One other feature I plan to cover in the write-up about the factory modular conversion is roll-up soft sides. They'll be pretty much the same as the soft sides for my LJ Safari Cab, only the dimensions will differ.



I cut the rolled-up side from the image above and hacked it into this 2dr image...

 

Having a take-apart Modular hardtop for the 2 dr will be fantastic , thank you for doing this

 

I agree! I love the look of the hardtop on my JK, but storing the Hardtop is a bit of a pain for us apartment dwellers. Having the modular top would allow me to remove all of the panels just like the Freedom panels and they would easily fit in my storage unit.

 

And if you don't have a storage unit, the parts can store under most beds. The 2dr roof will fit under a queen bed and the other parts fit under single beds .



These are JKU Safari Cab parts in the photos above, but the same idea works with the factory modular conversion of a 2 door.

 

Through the build phase of the Safari Cab project I've had temporary plexiglass windows installed - didn't want to take a chance messing up more expensive glass while I was working on the parts. But now it's time to get the final glass, so today I stopped by a local auto glass place to see what they could do for me. This must have been the guy's Jeep day, he told me that this morning he replaced the windshield on a J8. J8? I asked him if he was sure, and yes it was a J8, but more on that in the next post. Back to my windows...

I want the hardtop windows to match the tint of the rear door windows of the JK, and the challenge with that is that the kick-out vent windows I've designed my side panels for are from a late 70's Toyota FJ40 and they're clear. This photo shows the challenge - tinted rear door windows and clear kick-out vent windows. The Alpine windows that are intstalled in this photo are tinted and a pretty good match for the rear door windows, although I also have a set of 4 Alpine windows in clear (and several more tinted sets).



So to match the tint of the rear door window, I've got several options:

1. Have the hardtop glass made up in clear safety glass, and then have that and the FJ40 vent windows tinted with tint film (BTW 20% tint film is a perfect match for the Jeep's rear door windows).

2. Have all of the windows made up in tinted glass and have the glass tempered. This would also involved making new vent windows in tinted glass.

I had made up templates for the glass yesterday, so I left them with the glass place and they'll call me with a price quote for both options in the next day or two.



I'm leaning towards the tinted glass and having it tempered but I'll make a final decision when they get back to me.

In the meantime, I've just about got the roof panel prepped for painting, just a little more sanding to go.

 

Back to the J8...

Yes, he did install a windshield on a J8 this morning. I told him I'd like to see it and he said I couldn't because it's under the lake. Huh? The Jeep is under the lake? It turns out this J8 is doing duty in the deep salt mine at the south end of Seneca Lake in Watkins Glen. Apparently a 4wd pickup with a fairly low roofline was needed in the confines of the salt mine, I'm told they needed 4wd because of the slopes inside the mine. It's a 2.8 diesel BTW.

My glass friend sent me this photo (apparently taken during the windshield replacement, the glass is out and the adhesive applicator is sitting on the hood). The dust that's covering the Jeep is salt.

 

The Safari Cab roof will have an insulated headliner to reduce noise and heat. I'm working on the details of the headliner now. The roof panel is pretty much ready for paint, but I decided to cut and fit the headliner pieces first because I always prefer to work on a unpainted part than a painted one I could scratch if I slipped with a tool. The headliner parts will come out when I paint, and will be covered with fabric and reinstalled after painting.



I'll begin painting the roof on Saturday, there are multiple steps just as there were with the side panels.

 

I heard back from the glass place today - they priced two options for me:

1. Make new windows from laminated safety glass, and use tint film on the new windows and on the Toyota vent windows to match the tint of the factory rear windows/factory hardtop windows. About $450. Not too bad for making 5 new windows and tinting them.

2. Make all new windows (including the vent windows) out of tinted glass and have the glass tempered after cutting. This is 7 windows, including two new vent windows which have 3 holes drilled in each one. Less than $600.

To me there's no choice, I'm going with the tinted/tempered glass.

He says it'll be about 3 weeks until I can pick them up (he has to send them out for tempering, which could take two weeks).

So by the time I get the glass, installing the glass will be the only task left to complete the hardtop.

 

Another configuration that will be possible with the factory modular conversion project...



The illustration above is a quick photo-hack of a long wheelbase J8 down to 2-door length.

When I post the factory modular conversion writeup, I'll also cover what would be necessary to run just the roof panel like the concept above.

The same thing would be possible if a factory JKU hardtop were to be converted to modular using the same procedure.

 

I finished the initial fitting of the headliner panels this morning. I'll cover the panels with the headliner fabric after painting the roof panel. Sitting on one of the panels in the photo of the front of the roof is a sample of the headliner fabric, and a sample of the base color paint I'll use to tint the Raptor bedliner that'll be shot around the Alpine windows - there won't be headliner fabric in that area, but the bedliner color with match the headliner pretty well.





That being finished for now, I started the paint process this afternoon, shooting primer on the inside of the roof. Since the windshield header will be exposed when finished, it'll be shot in gray base coat/matte clear. I'll finish up the windshield header tomorrow and tint and shoot the bedliner on the rest of the visible areas (not under where the headliner will go) on Sunday.