1975 Metal heard Top, yep another thread

[Hedgehog]

First off I really like an open top Jeep, if it were up to me I'd run 12 months a year with nothing but a bikini top. But .... ain't there always a but .... My intention is for it to be a hunting vehicle, specifically a Predator hunting vehicle. A sport where the vehicle is a primary part of the process. Move 0.5 mile, get out walk a bit, call for 15 minutes, back to the vehicle move 0.5-1 mile, do it again ... all day long, sometimes for many days on end. The vehicle is generally FULL of hunting equipment including extra fire arms. We are right on the Mexican border and the stories of illegal activity isn't exaggerated a bit. Leaving your hunting vehicle alone constantly nags at the back of your mind, let alone a vehicle that can 't be properly locked.

So, with reasonable excuses established, I'm looking for a hard top. One I can lock. It's been what I call a soft search. This weekend I stumbled on a hard top that at this time is on a military '75 tub. It's generally in decent shape, but like most Southern Arizona things the metal is great, but things like rubber and window seals are gone. Oddly enough the rear windows slide, but they seem to be an add on and aren't in good shape. For reference the openings are very similar to the ones you see in a CJ7 hard top. My friend says I can get windows made. It's also missing a few small parts.

What would a steel top like this go for?

 

[73CJ]

Well my Meyers top was fine and safe until someone used a screwdriver to pop the back door open and steal my 12 ga out of my driveway in Fargo, ND. That ended with the addition of a German Shepard as a bad guy deterrent. She would did just as well with a soft top. If they want it, they will take it unless you stay within range with a scoped 270.

Are they still worth bonus points?

Actually that could be fun than a varmint. Jeep as a decoy. Maybe even leave a old key on the seat that fit a different Jeep.

 

[Hedgehog]

73CJ - I can't quite put my finger on it, but I get the impression that your a little bitter .....

I'm not looking for a bank vault, but a little more security would be worth it.

 

[tarry99]

First off I really like an open top Jeep, if it were up to me I'd run 12 months a year with nothing but a bikini top. But .... ain't there always a but .... My intention is for it to be a hunting vehicle, specifically a Predator hunting vehicle. A sport where the vehicle is a primary part of the process. Move 0.5 mile, get out walk a bit, call for 15 minutes, back to the vehicle move 0.5-1 mile, do it again ... all day long, sometimes for many days on end. The vehicle is generally FULL of hunting equipment including extra fire arms. We are right on the Mexican border and the stories of illegal activity isn't exaggerated a bit. Leaving your hunting vehicle alone constantly nags at the back of your mind, let alone a vehicle that can 't be properly locked.

So, with reasonable excuses established, I'm looking for a hard top. One I can lock. It's been what I call a soft search. This weekend I stumbled on a hard top that at this time is on a military '75 tub. It's generally in decent shape, but like most Southern Arizona things the metal is great, but things like rubber and window seals are gone. Oddly enough the rear windows slide, but they seem to be an add on and aren't in good shape. For reference the openings are very similar to the ones you see in a CJ7 hard top. My friend says I can get windows made. It's also missing a few small parts.

What would a steel top like this go for?

All about condition.........different parts of the country demand different prices, down in the desert areas where cold and rain is not an issue prices seem to be soft......go to the North East or wherever there is snow on the ground for months they can be a little more pricey!

Manufacture is also important......as is the doors on some models. Some have roll up windows and others have sliding windows. Not sure I have ever seen factory rear side sliding windows. There is only one fiberglass top that is worth anything and that is an ACME.......pretty secure and it's insulated. Most others are steel and Sears made one that was aluminum. The metal ones will keep you out of the rain.......but you will suffer in the cold & heat. I'm a big fan of the ACME top good solid doors ( sliding glass) good locks & insulated.
Keep in mind a 1976 and newer top will not fit unless you change the windshield.......might be an option for you as the later tops are cheaper and the factory one's were fiberglass.

Price? anywhere from $300-$1500......but again it's all about the condition of the body , glass & doors.


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[thistle3585]

I bought a used Meyers top for $400. I bought it with new windows then got the rubber seal material from a glass company. Wasn't a big deal to put it in.

Based on your use, I wonder if you'd be better off installing a secure gear box in the back or utilizing a hitch receiver. I'm thinking a diamond plate box. It would be harder, and louder, for them to try and break in to it than a hard top. They also wouldn't be able to see inside so they wouldn't know whether it was worth the effort or not. A motion sensing alarm may help too.

 

[Hedgehog]

The oppertunity to purchase a hard top didn't pan out. Still on a "soft" search.

