Building custom soft top for the LJ

[TCM]

Beautiful work Greg. It looks like an OEM product and is big improvement over the factory soft top. If the top does go into production in some way I would definitely be interested in one for my LJ.

 

[squint]

I will let you know for sure if/when that happens. Sincerely, thanks all for the positive comments. I am pleasantly surprised to know that I am not the only one that appreciates this style.

The cotton strapping came in the mail today so I may experiment with rolling up the windows this weekend. I would like to drive it around a bit in various configurations and see if there are any issues. A "scratch test" was done this morning on some sample window material with the cotton webbing as well as some other varieties, but so far, I was unable to scuff it much at all. The plan is definitely to excercise caution since I really don't fancy redoing the windows anytime soon.

 

[squint]

Fantastic job Squint. You have me seriously considering building one for my LJ.

Jim, if you are serious about tackling your own top, let me know if you have any questions or want to talk live sometime .
I would be happy to help in any way I can.

 

[irish1371]

Yea squint, if you don't get this into production then at least put together a proper materials list and plans so we can buy them and be better off then starting from scratch

 

[Rubicon John]

Absolutely AWESOME!!!

I'm also a huge fan of old style military / expedition gear (whether it's Jeep or an old series truck from LR). You did an incredible job on this!!!

 

[irish1371]

btw that stock top would work well for me till you get rolling on these new fancy thingamajigs just ship it to me and all that space in your garage will be clear.....

 

[squint]

btw that stock top would work well for me till you get rolling on these new fancy thingamajigs just ship it to me and all that space in your garage will be clear.....

It is actually behind our bar. :sombrero: Sorry, A friend here really wants it so I will probably sell it to him. I think shipping costs would be crazy unless it was broken down into pieces.

There was no chance to experiment with rolling up the windows since thunderstorms rolled in all weekend. I did however let it sit outside during the downpour and the inspected it carefully and absolutely no mosture made it inside. I was very careful in designing the bikini portion since I knew that zipper would be the most vulnerable.

 

[squint]

Yea squint, if you don't get this into production then at least put together a proper materials list and plans so we can buy them and be better off then starting from scratch

Absolutely-if it comes to that point.

Right now, there are some things that I am not ready to divulge about the top since the rear and bikini portion definitely broke new ground and believe it would be difficult to duplicate at this point without lots of experimentation. I would love nothing more than to get one of these into your hands sooner than later if you are serious about wanting one. I will probably start a list soon, but still working things out here... The complexity of the top and the framwork ups the costs for sure. The top has over 10 zippers (all YKK) which are not really inexpensive, to begin with. There is most likely a reason that other top manufacturers kept their designs as simplistic as possible. A signifcant amount of money went into this project (not even speaking of time spent). When making/designing something like this for the first time, it will cost 10 times as much as purchasing an existing mass-manufactured top. If the top is never mass produced, replacing it, which will eventually be a reality, will be expensive too. I am not trying to discourage anyone that might want to create something for themselves, but I do believe that no one else has created something similar, because of the reasons already mentioned. A soft top may only last you 5 years... The good in this one is that you would never have to purchase another set of bows. I have also come up with simpler ideas for a top which utilizes the same bows and would probably cost very little to make. This could be a reality for those who wouldn't want to spend the money for the whole top. More on that down the road..

Edit: This being said, I would be happy to share techniques and general knowledge with any future "canvatiers". Doing your own thing is fun and rewarding for sure.

 

[squint]

Absolutely AWESOME!!!

I'm also a huge fan of old style military / expedition gear (whether it's Jeep or an old series truck from LR). You did an incredible job on this!!!

Thanks so much. I do so agree about the vintage style!

 

[squint]

All the storms as of late have allowed me to really test the top for and leaks and I have not found any yet. Testing with a garden hose revealed no leaks either.



A kind person on one of the boards changed the color of the top for this "mockup". What do you think of this on a TJ? My wife really wants one of these on her Jeep...

I am not sure who owns this TJ, but I thought it was nice looking, so I used it for the example.

 

[Beowulf]

Nothing is going to look better than your Khaki, but on colors like Yellow, Silver..etc the only choice will be black.

 

[squint]

Thanks-the khaki/"buckskin" has grown on me too.
What are your thoughts about this top on the shorter wheelbase?

 

[jeepdreamer]

Maybe its the colors or the SWB or maybe just me... But it looks a lot like a Defender 90.?. can't say that's good or bad really. *shrugs*

 

[jscherb]

Here's something similar on a short(er) wheelbase.

 

[jeepdreamer]

Indian "jeep"??