Barn Door for JK factory hardtops
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Gladiator front clips seem to be a popular item these days, at least with vendors for their booth Jeeps. There were at least 5 at the EJS Vendor Expo, here are photos of some of them. Three are the Thaler Design (http://www.actioncamper.com/art00482.php) and the one at lower right is a ne wkit by Chris Durham Motorsports (https://chrisdurham.wordpress.com/).
I think the Thaler kit starts at $6500, and Chris told me his new kit starts at $3600.
I think the Thaler kit starts at $6500, and Chris told me his new kit starts at $3600.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
When I install mine, it won't have any lift/big tire extras, but it will have a Safari Cab hardtop and maybe I'll still have the flat fenders installed. But mine will look different than those, mine will be more retro, with original FSJ headlight trim rings and a center grille (unlike the Thaler kit) that's scaled down for the smaller JK front (unlike the Durham design), and my front panel won't be full width - I'm keeping the width of the front panel the same as stock, so my kit will consist only of a hood, front panel and center grille.
Mocked up with the third brake light and roof rack
With the alpine windows:
The third brake light is angled exactly the same on this roof as it is on the XJ Cherokee it came from, it isn't pointing at the sky. In the photo below you can see how the lens is angled compared to the bulb housing.
Yes, I did make the rear of the roof curved compared to the fiberglass scale model; I decided a curve to complement the curves on the side of the roof would look better than a more angled rear section. Apparently the designers at Jeep agree with me, they made the back of the Africa concept Jeep roof curved, similar to what I did.
I decided that a more vertical and angular rear section of the roof would emphasize the tallness of the roof, while a curved end would integrate better with the curves of the rest of the hardtop and the Jeep. Here's a view with the partially shaped corner blocks in place; the curve at the back of the roof looks a bit less curved with the corners in place...
Jscherb I have been amazed at your skill level on all these projects. You are really inspiring! On one of these threads you recommended a fiberglass book which I purchased and read it cover to cover, it was great!
It would also seem that I need to brush up on my woodworking skills which seem equally important in your projects. I have googled pretty much every term you have used to gain more knowledge. Many of these queries send me to boat building sites which resemble how you build your plugs. Do you have any book recommendations for these fine wood working skills? Also do you cut your own pine strips and mill the coves and stuff yourself? Could you elaborate more on that? Much respect sir!!
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Thank you very much. I'm glad my work can be an inspiration to others to do their own projects!
I make my mold masters out of a variety of materials, and very often use wood for original designs like the Safari Cab roof pictured above. Sometimes I use metal, especially if I'm deriving the new design from existing parts, like my CJ Grille Kit hood for the TJ/LJ, that was made from parts of a TJ and a 2 CJ hoods spliced and welded together. Sometimes I make masters from fiberglass, and sometimes a combination - the masters for the JK flat fenders I recently did were fiberglass for the mounting flange because I could mold that directly off the factory metal fender for a perfect fit, but the flat parts of the master are 1/2" MDF and a little pine, all bonded to the fiberglass flange and epoxied/bodyworked together.
I posted a lot of step-by-step photos of the Safari Cab roof master work; it's basically the same as building a stripwood canoe - forms on a frame with strips of wood glued to the curves of the form, smoothed with a plane and sanded, and then perfected with body filler (ok, a deviation from the stripwood canoe process there). I don't have a book to recommend but I've seen a number of good ones on building a stripwood canoe. The flatter parts of the roof are made from 1/4" birch plywood; that's got a smooth surface that's a good starting point for taking a nice finish and bends to simple curves well. Sharp curves and compound curves need to be done with the stripwood technique though.
Yes I cut my own pine strips on the table saw, and mill coves when/if necessary using either a router or a molding cutter head in the table saw. For pieces like the rear corners of the roof I laminate blocks of pine and cut them to basic shape with a bandsaw, then sand them to final shape - there's a photo of the rough-cut rear corners in the post above. There's a good amount of hand work in what I do, I often use a plane to shape the curves; once the stripwood was glued to the forms of the roof, I used a plane to smooth the curves to the point where a sanding block could take over.
I'm happy to expand on any of these techniques and processes; over the years I've probably posted examples of every type of master construction and finishing that I've done so I probably have an example to show for every technique.