I've kicked around the idea of having a lock box type arrangement which would work well for the small stuff, guns are another matter all together. I'm also considering what I am calling a hunting box. Similar to the dog boxes you occasionally see where the tail gate is down with an added box on the rear. Naturally we are talking about a solid, water proof, lockable style box long enough to travel with long guns. Having a spare tire on the back presents a bit of a problem. I'm considering hanging the spare under the extended lock box. There is even a part of me that wants to remove the roll bar to make room over the wheel wells. for a wider box top that might house my guns.

 

[Torxhead]

Hedgehog, I really have to agree with you on the activity in the southern desert along the border, I have seen it when I have been in the Anza-Borrego desert. You might want to sleep with your guns next to you. Maybe you need a big dog?

 

[Hedgehog]

I recently bought a double cot tent for exactly that reason, my guns and valuable items sleep next to me including one of my handguns in the sleeping bag with me. Most of the guns in my house are locked away ..... except for a couple in key places that will definitely make a bad day for an unwelcome guest.

 

[wm69]

A metal hard top has windows. If you're trying to secure firearms a metal cabinet is the only way to go. You don't want guns falling into the hands of criminals....that's Eric Holder's job.

 

[Hedgehog]

Sorry, I know people probably have the image of a redneck with guns in the back window of his Jeep. While I am a very proud redneck, I don't carry guns in the back window and I even keep some of my guns loaded at home and ammunition close at hand. It is impossible to keep a vehicle completely safe no matter where you are, but a locked door still keeps most people out. Anything would be better than your spare rifle laying on the seat while your out calling. No I don't leave my rifles in the open, they generally ride in an ATV case strapped to my hunting box. Also, I don't leave my firearms in my vehicle over night, they come in with me.

 

[wm69]

LOL, an unloaded gun is just a fancy club! I love it when people say "is it loaded?" Nope, I just carry it for show. yeesh

I have a tuffy console in my Jeeps where I can secure smaller items, but for a long gun in a CJ it would be hard to get it out of sight, and if someone sees a gun through a window, chances are you'll be replacing the gun AND the window. That's true here and I'm sure even more-so in the SW with all the illegals running around in the boonies where it sounds like you're hunting.

One possible, but not easy to do idea would be to mount a rack to the underside of the roof of the hardtop, and have a headliner of sorts that you could use to hide them. Hell maybe just get a hardtop, lock the doors, and throw the gun in the back seat and throw a blanket or coat over it.

Only image I have is of someone losing a gun to some scumbag. I live in Arkansas. Redneck isn't a bad word around here.

 

[Hedgehog]

Since I have a welder and know how to use it the options really are endless. A roof or top carrier like they sell for Wranglers that run from the roll bar to the front window is deffinately in the cards for which ever fire arm is in use at the time.

We have different units here in Arizona, open desert where anything is legal and the ever increasing metropolitan or special weapon units where rimfires or shotguns are required. Let me tell you this, a decently setup predator shotgun is a weapon to respect. We generaly pass in and out of both on a long day predator hunting so it is likely that I will have a spare with me at any given time.

Back in the old days I carried only one gun and it was in an upright poachers rack next to my left knee. Many a time it came unsnapped from the rack and my knee kept it from falling to the ground. I've had quite enough of that foolishness. ..... the gun was handi and easy to get to though.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

When I was a kid and out camping with my folks I remember we left valuable gear sitting out on the picnic table. I asked my mother one day if we should put stuff away when we were leaving camp and my mother said, “No, were camping. Campers don’t steal from each other.” Boy are we a long way from that today.

The same applies to a vehicle left in the outback of your local sorts. It use to be fairly safe 30 years ago but now not so much. I would fab up a nice steel box for the back and lock it all up.

 

[Hedgehog]

After rereadig this thread I have the earge to say, even to day it isn't horrible to leave your vehicle when predator hunting. I've had ranchers wait by the vehicle an never bother a thing, I've even seen illegals pass by with little trouble. Only once has the vehicle been bothered and that was a locked Bronco parked near Interstate 10. The scumbags smashed a window and took a few things including a custome made and signed howler a friend gave me. I sure wish I had that howler back. With that being said, the potential is there for real loss and I'd like to reduce that chance as much as possible.

 

[C dubya]

I know the game wardens in Oklahoma have a slanted rack that is angled, mounted to the floor of their vehicles. A latch lock or cable lock with one of those monted in the back could be sufficient. Maybe rig up a custom sack to throw over it when out of the vehicle. Sounds like either way your jeep would be best served with no back seat.

 

[Hedgehog]

back seat? What back seat.

 

[brucefamily6]

300-1000