You'll notice all the pics above were taken on a nice warm sunny day about a week ago.
It ain't nice and warm and sunny now and it is time to move on to the Hard Top Install.
the other day I got the top down from it's hanging roof storage place where it has been for the last few years. I lost track.?
I realized along time ago it was going to be a project to install it in a professional manner so it didn't leak or move around.
I had originally had it attached to the body with 8 "Draw Latches" 6 bigger ones holding it to the body and 2 smaller ones holding it to the Windshield. I had also figured out that it wasn't going to work like that so I have been cogitating on how to best attach this thing.
On a steel body there are 8 bolts that attach the top to the body. There is threaded holes in the body to accept the bolts which go thru the flange on the bottom of the top.
Problem is that drilling and tapping the fiberglass body is not exactly what I want to do as it is very easy to screw up and not easy to fix. I also don't know how solid that scenario would be as the thickness of the top rail of the fiberglass body varies. I have also considered using "Thread Inserts" but need to look deeper in the McMaster-Carr book to see what would work right. I don't have access to the underside of the top edge of the body as it is enclosed by the inner tub of the body.
The idea that came to me in the shower this morning was to fab some metal strips out of 1/4 thick Aluminum, similar to the Best Top Belt Rail Soft Top Mounts that would be attached to the body and then threaded to accept the hold down bolts thru the top. I could use a 1/4-20 flathead screw every 6" or so to anchor the rail to the body and spread the load of the top out over the entire length of the top of the body @ 60"
More thought on this project is in order.
I might add that the main reason this build has taken so long is that it usually takes longer to figure out what to do than it takes to actually do it.
Here's some pics of the top just sitting on the Jeep.
Randy