BTW some people call them plugs, but I call them mold masters - to me "plug" sounds like something crude but "master" sounds like a work of art. If the original you make the mold from isn't a work of art, there's no way your final parts ever will be, so I always think of making masters like creating art
.What project do you have in mind?
Thanks for the reply. I am currently building my Jeep out for camping with a modified J30 pop up hard top conversion. I saw a brochure recently of the JK Gazell which if you havent heard of it, it is basically the same as Ursa Minors J30 but a full camper build out. The cabinetry/benches in the Gazell appeared to be made from fiberglass and I think it looks really sharp! I would love to be able to do that. As I mentioned, I think I have read all of your threads and feel like I am ready to tackle a fiberglass project. That was until I started sourcing the glass and then find there seems to be millions of different weights and types....haven't the slightest what I should order ; )
Here are the pics of the interior of the gazelle. The masters for the benches should be fairly easy to construct as they aren't that complex or compound. Thought it would be a good project to learn on.
Here are the pics of the interior of the gazelle. The masters for the benches should be fairly easy to construct as they aren't that complex or compound. Thought it would be a good project to learn on.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Most of my fiberglass parts are made in the following sequence:
1. Gelcoat sprayed on the mold surface. I usually use white, but sometimes black like the recent flat fenders. The gelcoat will reproduce the mold surface perfectly, so if you want a glass-smooth finish on the part the mold needs to have a glass-smooth finish.
2. A layer or two of 3/4-oz. mat. This is very thin and conforms to any curves on the mold surface well. This is important because if you end up with places where the 'glass isn't in full contact with the gelcoat, the gelcoat will crack at that point and leave a void in the surface.
3. 2-4 layers of 1.5 oz mat to build up thickness. Most of my parts are 3-layers; sometimes I'll go more if more strength is needed. Sometimes I'll add a layer of coremat to build up rigidity without adding too much weight - coremat is a foam-like polyester product that comes in a range of thicknesses (3mm-6mm or more) and soaks resin like a sponge to create a thick layer. I added coremat to the inside of the flat fenders for rigidity and strength, but also to resist rocks flying up from the tires - a rock impacting the inside of the fender with enough speed/force could cause a star crack in the exterior gelcoat of the fender, but the thickness/rigidity provided by the coremat will prevent that.
For parts that need extra strength, sometimes I'll use fiberglass cloth tape on the areas that need to be strong, such as bolt flanges. If the entire part needs to be very strong occasionally I'll use woven roving, which is a very thick cloth made of bundled strands of fiberglass. When using roving you need to be aware that the weave can "print through" and make itself visible as a slight texture in the final gelcoat, so you need multiple layers of mat between the roving and gelcoat to prevent/minimize this.
Curves add rigidity to fiberglass and since it looks like the parts you want to make don't have curves you may need to add some reinforcement inside or make them thicker to be rigid enough. When you are further along in your design we can discuss and reinforcement the parts may need.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Thanks. Thousands of the hinges have been sold (MORryde sends me sales reports) and I'm starting to see them around too. I saw a number of Jeeps in Moab with them, the one pictured below was at my hotel. I ran into the guy and told him be needed a MORryde sticker to add to his collection
. Also saw some Jeeps with the side mount Jerry can holders installed. It's always a thrill for me to spot my designs "in the wild".
TrailBadger
Banned
Hey, when Jeff takes a picture of ones jeep, they best stand up and take notice. Can't say we're going to do any sort of Expo Jeep.. Although we've been searching online for several months, with a few possible build candidates, this weekend we're officially kick off our vehicle search. The Eagle was good to us this year.
AgentOrange76
Adventurer
I've been wanting the hinges for a while, gonna pull the trigger before the summer cause my tailgate is sagging really bad. Are the ones currently in production all the wide swing variety?
jscherb
Expedition Leader
The likelihood of me taking a photo of someone else's Jeep increases exponentially when the Jeep has something I've designed installed on it . Although I did take some photos of details on the concept Jeeps at EJS that are also on my projects (Alpine windows, windows on each side of the back hatch, hinges with holes), I don't claim responsibility for those features being on the concept Jeeps.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
The HD JK hinges have the same geometry as the factory hinges, I have not turned over the JK wide-swing hinges for production. The TJ HD hinges are wide-swing.
Comanche Scott
Expedition Leader
I'd feel mighty flattered if Jeep engineers were inspired by something I did.
:beer: