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"Not Alaskan" Postal CJ8 Hardtop idea

jscherb said:
Are you sure that's a Mahindra?
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I had no idea who made it. It is just one of the pictures I have saved over the years. I always just assumed I had saved it of Mahindra's website.

When I saw your drawing it just looked so familiar to me and then I finally remembered I had this picture. I never put two-and-two together that it was basically a stretched DJ, but I can really see it now.
 
Jeff-
What program do you use for your concept drawings for the trucks and your dashboard? Did you also use the same program for making your quasi-stock dash lights? Man....this has seriously raised the bar with regard to imagination with my truck.
Todd
 
DC CJ8 said:
Jeff-
What program do you use for your concept drawings for the trucks and your dashboard? Did you also use the same program for making your quasi-stock dash lights? Man....this has seriously raised the bar with regard to imagination with my truck.
Todd
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I use Microsoft Visio for all of my drawing.
 
Were is the AEV's Expidition Unlimited listed? I just looked on AEV'a site and I don't see it any were. It reminds me of the Old Vdub camper vans. That would be a sweet option for a Scrambler. Does AEV sell those tops or is it a concept?

I also like the look with the mail jeep tops.

I've been designing a Scrambler in my head for years. This post just gave me more idea's. Now I just need to get one so I can get started.
 
AEV did make an Unlimited they called the Expedition, it is pictured below. But this one doesn't remind me of a VW camper van in any way, so I'm guessing you mean the one Eric referred to.

EDIT/CORRECTION: Duh, maybe you mean the AEV JK Expedition Unlimited, that's pictured in post 9 of this thread by Randyzzz, that's got a pop-top like the VW. The Earthroamer Eric referred to is also pictured in post 9.

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Yea, I was talking about the first jeep in post 9. Does anyone know were that top/popup is made?
 
The first Jeep in post 9 is made by AEV. It was a SEMA project vehicle for 2006.

http://www.aev-conversions.com/vehicles/show_jk_outpost.php

It doesn't look like they are currently producing it- but it is on a JK platform anyways.

VW Westphalia pop-ups are basically stock VW's that have the roof cut out and the fiberglass pop-top attached. I have looked at several pop-tops off of the van- I'll bet they could be modified to fit a Scrambler hard top. The older "Bay Window" busses are quite rounded at the ends- but the newer ones are pretty low profile and square- might fit the ticket.

New model-
VW_Carthago_Malibu_11-1.jpg


Previous model-
1012104234_8c8df2c163jpgv0-1.jpg


Before that-
267197861_b871ec1d88jpgv0-1.jpg


And the old ones that are the cheapest...
1976_vw_westphalia_poptop.jpg


Now you've got me thinking....this might be a "someday" project!

And- that one piece tailgate-door on Jeff's last picture is SWEET! That is a must-do!
 
Randyzzz said:
... And- that one piece tailgate-door on Jeff's last picture is SWEET! That is a must-do!
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I don't think that door would be too hard to build - just find some rear van doors at a junkyard that are a reasonable approximation of the size and shape needed and cut and weld the window frames to shape and size. Then attach that assembly to a TJ tailgate. Might be a little problem getting curved glass to fit but other than that seems quite possible.
 
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Sorry, I didn't notice the AEV rims on that thing, I thought it was another EarthRoamer.

I've never been in a popup thing, is a Scrambler long enough to be usable?

