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what bikini top for 66 cj5?

Discussion in 'Early CJ5 and CJ6 Tech' started by cabz, Jan 26, 2013.

  1. Jan 26, 2013
    cabz

    cabz Member

    Ocala FL
    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2010
    Messages:
    106
    I am wanting to put a bikini top on the grandsons cj5 so we dont bake in the FL summer sun. my question is what onbe to get? the windshild frame on his 66 has a chanel mounted to the windsheild frame but it is about 1/2 down from the top edge on the front of the frame. can that channel be used for a bikini top? or is there another option?.
     
  2. Jan 26, 2013
    noahlon

    noahlon Old Fart

    Pine Ridge, AR
    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2010
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    206
    Here is a bikini top on my '68. Mounted in the channel you refer to.

    [​IMG]
     
  3. Jan 26, 2013
    infernalcolonel

    infernalcolonel Member

    MD
    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2011
    Messages:
    120
    Just grab a Bestop bikini top. Good quality and it should definitely fit as long as you have two loops in the rear to thread the straps through.
     
  4. Jan 26, 2013
    cabz

    cabz Member

    Ocala FL
    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2010
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    106
    OK cool , i didnt know the bestop binkin would stay in the stock channel.
    did you use a cj5 binkin top or will a cj7/yj one work?
     
  5. Jan 26, 2013
    nickmil

    nickmil In mothballs.

    Happy Valley, OR
    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2002
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    12,529
    You need one for a '75 and older CJ. The '76 and newer CJ/YJ had a narrower windshield at the top so the Bikini top is narrower and doesn't fit properly.


    Sent from my iPhone
     
  6. May 9, 2016
    ronnie victor

    ronnie victor Member

    raleigh, nc
    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2015
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    126
    I resurrected this 3+ year-old thread about bikini tops for early CJ-5s because I have a question about bikini soft tops that fits as an outgrowth of this old thread discussion. Namely, I am back on the road again with my 1966 CJ5 after a long dormancy, and want to put on a Bikini for the summer. Not only am in puzzled about which of the 3 or 4 bikini brands to purchase, but I'm more puzzled about the windshield retainer to hold the leading edge in place at the windshield channel. I have a long aluminum retainer that came with my Kayline top decades ago, and I wonder if I can simply use this on a any bikini. And, is Bestop the type to get?..... even though some online comments about Bestop are not favorable, such as 'not wide enough', cheesy straps, cheesy material, and top doesn't fit (early cj5) properly even though advertised to.

    My Googling has not turned up a source for a windshield retainer for a 1966 CJ5 (which has a factory channel in place), no matter what brand bikini I consider buying. Do any of you know if my old aluminum retainer for a full soft top will properly fix the front end of a bikini into the windshield channel? -- or is the leading edge a bikini top sewn as something special that requires a special retaining 'rod'? .... perhaps leaving me having to get one or two items custom made, or buying an independent channel to drill into the windshield frame (which I don't want to do).

    I attached a side-view pic of my factory channel, at end of red line. You can see that it's slightly below the top of the window frame. Any suggestions or help in this bikini top matter?
    -- thank you, Ron

    windshield chan.jpg
     
  7. May 9, 2016
    Twin2

    Twin2 not him 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Virginia Beach, VA
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    75 and older fit in that channel . is the snap from a older top . might have to move it up
     
  8. May 9, 2016
    PeteL

    PeteL If it wasn't for physics, and law enforcement... 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Hills of NH
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    Some tops had a round "piping" edge that slid inside the channel, from one end.

    Other newer types have a flat bar edging that slips into the channel's bottom slot, and the top's tension torque-locks it.
     
  9. May 10, 2016
    homersdog

    homersdog Tulsa, Ok 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Tulsa, OK
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    [​IMG]

    Mine is a best top , but about 15-20 years old.
     
  10. May 10, 2016
    ronnie victor

    ronnie victor Member

    raleigh, nc
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    Thanks for your comments and the pic, everyone. They help -- Ron
     
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