96 XJ - Sky Slider roof plus build

[bajajeremy]

Hey there, I've been lurking on the site for a while and love the many builds. I've got an interesting project going on my XJ and figured I should share for others with similar ideas. I've had my ride for ~11 yrs and it's served me well. She's on 35" MTRs, JK Rubi frt axle and 8.8 rear. It's been great for trails and occasional camping. My biggest complaint is it's a real hot box since I deleted A/C a few yrs ago. I considered lots of options and finally came around to retrofitting a Libby Sky Slider rag top for some serious ventilation. I went through basic dimensioning and shape assessment and figured, yeah I can make it work. So I found one on car-parts and away we go.

The top is huge, will just about replace the whole roof.


The contours are very close to the XJ shape.


No turning back, here's the roof cut out. The stock x-members will be replaced with tubes.


Biggest downfall I anticipate (besides wind noise and water leaks) is the height when it is open (~6"). I'll be adding a halo bar with crossmembers and clearance will be tricky. I'd also like to have a basket that isn't a mile high. I'm thinking about a basket with 2 heights for roof open or closed. We'll see.

That's where it stands now. Hope to have it glued in in about a week.

Jeremy

 

[mtnbike28]

wow, that is out of the box thinking! Good luck!

 

[dorton]

That is very cool.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[bajajeremy]

Other projects

In addition to the roof, the current work list includes:

2"x6" tubular rocker sill replacement.


Rear leaf hanger box mod. Got some nice hangers from Speedway Motors. Now I can use a regular nut, and moved the bolt for a bit of lift and moved axle rear 1/2".


and I've finally coverted my dead weight A/C compressor for on-board air.


After all this plus lots of rusty floor panel fixing, it's on to the roof bar, new fender flares and a swing-out tire carrier. So much work to do! I'll be back with updates.

 

[fowldarr]

That is very cool.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

He hopes so, that is why he is doing it

 

[MtnClimber]

Did you replace the rear hanger as well or just the fronts?

 

[bajajeremy]

I only had to do the front boxes, the rears are still in good shape and weld nuts are in place. I have extended boomerang shackles in back. Still haven't glued in the roof yet. I'm trying to button up the bottom end first. So many things come up, progress is slooow.

 

[bajajeremy]

Roof is in!

I'm only a 'little' behind schedule. Today, I finally got the roof glued in. I really can't believe how good it fits. Looks great. Only goofy part is at the back where there's stamped in ribs in the roof that hold up the slider frame. I made a weak attempt to flatten it that didn't work. I'm just gonna squirt in more urethane and cross fingers. I also wrapped up the floor and sill repairs a while ago. 2x6" box sills look great. Some pix...



Now just have to cut/fit the headliner to the new roof and get her put back together.

 

[jscusmcvet]

Looks great. Great original thought to do this. Nice work on the sliders too.

 

[MtnClimber]

Do you s'pose the lack of a metal roof structure will cause the XJ to flex under certain cases? Perhaps the new sliders will help with that potential problem.
Just thinking "out loud"

 

[The Swiss]

Biggest downfall I anticipate (besides wind noise and water leaks) is Jeremy

Jeremy,

Every sunrood leaks; the secret is water management. Make sure you installed all the water drainage tubes and snaked unobstructedly them through the A and C pillar.

Michael