Regardless, it sure sounds like a killer project. I vote for it to be Jeff's next one!!! :evil:

On the back door idea. If I was ever going to use the World Cab on something that I drove often, I was thinking about doing a fiberglass back door to replace the World Cab barn door. It's just too heavy for no real reason and mine had rust issues starting anyway. On the W.C, the upper part of the door is flat, just at a matching angle to the top, so I thought it would be real easy to lay up in glass and try to find a junkyard window to drop in (wasn't going to destroy the original door). Anyway, those were my unresearched thoughts...
 
bigwalton said:
... On the W.C, the upper part of the door is flat, just at a matching angle to the top, ...
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Eric, take your straightedge to your W.C. barn door and check - if you don't find that it's slightly curved, then you've got a freak W.C. door, because both of my W.C. barn doors have slightly curved glass. They are straight side-to-side, and curved top-to-bottom.

bigwalton said:
Regardless, it sure sounds like a killer project. I vote for it to be Jeff's next one!!! :evil:
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Nah, I'm not into pop top campers. I did briefly toy with the idea of building a retro "teardrop" camper to pull behind the pickup on a trip to Moab next Easter for the Jeep Safari, but I decided if I do go on that trip I really don't want to be towing anything.

But I am starting to think of what my next project will be - once the pickup is done (soon), I'll be going through some sort of withdrawal I'm sure. Some projects I think would be cool:

- Stretch an LJ to Scrambler length, take the W.C. off my CJ-8 and put it on the LJ Scrambler, and sell the CJ-8. I've already got the back of the LJ tub from the Retro Wrangler I could use to lengthen another LJ.

- Go to India, buy a Mahindra Marshall, remove the body and crate it and ship it home to go on an LJ frame - resulting in an "LJ Dakar".

I don't think I'll do either of those (at least not soon), but they sound cool to do.

If I had another Jeep that needed a hardtop, maybe I'd do the "Not Alaskan" postal hardtop project, that one still intrigues me. But I've got no spare Jeep to put it on, oh well. Hey wait, build it for my current 8, then take the WC off and do the LJ Scrambler...

What I've learned from the Retro project is that I really like dreaming up, designing, planning and building custom things. Oh well, maybe a new project idea will come to me soon...
 
Well color me stupid. Never put a straightedge on it and haven't looked at it in about 9 months...

Can't wait to see the current project done and the new one started up... I'll go through withdrawal without a build thread from you!
 
jscherb said:
But I am starting to think of what my next project will be - once the pickup is done (soon), I'll be going through some sort of withdrawal I'm sure. A project I think would be cool:

Get my butt down to Virginia and help Truck get all his stuff back together....
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Fixed it for you Jeff. :D

Truck
 
sigh...you are probably right...I have big ideas, but no time & sometimes no skill to finish or start in some cases...I hope those lotto tickets for that $207 million come pay off tomorrow night :eek:

Truck
 
Stretch CJ-5 M3 Metal Cab with Rear Door?

I know this is kinda late in the discussion but...

The swinging door off a M3 cab from a CJ-5 might work for a back door also. Two of these metal cabs could be stretched to work for an 8, as a possible solution to a full top also.

Good brainstorming here... it even has me thinking.

Jeff
 
jak inc said:
I know this is kinda late in the discussion but...

The swinging door off a M3 cab from a CJ-5 might work for a back door also. Two of these metal cabs could be stretched to work for an 8, as a possible solution to a full top also.

Good brainstorming here... it even has me thinking.

Jeff
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Agreed - I saw this photo of a Meyer CJ-5 top in another forum and it got me thinking the same thing. Two of these could be spliced to make a CJ-8-length hardtop that would look just like the drawings I made of the DJ-5-derived top earlier in the thread.

I was also thinking... the Meyer roof panel profile looks an awful lot like the DJ-5 roof panel, I wonder if Meyer had anything to do with stamping the DJ-5 sheet metal... hmmmm...


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I was in the Pick n Pull today doing some research on something else, and noticed they just got a second DJ5 Postal. All you would need to make a "Not Alaskan" Postal hardtop for a CJ-8, all in one place now. If I didn't already have a hardtop, I'd be going back there with a sawzall... :)

I talked to them a bit about the cost, I think you could buy both tops with one or maybe both rear doors for $250-300 total. Didn't press them for a final price.
 
What overseas models are similar enough in design to the CJ8 that one of their tops could be imported and made to work with or without a little fabrication?

Wm
 
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