Build Thread The '80 FrankenJeep frame off reassembly

[gr8dain]

Nice job! I have thought about adding a sub in the Scrambler. The sound is just in the CJs

 

[shum8]

This little sub works great - got it used on ebay


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[shum8]

Well, I got all the top hardware together, cleaned it up and repainted, the top is awaiting a nice warm day when I have the time to remove the hard top, and then it hit me. The YJ uses a tailgate bar to retain the rear window. Dug around and found the bar. Opened the bottom drawer of the tool box, end there were the bar retainers..... I do believe I have ALL the parts..... Now for that warm day .......


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[Belizean]

What type of temps are you having up there ? Just about perfect here last few days. Sunny low humidity & upper 60s

 

[shum8]

Last several days we’ve been in the upper 50’s and frosty mornings..... but upper 60’s and lower 70’s inbound starting tomorrow. But being a new top, I’m gonna need some sun and a little warmth for the initial install. That sucker’s gonna be tight I bet


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[Belizean]

yea the weather is going to warn up here also, warm coming up out of the Gulf of Mexico and chance of storms on Sunday like last weekend

 

[shum8]

Yesterday was a perfect day for a new soft top install - so I knocked off work a couple hours early and stuck it on there. This was my first experience with a YJ top and hardware, so I was kinda running blind. Gotta say, it went way smoother than I thought. All my previous soft top hardware had always been CJ, both bows pivoting from one mounting point....... The YJ bows both stand nearly vertical, so that was different. Once I got all the hardware on, and verified that I surprisingly had all the parts, threw top top on. Took a little tugging, as expected, but it fits great, looks fantastic - I love the fabric...... much better in my eye than the std black denim.......







I would have preferred to not have the “badge” on there, but - if I had made this top I’d want my name on it as well



Now it looks like a CJ is supposed to. I liked the fastback too because it was old school and I haven’t seen another one around here in many years, but this just looks right.

One thing I hadn’t thought about beforehand - the YJ tops have the retainer bar across the lower edge of the rear window to keep it closed and still allow the opening of the tailgate without moving the rear window. Everything works as it should - except for the fact the CJ tailgate latches only operate from the inside LOL. No biggie - I don’t know why I’d want to open the tailgate with the rear window in place anyway........ Great top - I highly recommend it. I need to drive with it up a bit, but as she sits, it’s very nice !!

And the bottom of the door uppers are wrinkly cause I haven’t put the retainer channels on the lowers yet....

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[Masscj7]

That looks very sharp. Like the profile. Please give a nice product review in a few weeks as I need a top.

On side note, as you have a nice passenger side shot posted, what year is your YJ tub? I’m looking at my passenger side holes for the antenna and hinges and the antenna looks way closer to hinges than I’ve seen on any other YJ. As well as a 3rd mounting hole in between the hinge holes and the antenna holes that I’m not sure what it’s for.




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[shum8]

I plan on running it a couple weeks and reporting back. It’s raining today - so the rain eval will be easy LOL. I wanna see what it does at highway speeds.......

As for my tub - I have no idea what year it is. It was already transplanted on when I bought the Jeep. But you are correct - I’ve never seen an antenna mount that far rearward either. Weld the holes up and redrill??


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[mdeluca]

Yesterday was a perfect day for a new soft top install - so I knocked off work a couple hours early and stuck it on there. This was my first experience with a YJ top and hardware, so I was kinda running blind. Gotta day, it went way smoother than I thought. All my previous soft top hardware had always been CJ, both bows pivoting from one mounting point....... The YJ bows both stand nearly vertical, so that was different. Once I got all the hardware on, and verified that I surprisingly had all the parts, threw top top on. Took a little tugging, as expected, but it fits great, looks fantastic - I love the fabric...... much better in my eye than the std black denim.......







I would have preferred to not have the “badge” on there, but - if I had made this top I’d want my name on it as well



Now it looks like a CJ is supposed to. I liked the fastback too because it was old school and I haven’t seen another one around here in many years, but this just looks right.

One thing I hadn’t thought about beforehand - the YJ tops have the retainer bar across the lower edge of the rear window to keep it closed and still allow the opening of the tailgate without moving the rear window. Everything works as it should - except for the fact the CJ tailgate latches only operate from the inside LOL. No biggie - I don’t know why I’d want to open the tailgate with the rear window in place anyway........ Great top - I highly recommend it. I need to drive with it up a bit, but as she sits, it’s very nice !!

And the bottom of the door uppers are wrinkly cause I haven’t put the retainer channels on the lowers yet....

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I bought the laser fit floor mats and they had that logo on them. Luckily, they popped right off. The top looks great and with the half doors, provide a very nice profile. I'm impressed.

Wish they made this version for the CJ tub...

 

[shum8]

That’s why I scrounged up a set of YJ hardware. Got it cheap several years ago. Bolted right up. You will have to drill a couple holes along the sides of the windshield frame, and possibly a few along the tub for the side rails...... to update to a newer top I’d do it.


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[shum8]

Update on the top - I like it. I will say I’m not super fond of the tailgate bar, but to get a top this nice for this cheap, I can deal with it. I only have one serious gripe, and it’s not the top..... it’s the spreader bar between the bows. When pushed to extended position, the spreader over centers a bit, and the hinge sticks up above the bar, and creates a wear point. This is the hinge poking at the top at rest (driving causes more pressure on the top)




I’d say that wouldn’t take long before it wears a hole..... so I got to playing around with some small water line.......




The ID is almost exactly the same as the OD of the spreaders for the bows




Got out the handy dandy grinder, and commenced to cutting










The center section needed to be opened up to broaden the surface the top would bear on, but the hinge top sat about a half inch above the bar itself........ so I gathered a few sockets, a propane torch, a file, and some sandpaper. Heated the center section and opened it up with progressively larger sockets.




Once I got that where I wanted, I cut a couple relief cuts, heated and put a slight crown in it, then heated and lowered the clip portion.




Threw some paint on it, and this afternoon I’ll snap one in place and post up a finished product pic. Of course the last pic is fuzzy since the camera focused on the driveway, not the part...




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[Belizean]

So how is your top or hardware different from other people’s tops ? Wondering why you need a fix and other’s are not riding around with holes ?

 

[shum8]

Beats me. The YJ hardware I’m using appears to be good - no worn joints or pivots. The spreaders in question do, when in place, are slightly “over extended”, but I just figured that was by design so they stayed in place. I was going to flip em over to put the knuckle pointing down rather than up, but pretty much immediately realized that would have the fold pointing up rather than down - no bueno. This was just a quick and easy fix till I figure out what’s going on. If all other YJ tips do this there should be a lot of holes running around LOL. Other than this, the top is great. And like I said - I think this is a hardware issue, not a top issue.


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[gr8dain]

I am trying to remember the soft top I had on my old 95 YJ. And when the top was on tight, the canvas did not rest against the spreaders. But I cannot remember if there was a built is protector for it.

 

[shum8]

It may be the way the top is sewn..


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[Belizean]

It may be the way the top is sewn..


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Seems like more of a hardware problem otherwise the tops would be returned

 

[shum8]

My first corrective action I think will be to reduce the amount of over centering..... see if that helps. But we’re expecting a small monsoon tonight - so I’ll take a look at it in the next couple days. I am going to post up a review of the top in a couple days - tonight will be a good eval if potential leaks......


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[shum8]

Thread posting test.......

Well, looks like it went, but it’s awaiting approval.

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[gert]

You done anything on your Jeep lately?


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