Building My Own Hard Top 8/6/2010
12-10-2010, 10:22 AM
#91
JK Super Freak
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Check out the fleece method I mentioned. It stretches well and hardens smooth. What I woulddo is grind a nice ridge about 1/4-1/2" from the edge of the piece you are adding on to. Then stuff the edge of the fleece into the ridge so that you have a good bond and both pieces are flush. Hope that makes sense.
----v----- -----v----
.....1....2..3.....4
2 and 3 are the edges of the two pieces that will meet and touch, 1 and 4 are the small notches for it to be pulled tight and then stuffed into, yes?
12-14-2010, 07:17 PM
#92
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Im wanting to do this exact same thing. Even with the angled hard top like you want to do. I like the fleece idea as mentioned earlier but am not sure what would be a good method of constructing the frame. Would wood work as a material or would that be too heavy and not enough strength?
12-15-2010, 03:51 AM
#93
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The thought if cutting up hard my hardtop scares me lol I would probably mess up and it would crumble and fall on my head haha. Props for for having the berries for it though I'm sure it will be bad a$$
12-15-2010, 07:19 PM
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01-05-2011, 01:43 AM
#96
JK Super Freak
I undertook a similar project some years ago to convert the canvas canopy on my aluminum fishing boat into a hard-topped half-cabin.
I used the existing lightweight aluminum tube frame that the canvas had been laid over and fashioned a roof and sides out of thin (3mm) MDF particle board, bolting it to the frame with U-brackets. I even achieved a curve in the top at the sides by steaming the top sheet with a boiling kettle. I filled all the gaps, recessed bolt-heads and rough bits with automotive body filler, shaped & sanded the whole lot back, laid down a thick layer of automotive spray-putty, sanded that & then sprayed 3 coats of acrylic auto finish (Ford Arctic white I believe, to match the white-painted hull) with a clear on top. For windows I just used sliding perspex ones in small, rectangular aluminum frames I picked up for free from a junkyard that were originally from an old caravan or motorhome I think.
The whole thing took me a weekend & a bit (waiting for the paint to dry between coats added time), about a hundred bucks or so in materials including paint (mind you, I had the alloy frame to start with) and it actually looked really good (nothing like the thing on the back of that blue flat-fender in the photo); people actually thought it was a manufactured fiberglass cabin until they took a closer look at the inside & could see it was just MDF on a frame.
The main difference to making a hardtop for a JK is that the rear of my cabin was open; with the Jeep hard-top you'd need to also include a swing-glass rear window like the factory one and also use flush-fitting smoked glass for the side windows. I'd also line it with those thin insulation panels to give it a little extra strength and resistance to flex and give it a nicer look inside (and maybe finish it with auto headliner material to hide the alloy frame), and I'd probably use aluminum flatbar instead of the tubing (easier to get a flush, uniform fit with the MDF & could then screw it directly to the flatbar frame instead of using U-brackets).
I used the existing lightweight aluminum tube frame that the canvas had been laid over and fashioned a roof and sides out of thin (3mm) MDF particle board, bolting it to the frame with U-brackets. I even achieved a curve in the top at the sides by steaming the top sheet with a boiling kettle. I filled all the gaps, recessed bolt-heads and rough bits with automotive body filler, shaped & sanded the whole lot back, laid down a thick layer of automotive spray-putty, sanded that & then sprayed 3 coats of acrylic auto finish (Ford Arctic white I believe, to match the white-painted hull) with a clear on top. For windows I just used sliding perspex ones in small, rectangular aluminum frames I picked up for free from a junkyard that were originally from an old caravan or motorhome I think.
The whole thing took me a weekend & a bit (waiting for the paint to dry between coats added time), about a hundred bucks or so in materials including paint (mind you, I had the alloy frame to start with) and it actually looked really good (nothing like the thing on the back of that blue flat-fender in the photo); people actually thought it was a manufactured fiberglass cabin until they took a closer look at the inside & could see it was just MDF on a frame.
The main difference to making a hardtop for a JK is that the rear of my cabin was open; with the Jeep hard-top you'd need to also include a swing-glass rear window like the factory one and also use flush-fitting smoked glass for the side windows. I'd also line it with those thin insulation panels to give it a little extra strength and resistance to flex and give it a nicer look inside (and maybe finish it with auto headliner material to hide the alloy frame), and I'd probably use aluminum flatbar instead of the tubing (easier to get a flush, uniform fit with the MDF & could then screw it directly to the flatbar frame instead of using U-brackets).
Last edited by JKlad; 01-05-2011 at 02:51 AM.
01-26-2011, 06:40 AM
#99
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Custom Hardtop
I started searching for different ideas on how to mock up this hard top as well. found this thread. did you actually finish this project. i just drew up some plans for this too. i was hoping to compare