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Home made hard top

84K views 37 replies 27 participants last post by  Old Dogger 
#1 ·
Has anyone made their own hardtop, if u have please post pics.
 
#2 ·
Oh, this I cannot wait to see!
:popcorn:

Let the plywood and lexi-glass rain!
 
#4 ·
Im pretty good with fiberglass and i often though about making a hard half top

I would make a wood top out of thin ply,nice and pretty,cover it with great stuff foam,sand and shape it into the shape I want the use that for a fiberglass plug/mold

It may sound funny But in custom motorcycles and radio controlled boats/trucks I use this method all the time.

Its time consuming and messy,fiberglass and foam running all over your Jeep aint cool but I think it can be done

also I have some 1/8" fiberglass sheets called FRP its fiberglass panel for walls
420 a sheet and easy to shape,very flexible.I make rc boats with it
 
#6 ·
#7 ·
Used hard tops in my region sell for $500 -$800 .
Fiberglass and resin aren't cheap and the time involved .... I'm not saying it couldn't be done....or shouldn't. Could make a really custom looking jeep. May save a lot of time and $ finding a damaged top to start with.
 
#12 ·
That's because its his top.....that's who he licenced to do it.
 
#18 ·
:hide: After all the crap I've been throwing around, I have to admit I've been playing around with a similar idea. Not that I want to drive myself to insanity (again) but I think it would be way cool to spray my ragtop with mold release and then a quarter inch of loose spray over that, ending up with a hardtop that looked like a ragtop ;)

I figure as long as one is flying over the cookoo's nest might as well have a couple :whistling:
 
#23 ·
YJPunisher213 said:
I traded my soft top and half doors for my hard top and full doors hee hee
I wouldn't wanna give up a soft top for summer time but damn id love to not be driving in the loudest paper bag ever for no reason all winter long. I can find hard tops near me for as low as 600.....with no rear glass and need paint tho.
 
#25 ·
Patrick H said:
This is why when I was looking to buy a TJ, a hardtop was one of the essential requirements for me. I'll put a soft top on for the summer, but I just couldn't see buying a Jeep with a used soft top (never know what you're going to get) and still need to drop ~1K-2K on a hard top.
Now ya tell me :-( lol
 
#27 ·
I found this one on Craigslist for $75. Drivers side rear pillar needed to be rebuilt. 1st 2 pics when it was in the weeds.

Me and my bud haven't finished everything yet, but are pretty close. Probably Herculine it when we are done.

I need back glass and one hinge!
 

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#28 ·
apologies if this is a dumb question,
but is there a reason why these are made of fiberglass or such and not just plastic? it seems plastic would be easier to make, lower cost, and may weigh less.

is plastic too prone to warping in the heat?

the new '07-later hardtops looks like they are plastic to me but i don't know what they are.

i'm thinking - look at a good beer cooler, how bulky it is but how incredibly sturdy and at the same time incredibly light. also look at SKB cases (i'm a musician), how strong yet light that stuff is. Could a jeep top be made of plastics like this?
 
#36 ·
I believe the new tops are plastic. But I'm not 100% sure
Way, way back, when the earth was still cooling :rolleyes:, "plastic" parts were made from hand laid fiberglass, now most plastic parts are molded ABS. Probably the newer hardtops are also ABS. If you're doing custom work you will probably still do hand laid fiberglass because it doesn't require sophisticated molds.

P.S. What in blazes is an SKB?????????? I'm seriously into music but I am not a musician. ( I do hope this is not considered a thread hijack :whistling: )

I Believe the new tops are still being made from Fiberglass.

They would be vacuum molded, this reduces the amount of Resin needed and reduces weight.

I believe also that the durability of fiberglass vs plastic is much better.

If you were to make a plastic top as durable as the fiberglass my guess is it would weigh in about 1.5- 2 times as much.

The only downside to fiberglass is that it doesn't take impact very well. It is however easier to repair than plastic would be.

If you are planning on building you're own hard top from fiber glass, plan on it weighing A LOT. Unless you are able to somehow vacuum mold it all.

My suggestion would be to buy a damaged hard top and repair it/ custom modify it how you want. you will get the structure from that and then can do what you want reducing your weight and time for customizing it.

I actually found a TJ hardtop that had been rolled, back when i had my 98'.
I repaired it and ran with that for quite some time!
 
#30 ·
Way, way back, when the earth was still cooling :rolleyes:, "plastic" parts were made from hand laid fiberglass, now most plastic parts are molded ABS. Probably the newer hardtops are also ABS. If you're doing custom work you will probably still do hand laid fiberglass because it doesn't require sophisticated molds.

P.S. What in blazes is an SKB?????????? I'm seriously into music but I am not a musician. ( I do hope this is not considered a thread hijack :whistling: )
 
#33 ·
Not trying to sound stupid but you should take a road trip to my lovely state North Carolina. Not only could you check out the Uwharrie National Forest and REALLY enjoy your Jeep or head out to the OBX and drive out on the sand, but you can find hard tops pretty dang cheap. Over the last several months of scrolling through my Android craigslist app I have seen several hard tops at reasonable prices in varying conditions. Good luck!
 
#35 ·
BeerMan said:
Not trying to sound stupid but you should take a road trip to my lovely state North Carolina. Not only could you check out the Uwharrie National Forest and REALLY enjoy your Jeep or head out to the OBX and drive out on the sand, but you can find hard tops pretty dang cheap. Over the last several months of scrolling through my Android craigslist app I have seen several hard tops at reasonable prices in varying conditions. Good luck!
What prices are you seeing?
 
#37 ·
Hardtops for my TJ 98 have gone for nearly 2,800 by me. I was thinking of making one as it might be cheaper, but originally I thought of using sheet metal, looking at how people call fiberglass heavy, I might have to find another plan... I have no equipment, nor experience, working with fiberglass and I know how toxic that stuff can be...

On a side note, why are they all a single piece? wouldn't it be easier to have several pieces that clamp together? Or is it just not that big of a difference...
 
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