Boardwlkr
- Reaction score
- 0
- Thunderbird Year
- 2003
For those of you who are not happy with the flimsy factory storage stand and really don’t want to spend $125 for an aftermarket hardtop stand, there is an inexpensive solution. For under $50 and a couple hours of your time you will have something just as sturdy, if not more, than any aftermarket stand you could buy.
I have a tendency to get carried away on projects such as this so you don’t have to get quite elaborate as I did to get the same result. I started with a 2’ x 4’ sheet of 23/32” plywood which was less than $20 then cut it to 3’. A sheet of 15/32” plywood would probably be fine especially if you reinforce the bottom as I ended up doing. Next was removing the wheels and the spring loaded buttons to hold the upright support in position from the stand and setting in on the plywood equally spaced form the sides. Drill thru the plywood using the holes in the stand as a template and it is ready to bolt down after installing the wheels. Nuts and bolts can be bought at your local hardware store for a couple of dollars. Next install some good steel framed wheel which can be purchased for about $5 each. The ones I used were leftovers from another project and were a little more heave duty than needed. They can be mounted on the corners of the plywood but once again I got a little carried away and used some deck boards I had left over to give it a wider stance. While mounting them on the plywood I used another scrap piece to create a cross brace which was also probably not needed. After a paint job it looks as professional as anything on the market and is extremely sturdy. During winter when the top is on the car I remove the two bolts thru the spring loaded buttons allowing the back support to lay flat and place the stand on edge against a wall to get it up off the floor.
I now have a stand that I trust 110% which easily rolls around without any concern of falling over for not a lot of bucks or time. A quick, easy way to protect you $1000 top!
I have a tendency to get carried away on projects such as this so you don’t have to get quite elaborate as I did to get the same result. I started with a 2’ x 4’ sheet of 23/32” plywood which was less than $20 then cut it to 3’. A sheet of 15/32” plywood would probably be fine especially if you reinforce the bottom as I ended up doing. Next was removing the wheels and the spring loaded buttons to hold the upright support in position from the stand and setting in on the plywood equally spaced form the sides. Drill thru the plywood using the holes in the stand as a template and it is ready to bolt down after installing the wheels. Nuts and bolts can be bought at your local hardware store for a couple of dollars. Next install some good steel framed wheel which can be purchased for about $5 each. The ones I used were leftovers from another project and were a little more heave duty than needed. They can be mounted on the corners of the plywood but once again I got a little carried away and used some deck boards I had left over to give it a wider stance. While mounting them on the plywood I used another scrap piece to create a cross brace which was also probably not needed. After a paint job it looks as professional as anything on the market and is extremely sturdy. During winter when the top is on the car I remove the two bolts thru the spring loaded buttons allowing the back support to lay flat and place the stand on edge against a wall to get it up off the floor.
I now have a stand that I trust 110% which easily rolls around without any concern of falling over for not a lot of bucks or time. A quick, easy way to protect you $1000 top!
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