my 1932 datsun replica build

This is the Kwik Top Universal Roadster Convertible Top Iron Kit from Speedway Motors I am trying to modify to use on a phaeton (aka "touring") style car

Each side of the kit is made of five pieces of 3/16" thick flat rod that is 3/4" wide. 

Four pieces are straight, one is bent.

They are drilled with 1/4" holes, and held together with 1/4 bolts and nylocks 

This surprises me, but it looks like the large bolts that are supposed to attach the frame sides to the automobile body's mounting tabs are 10 mm Size

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The top bows are made of three pieces of half inch diameter tube; a centerpiece of 1/2" straight tube that is 39.5" wide, and two curved side pieces that are splined to fit into the top tube. Assembled, the 3-part top bow is just over 58 in wide.

Here's a photo showing the top frame of a Packard phaeton. I took this photo at the 2024 Lake Mirror Auto Show

​​​​​​At the time, I thought that the scissoring top iron stuff was probably Packard-specific. As of this weekend, I know that is not the case; the Ford apparently did a similar thing.  I would not be surprised if other manufacturers also used the scissoring mechanism; this may have been standard top construction back in the 1910s and 1920s when  phaetons were the most popular models of automobile. (Hagerty link)

BTW, I *now* know that there are top iron kits for Ford phaetons.  

If I had known back at Thanksgiving that such kits exist, I could have gotten one and then modified it to fit my datsun-ish rat rod.  Instead, I am now trying to make a roadster top into something not-a-roadster.  It is frustrating, but I still think it is possible.  Here is my attempt to make a wooden mock up of the scissoring portion of a top.

that's eight pieces, each 12 inches long, cut from some yard sticks. in the closed position, the scissoring piece is roughly 4.5" x  12".  In the extended position,  this is 42" long, which is more than the distance from the windshield to the roll bar.  There's also a 15" piece that attatches to the winshield

Translation:  this is probably long enough to make it work.  It will require at least 16 feet of flat rod....probably a few more than that so I  weld a few pieces together to create offets that clear the  bolt/screw heads. By the end of this week, I might be able to make a full size 2D mockup of one side of the top.

Maybe sell it /see if you can get it refunded as long as you haven't modified it get, and get the ford phaethon one to make fit?