I would buy the safari cab today if it were available.

 

Try shopping the factory wheels in white with the various shades of khaki. This should give a vintage 50's/60's appearance.

 

Changing the wheels isn't in the plan for now, but maybe when I build the new FSJ front clip for it I'll decide a set of steelies is in order...

 

Another possibility.

 

First, let me say that you are a very talented and skilled designer who is able to take an idea and turn into a finished product. The level of craftsmanship shown in this thing blows me away!

Having purchased a 2-dr '09 soft top JK back in July, my wife and I have immediately wanted to get a hard top. However, I love the modularity of the soft top. Thus, we've looked at some hybrid tops like the Trektop Pro, which we really like, but it's still a soft shell and many have said there's no change in cabin noise from the soft top. I've also considered some custom options via molds, sheet metal, etc. in order to develop something unique. My wife and I also really love the Defender series LRs, so when I showed her this, she fell in love and said, "I want it! Buy it now!!" Haha, I, of course, agreed. We only hope that one of the 2 companies you've been in conversations with is willing to pick up the torch and run with it.

If you're still debating between the colors, which is a tough call, I'd personally go one color to match everything. I know you're not going for a Defender look, but the ones I've seen that are one color look so clean! Here are two examples in colors similar to yours. The first one all one color, the other with a black top. Good luck in making your decision as I think it will look good either way and I'm eager to hear/see what happens with the development for taking this awesome modulated hard top to production!

 

Thank you very much. I think of myself more of a designer than a builder, but if you want to see your designs realized you have to build things, so I do .

Thanks for the Defender photos, they do look good.

I am still debating about colors, I was all set to paint the sides to match the body and do the roof in black, but like I said I saw a few color-matched factory hardtops recently on Jeeps that were the same color as mine, and I didn't like them at all. My LJ is completely color matched (the black one I posted a photo of earlier today), and I love the look of that one, but somehow I don't like the look of a color matched top on the color of my JK.

 

I'm not a fan of mixing colors (at least on vehicles) unless one of the colors is neutral...black or white, or sometimes something metallic like silver or gold. Given you already have black accents (step bars, bumpers, tires, etc) I'd go with black. The image of the red Defender with the black roof top is a very good look. My JKU is white with the black hardtop (and big black roof rack) and if I was to get this roof (would love it) I'd go with either all white or white with a black roof.

I remember you did a concept drawing of a 2-door in all white that was beautiful.

 

Thanks for the input. If my JK was white, there's no question I'd do everything in white like the 2dr concept I posted early in the project. And if it were black, I'd do gloss black just like my LJ Safari Cab. But I'm having trouble deciding what to do on the red JK, especially after seeing some JKs the same red color with factory color-matched hardtops recently - they just didn't look right to me. All-black, probably matte/textured like the factory tops, is an option that would work.

I am also thinking about the color for the canvas parts - the roll-up soft sides and the soft barn door. If I do a black roof with color match sides (or an all black hardtop) I'd probably just use black soft top material, but if I paint the top something in the tan/sand/khaki range, I could do the soft parts in a tan. There's a pretty good range of tans in sailcloth soft top fabric, so I should be able to pick something for the soft sides/soft barn door that goes well if I choose to paint the top something in the tan/san/khaki range.



I've posted this illustration before, it shows the roll-up soft sides.

 

JK Safari Cab build phase complete!

One last thing I had to do on the roof panel before declaring it done and ready for paint prep was to finalize the Alpine window openings. I had cut the openings and temporarily installed the windows before the last time I put the top on the Jeep for fitting, but I didn't do the final trimming of the openings or try installing the window gasket lock strip. I've done that now, so I can now declare the build phase of this project is basically complete. I'll do one last fitting of all the parts on the Jeep to ensure everything fits and works to my standards, then the parts will be ready for prep/paint and final safety glass window installation (it still has the temporary plexiglass windows). Here are a few photos of the (dusty) completed top as it sits in my garage right now.











Paint phase to begin whenever I decide what color(s) it should be.

 

wow!!!! That sure turned out great!!!