I took a series of photos as I was uninstalling the top, and put the photos in reverse order in the animation below to turn the photos into an installation sequence . It's a little over 4mb, so if you've got a slow connection it could take a little bit before it starts animating.



Installation sequence: Upper door jambs bolt to the soft top surround bolt holes, then the side panels bolt to the jambs and the tub. The rear panel then bolts to the side panels. Barn door bolts to the tailgate. Front of the roof gets lowered into place, then the back of the roof, then it bolts to the jambs/sides/rear panel and latches to the windshield. Wiper power, DC switched and constant power is plugged in and the rear window washer hose is connected.

Removal/installation doesn't take much longer than removing/installing the soft top (that's a negative comment about the soft top more than it is a positive comment about the Safari Cab ). I use a battery-powered driver to install all of the bolts except for a few along the jambs over the doors that the driver can't reach, so it doesn't take long to get everything bolted up.

In the first frame of the anim you can see all the components stacked up against the wall, that plus the roof hanging from above is all the storage space the Safari Cab takes when it's off the Jeep.

Now that I've done a final fitting and everything checks out, here's what's left:

- Paint prep and paint
- Install the final windows (I've used plexiglass windows as stand-ins up until now)
- Install the headliner inside the roof

Once that's done it's ready to go into service on the Jeep.

 

Still love your projects! The TJ truck is my favorite. I hadn't seen that you've got a CJ grill on the LJ- that's very neat.

 

Thanks! If I had to choose a favorite, I don't know if I could... I love the pickup, but I love the LJ-8 Safari with the CJ grille too... hmmm. I do know that the JK would not be my favorite, even with the Safari Cab on it, the favorite would have to be one of the LJ-based Jeeps...

 

It would be difficult for me to pick a favorite as well! Both are so sweet lookin!

But what if you converted the JKU into a truck (Bruiser or JK-8 Independence), added the modulation of the safari cab to the truck bed, and integrated a CJ grill? I'm no good with Photoshop, but I'd like to see a rendering of that!

Here's something along those lines from Bruiser conversions:

 

I drew a concept based on the JK Brute double cab a while back, it featured an extended Safari Cab roof with roll-down sides...



I've already done one CJ Grille Kit though, I'd rather do something different. Here's a concept I'm seriously thinking of building, it's a bolt-on FSJ front-end kit I call the Retro Rhino:

 

With the modular architecture of the Safari Cab, it's possible to build new variants of the top by swapping out components for different ones, such as the roof.

I came across the AADS (Africa Automotive Distribution Services) web site the other day - they sell militarized JK and J8 Jeeps to "Governmental Organisations". One of the vehicles in their brochure they call the "Enhanced Command Vehicle":



The hardtop is aluminum and appears to be modular and like the Safari Cab there's a drip rail running all the way around the roof. Making an alternate roof panel to bolt up to the rest of the Safari Cab components would be a pretty straightforward project, here's a concept drawing:



To really replicate the Command Vehicle, I guess we'd want to do solid side panels too:



Of course we could do the solid sides with the original Safari roof:



As long as we're doing solid sides, why not longer solid sides for half doors that turns the JK into a panel truck:



Let's put the Command roof back on:



Or maybe add some windows to the panel truck sides:



or put windows on the panel version with the Safari roof:



All of these new Safari Cab variants would be pretty straightforward to do.

I've drawn all these new panels in white because that matches the current unpainted condition of the Safari Cab but you can imagine them in any color you like.

 

I've been experimenting with another place to carry cargo on the JK.

 

I like that idea. I'm going to have to steal it. There's a guy on eBay that makes locks for ammo cans.

"Ex Umbris Venimus"

 

This weekend I did one more test fit of the retrofit kit and the prototype window frame to make sure everything was to my satisfaction before declaring it ready to send off to the window company and the hardware company. Here are a few photos of the process to help people understand what will be involved in the installation.

First is the removal of the factory glass, which is bonded to the hardtop with a semi-hard adhesive. A sturdy utility knife inserted from the inside can cut through the adhesive. It takes a few passes because it's tough stuff and fairly thick, but it's a pretty straightforward job. There will be some adhesive remaining on the window opening after the window comes free (as shown below), a narrow chisel or equivalent takes that off pretty well.



Once the factory glass has been removed, the retrofit kit trim ring is set in place and used as a pattern to trim the inside of the window opening. Anything visible inside the trim ring opening gets trimmed away. Below left, the trim ring in place over the untrimmed opening. Right, the trim tring over a trimmed opening



Then the retrofit kit and the new window are tested in the opening to see if any further adjustment is necessary (below left).

Once the fit is good, the window and retrofit kit get assembled together with weatherstrip, and then the assembly is inserted into the opening with its weatherstrip and secured from behind with a clamp ring. Because of the job the retrofit kit does, the screws in the clamp ring can all be tightened securely without fear of bending the flat RV-style window into to the curved window opening.



The weatherstrip to seal the window to the retrofit kit and to seal the window/retrofit kit assembly to the hardtop isn't shown in these photos, nor are the components of the retrofit kit that handle the curved window mounting surface of the hardtop. Also these are quickly-molded test panels and while they're completely accurate for testing the fit of everything, they don't look as nice as the real hardtop. But the photos above should give you a pretty good idea of what's involved in swapping the factory window for a slider window with the retrofit kit.

Here's a photo of everything in place in a test panel. Obviously there's no glass in the prototype frame, but now that the fit of the frame is all set, the window company can now work on a first run of complete windows for early testers.

 

And now that I've gotten a few other projects to the point where they'll be mostly out of my hands, finally I'm ready and have time to begin the paint process for the Safari Cab parts. I've got my large worktable set up for painting and tomorrow I'll remove the temporary windows and all hardware from the parts and begin the paint prep process. I'll work on all of the parts at once except the roof, that'll be done after the rest of the parts are done. Process goes something like this:

- Preliminary sanding to reveal any surface/gelcoat flaws, bodywork/fix any surface flaws
- Epoxy primer inside and out
- High build primer/block sand/repeat until satisfied
- Insides of panels shot with white bedliner
- Color coat on outside (Spice)
- Matte clearcoat on outside over Spice

I won't be able to work at this full time every day so it'll take a little bit of time to get it all done.

What's in this photo is the entire Safari Cab except the roof panel, and I'll be working on all of these components at the same time (fewer spray gun setups/cleanings that way ). Not on the table are the soft side jambs, they'll also be part of this group for finishing.