SOFT TOP

[Roadkill]

I'd love to, Mad, but you'll have to wait a few months. I still got around 80 days left in good ole' sunny Baghdad.

 

[wileec]

I think the guy on ebay is part of another fourm. If so he picked that thing up of craigs list for $50. He braged about the scoor over there and after he caught all sorts of S&^( he decided to sell it on Ebay with no min. I never have that kind of luck.

BTW Roadkill STAY SAFE over there. Thank you!!!!!

 

[Tennessee Jed]

Really Roadkill we are thinking good thoughts your way. Too bad we can't ship you a big Bronco with armor steel floor boards.

 

[madmax]

I'd love to, Mad, but you'll have to wait a few months. I still got around 80 days left in good ole' sunny Baghdad.

ahh ok, I've still got alot of work to do on other projects anyway. Im only just now half done restoring the body on my truck got the drivers side fender door and quarter panel replaced, had to do alot of restoration work under the quarter panel, the rear corner post was missing portions and it had a bad rusty crack I had to cut completely around and weld in a plate to fix. Then I'll have to do the other side of the truck, pretty much all the bronco's in my area are rotten especially at the quater's, so it's I pretty much cant start with a truck that has a clean body unless I'm willing to dump 12k into buying one.

I still have to change the 3.55 8.8" rear out for the 9" 4.10 I bought off of 79highrider, also I'll have to figure out what parts I'll need to put in the 4.10 straight axle I got off him. Kinda hard to find information on doing a SAS retaining stock hight so I might wing it like the auto to manual trans swap.

As you can see I've got my hands full for at least a couple months, theres also an engine sitting waiting to get new rings and bearings on the crank, and I need to work on modding a lower intake manifold to work with a blower and factory style fuel injection, plus I'd really like to make it work off an electric clutch so I don't have to run high compression all the time.

 

[Tennessee Jed]

I can't believe that top went for over $900 after shipping!

Someone needs to build that thing once more.

I have been pestering Bestop to build a SuperTop for the 80-96. I don't know if you folks have seen their products but they are the nicest built and designed tops made. They have a very sweet kit for the early Broncos. Below is transcript of my communications so far. I bet you guys could write them too. [email protected]

Also remember to write their retailers as well.

Jed:

There are many many many 1980 to 1996 Broncos that would love a Supertop. Please write me back with why your company won't build a unit like STC did for the Late Bronco so I can tell the forum of hundreds of owners/untapped Bestop customers.

Bestop:

This email was forwarded to me for several reasons. I worked & designed with Kayline/ Specialty Top company for 20 years. I am now employed with Bestop Customer Service Tech department. Personally, I hope to see someone pick up the Bronco, Blazer, Scout & Toyota line in the near future. It's a good sized market. However, you're not going to see Bestop pick up this very missed product line. Bestop is primarily OEM based with specific after market products. Mostly Jeep based. That's not going to change. I just want to say that there are those of us out there that understand your frustration and the need for the product. Keep a look out Tennessee Jed, eventually it will come around again.

Jed:

Thank you for the prompt reply. I guess I was hopeful when I saw the truck SuperTop being built by your company which have no OEM equivalents.

I am now thinking of ordering one of the part number 76315 and making modifications to make it fit a Bronco. Just because the Bestop product is the finest product of this kind made.

You said you worked for Kayline some time ago I had one of their snap style tops when I owned a 1986 Eddie Bauer Bronco. I bought it in 1995 I think and it was a fine product and I thank you for your part in that.

Please keep me on your list of contacts if your company changes its position on the late model Bronco tops.

 

[madmax]

I can't believe that top went for over $900 after shipping!
Someone needs to build that thing once more.

All I need are some good pictures of how the STC one's work without it I'd have to design somethign completeley from scratch, and it'd be a real pain in the ass.

I have one idea of how to make one completely of my own design but I'll have to wait till I have time to work on it. Making the folding bar assembly is cake the hard part is the fastening system that keeps water out, I'm thinking of making the top hang down maybe an inch over the quarter panels zipping to a rail you'd mount in place of your old top all the way around, only problem is you'd need some way to ensure water won't get in along the top, I'll mess around a bit and let you'se know what I come up with. Also, it might be best not to make the bars fold, that way when the top is up you can put large items in the back, the STC top sits on top of the tailgate when down. If I were to make the bar in the back correctly it could function with the rear window.

 

[madmax]

Just looked at my bronco, I think I could make some kind of rubber gasket that sits over the piece of sheet metal along the 1 1/2 inch wide gutter that runs along the roof and side, shouldn't be too hard to fashion some kind of clip system to hold it in place, theres already a bunch of holes drilled in the sheet metal behind the gutter for mounting something, the trim I think. I guess it could be a soon as a month before I start making some kind of soft top, maybe not quite as nice as the one STC made but close. I'll start right now by saying if you're using a soft top I build I'M NOT LIABLE IF YOUR TRUCK GETS BROKEN INTO. Though I highly doubt anybody here would sue me in a case like that, nobody here seems like that kind of *******. I'm also considering using vinyl for the material, there's plenty of good marine grade vinyl that would hold up for years, Though canvases hold up fairly well, you might have to waterproof them, but thats not hard. Also clear and tinted window material is available. The more I think about it the more I like the idea of using the original window, means you don't have to drill holes in the tailgate.

 

[Tennessee Jed]

All I need are some good pictures of how the STC one's work without it I'd have to design somethign completeley from scratch, and it'd be a real pain

Have you considered looking at the bows and rails of a pick up truck soft camper top?

About the bed sides they kind of stair step up as to shed rain when you install a soft top and the section along the roof line has about a two inch lip that sort of functions as a gutter, so I think if you follow the lines of a hard shell it would cover it.

 

[madmax]

I think I've come up with something. Completely different from STC's product, this would fold FORWARD and when folded would be a very short cloth extension of the metal roof, I've also figured out a way to make a cable system so you can use a small hand crank (or even an electric motor) to open and close the roof. The whole thing should mount using all factory holes. there will be 3 rails, one on each bed rail and one in the center on top. Below is a crappy MS Paint drawing of the design.

theres nothing chiseled in stone yet and I didn't bother showing how the cable system will function but I've already got that most of the way figured out.

 

[Tennessee Jed]

Here is another one that would be awesome for a Bronco. It looks like it uses two heavy bed rails and U shaped bows that track on the heavy bars. Here is the company's url http://www.autoenhance.com/Fas-Cap_2.html

 

[madmax]

Thats a really fancy system, might be hard to make without having one to work from. Though you could probably modify one of theirs to fit a bronco with out too much work.