod up or down, with a two way switch. The tonneau is first opened and then the top is raised. There is a motor under the truck that raises a rod ( letter D in diagram) that moves the top up or down. Rod D attaches to the top at tube C and B (tubes B & C are glued together) this moves the double pivoting hinge with is attached to the roof up or down, depending on the desired direction you want, up or down with the 2 way switch. The tricky part is to articulate the top into the out or open position and tuck it in as the roof is lowered into the closed position. This is done with a rod that you can clearly see in the photo. It pushes the top front section “out†in the open position when the top is up and pulls the top front section is tucked in when the top is in the closed section under the tonneau. This rod is attached to the truck body between the cab and the pickup bed and it is free to pivot over 180 degrees. I hope this explains the top a little better, and I will be happy to answer any other question, if there are any, on how this works. I figured the next time I build an articulating top, I will try and make it operate with a wireless remote, assuming I can acquire the micro gear-head motors I am trying to get. It is really not that difficult to do. Ok, I hope this helps.

[Peter Lombardo]

[Raul_Perez]

I really like the overall design concept and the top-down look!! That looks like a lot of engineering to get the top to work like it does...

[Steven Zimmerman]

Is that a resin piece? Nice work on the top and other modifications..................Steven Zimmerman aka the'Z'man