jscherb
Expedition Leader
I would have so rocked that top on my old JK.
Thank you.
I'm working on the mold for the hardtop rear panel today, should have a first part out of the mold sometime next week. I'll post more pictures then.
Barn Door for JK factory hardtops
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
Thank you.
I'm working on the mold for the hardtop rear panel today, should have a first part out of the mold sometime next week. I'll post more pictures then.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Here's another photo/drawing concept view of the JK Safari Cab, this time in body color instead of black. In this higher vantage point view you can see how the Alpine windows wrap over the roof a bit. I've also moved the third brake light up to the hardtop so it doesn't block the view out of the rear window.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Barn door project progress update... I made a mold and molded some wiper cavity covers, in this first photo is the early model barn door with the wiper cover installed, the wiring harness plug comes out the bottom, and it's the same plug as the JK's hardtop plug. This one's still got the temporary plywood "window" installed.
And here's the later model wide barn door; the cover isn't installed yet so you can see the wiper motor inside.
Tom's got pretty heavy tires on his JK and since he upgraded to them he's been concerned about the weight on the tailgate hinges, so while we're in the process of doing his barn door we're also doing a heavy-duty hinge upgrade. Here's a shot of the work in progress on the new hinges; all of the machining isn't done yet but you can see the difference between these and the wimpy factory hinge alongside:
And here's the later model wide barn door; the cover isn't installed yet so you can see the wiper motor inside.
Tom's got pretty heavy tires on his JK and since he upgraded to them he's been concerned about the weight on the tailgate hinges, so while we're in the process of doing his barn door we're also doing a heavy-duty hinge upgrade. Here's a shot of the work in progress on the new hinges; all of the machining isn't done yet but you can see the difference between these and the wimpy factory hinge alongside:
Love your barn door conversion. Question though, with the vertical support bars located relatively inboard on the window frame lower edge, do you still have enough stiffness to get a good enough pressure on the upper edge of the window frame to get a good seal on the weather stripping? Design with the sloping roof with the windows on the roof edge remind me of the 90 series I'll likely never have and look great!
jscherb
Expedition Leader
The barn door and the mounting hardware are both very stiff and pressure on the weatherstrip isn't a problem. My LJ Safari Cab uses the same design, and the barn door on that one is even taller. It's had about 4 years of use, including hundreds of miles of rough off-road driving, and the barn door seals fine.
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Jurfie
Adventurer
Or, as my brain has been spinning: just use rear half doors (Mopar or aftermarket). Paired with roll-up and removeable Safari style windows that extend over the rear (half) doors to look like your LJ model would be the cat's ********. :drool:
Edit: FYI, your "Jeep Projects" site is dead (if you didn't already know).
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Jurfie
Adventurer
Here's another photo/drawing concept view of the JK Safari Cab, this time in body color instead of black. In this higher vantage point view you can see how the Alpine windows wrap over the roof a bit. I've also moved the third brake light up to the hardtop so it doesn't block the view out of the rear window.
That looks fantastic! :bowdown:
Jurfie
Adventurer
Good. They won't ship the LJ Safari top, so I bet they wouldn't ship a JKU one. How they expect to actually sell them to anyone other than locals within driving distance is beyond me. I'm all for making an epic road trip/expedition, but a 5000 mile round trip (in my case) is a bit excessive for the average buyer. If I had the time for that kind of trip, I'd rather spend it exploring somewhere off-highway and at a much slower speed. :REOutCampFire03:
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Tom and I finished up the machining on his heavy-duty hinges this morning, all they need now is a little final sanding and then painting. Here's one during a test install:
Just like on the factory hinges, there's a positive stop tp prevent the tailgate from opening too far.
Ready for finishing:
Just like on the factory hinges, there's a positive stop tp prevent the tailgate from opening too far.
Ready for finishing:
jscherb
Expedition Leader
That's a good idea, it wouldn't be hard to set up the roll-up side curtains to seal to rear half doors. There could also be a vertical zipper at the rear of the half door that would allow the front part of the side curtain to be rolled up while the rear part stays down.
I know, it has been hosted for years on the free hosting that Time Warner Cable provided for their customers, but apparently they eliminated that benefit of being one of their customers. As soon as I get some time to find a place that offers free web hosting, I'll put the site back up.
Jurfie
Adventurer
Tom and I finished up the machining on his heavy-duty hinges this morning, all they need now is a little final sanding and then painting. Here's one during a test install:
Those are looking great; nice and beefy. Can't wait to see it installed and finished. What size tire does Tom have?
Haf-E
Expedition Leader
Looks great - how much additional head room does the raised roof provide? I guess with the "built-in" roll cage of the JKU that additional space will be limited by the cross tubes - what are the thoughts on utilizing that space or is it mostly just a "cosmetic" improvement. Don't take this comment wrong - I like it - just wanting to know more...
Im running 33/12.50/15 Duratracs on aluminum wheels. They have a pretty good offset also so it hangs quite a ways from the tailgate on the stock holder. These new hinges will take care of that worry plus I'm confident I can add a hilift mount back there with no problem now.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
There will be about 5" of extra headroom in the JK Safari Cab compared the the factory hardtop. In post 173 of this thread, I showed some ways the extra headroom could be used in the LJ Safari Cab; the JK version has about an inch more extra headroom than the LJ/TJ version. Post 173: http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...for-JK-factory-hardtops?p=1646686#post1646686
I store various gear up there, like a fire extinguisher - it's very quick and easy to reach, it's above the roll bar to my left:
And when I'm running the soft sides instead of the hard sides I usually just roll them up and leave them in place, but if I want to remove them completely, I can store them on top of the roll bars:
There are more ways the space can be used in that earlier post, not to mention just having extra headroom for people my height (6'6").