Canopy Restoration

[TrikeKid]

I'm slowly fixing my truck up to be more expedition worthy than a full on wheeling rig, and the main piece to that puzzle was putting the old canopy back on. The only problem with this, that this canopy is 20 years old, and few of those years have been kind ones. Door is cracked at the top due to a bad hinge, windows are jammed shut, and the latches are either broken or missing. I can deal with the fiberglass work and the windows, but I'm at a loss as far as finding replacements for the latches. I probably could fabricate some, but they wouldn't lock, which would have me keeping the hardware store lock setup that's currently on it. Does anyone have a good source (preferably online) for replacement parts? I also need door struts, I've caught far too many canopy doors with the back of my head to forego replacing the non-functioning ones.
A pic of the truck in question just for giggles.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Unless you are emotionally attached to the canopy, why bother? Just go on Craigslist and get a new one. Depending on where you live toppers for a Toyota pickup shouldn't be that difficult to find. I paid $300 for a high-rise topper for my Tacoma two weeks ago, and sold my previous cab-high topper the night before for $200 (and I could have gotten more if I hadn't been in a hurry to sell it.)

Given that this is for an older Toyota pickup (84-88 body style) I'll bet there's a couple dozen toppers that will fit sitting in people's backyards in your town right now. For around $100 (maybe less) you can pick one up.

BTW just curious but do you live in the Pacific Northwest? Reason I ask is that's where I almost always hear the term "canopy." Most other places I've been (including Colorado) use the terms "topper" or "shell."

 

[TrikeKid]

Unless you are emotionally attached to the canopy, why bother? Just go on Craigslist and get a new one. Depending on where you live toppers for a Toyota pickup shouldn't be that difficult to find. I paid $300 for a high-rise topper for my Tacoma two weeks ago, and sold my previous cab-high topper the night before for $200 (and I could have gotten more if I hadn't been in a hurry to sell it.)

Given that this is for an older Toyota pickup (84-88 body style) I'll bet there's a couple dozen toppers that will fit sitting in people's backyards in your town right now. For around $100 (maybe less) you can pick one up.

BTW just curious but do you live in the Pacific Northwest? Reason I ask is that's where I almost always hear the term "canopy." Most other places I've been (including Colorado) use the terms "topper" or "shell."

I'm financially bound to this one (i.e. I can't afford another one), I like the looks of it, and at least when it was new was pretty dang nice (insulated, sliding windows, seals up really well). Yeah, I'm from the PNW, and no, I don't wear socks and sandals at the same time. And for that $100, there's no reason I can't make this one work just fine. If I buy one on CL, I'm still going to have to put struts on it most likely, and I'd still be looking for latches as nobody keeps their keys for stuff of this vintage it seems.

 

[ntsqd]

In that body style the canopy/topper/shell for the Xcab is different from one for a regular cab. The Xcab's cab has a more angled back surface so a shell for a std cab will leave a ~1.5" gap at the top when used on a Xcab truck.

BT,DT that looking for a better one; no results. Timing is probably everything, one month there will be nothing and the next month too many to chose from. I must have hit all the off months.
Keep in mind that any shell that was intended for this truck is still going on 20 years old. Unless you find a new one in NOS at a shell place somewhere, none are going to be pristine, "new in the box" versions.

Try Austin Hardware for the latch hardware.
http://www.austinhardware.com/
Mcmaster.com will likely also have the parts, but will take a bit more work to find.

 

[TrikeKid]

BT,DT that looking for a better one; no results. Timing is probably everything, one month there will be nothing and the next month too many to chose from. I must have hit all the off months.
Keep in mind that any shell that was intended for this truck is still going on 20 years old. Unless you find a new one in NOS at a shell place somewhere, none are going to be pristine, "new in the box" versions.

Try Austin Hardware for the latch hardware.
http://www.austinhardware.com/
Mcmaster.com will likely also have the parts, but will take a bit more work to find.

Thanks for the link, and yeah, I agree on trying to find another one on that count as well. 90% of the ones I come across are uninsulated aluminum ones in worse shape than mine, or are for regular cab trucks.

 

[eugene]

The struts are easy to replace, I went into an autozone and when they asked me what vehicle I held the old one up and said truck cap and they let me go behind the counter and look for one that matched.

the handles/latches/locks are available from http://www.centurydistributing.com/

I bought a used cap and it had no keys but a company called bauer makes them so I called them up and for just a couple $ they mailed me new keys then it turned out only 2 of the 6 locks actually worked so I ordered all 6 new, was close to $100 after 6 and shipping.

I pulled the windows out of mine, there are just a bunch of 1/4" self drilling screws and then a bunch on the rear were stripped so I bought replacements from a hardware store the next size larger and stainless steel. Then I found a tube of clear non hardening sealant made by loc tite at lowes and used it to re-seal the windows after painting the cap. I wanted the non hardening because the aluminum, frame for the windows exapnds and contracts at a much different rate than the fiberglass cap body, I painted an old one before then when the window frames would shrink there were lines around them from the old paint so its best to remove them.

I tossed all the cheap electrical parts for the lights and bought factory dome lights from ebay for vans and suv's and wire from waytek wire and factory style plugs to do a high quality electrical system in mine.

 

[ntsqd]

Eugene reminds me, when I resealed the window frames in the shell that was on my VW Caddy I used 3M 5200 Marine Adhesive/Sealant on the advice of a friend who worked in the marine industry. He told me that the 5200 stays flexible, but that I'd need a heat gun if I ever wanted to remove the windows again.

I also used an RV fluorescent light in both toppers. The Caddy got a 15 watt single tube and Patch has a 30 watt double tube.
Ditto on any existing wiring & lights, likely to be cheesy, low quality parts.

 

[eugene]

How do those lights work in the cold? I've never been real impressed with most RV parts, they seem cheaply built as well. I went with the OEM dome lights figuring I could always replace the bulbs with the available LED replacement bulbs if I wanted.
You can kind of see mine here, just cardboard holding them in until I make some kind of headliner after I get enough other mods done to not be pulling it down all the time.

 

[ntsqd]

The coldest that I've had them in froze a 2.5 gallon water jug past the point of sloshing while in the shell with me. It was a while ago that this happened, but I do not recall them having any trouble beyond being slow to start.

 

[eugene]

Thats what I meant, I had an flashlight that was 12v like that and when it was cold it was slow to start.