Civilian Top Bows - make or buy?

I want an original style soft top that uses the civilian bow structure. I don't have any of the bows or mounts and looking at beechwood's their set costs upwards of $1000.

That seems like a steep price for a few bent pipes. Can anyone provide dimensions of the bows and rods so I can look into making my own?

Regards,
Tim

 

Make, there's nothing too tough to do. Certainly not worth $1,000.

 

Now I just need the measurements.

Regards,
Tim

 

I got the bows with the new "best top", You must have a good top?

 

No soft top at all. My plan is to have a local boat shop that makes boat tops make one that matches the civilian style. He doesn't make the bows, just the fabric portion.

Regards,
Tim

 

I bought a second hand top with the metal parts but never used it. There is no doors on mine. I paid 200€ for it.
I just use the small (bikini) top fixing it with the roll bar, it is perfect but not if it rains and if you have passengers at the rear.

Your price of 1000$ seems too expensive. Probably you have doors included.

I tried to install mine to see how it is but I don't have the screws on the tube to fix it well, I must buy some but... will see later.

If you don't need doors and if you have a roll bar, you can use your roll bar to fix some tubing and you make your own canvas roof to protect rear passengers from rain.

If you want a fully closed soft top, with transparent windowss, to protect from bad weather, it is an other subject.
I have a steel hard-top for this (Meyer) and it is perfect, except that I had to imagine a process to move it (hook in the center).

The full canvas top is anyway difficult to take off in my opinion, a friend of mine had one on his Wrangler. It took me nearly 40 minutes to take it off the be able to drive with the windshield down.
So I decided : soft top easy to move (3 minutes) or Meyer.
Or a special soft top including rear seats.

 

No doors or canvas, that's just the bows and rods plus fittings to the tub. Doors add another $350 and canvas another $650.

No roll bar.

Eventually, yes. I want to copy the marine use around here with zippered windows and sections. Lots of boats have very similar tops and bows.

I have the Meyer full top as well, but don't like the look. Yes, perfect in Winter but it is noisy. Long term I plan to refurbish the hard top and limit use to Winter. For Summer I want a soft top that I can open up and quickly close for the rare occasions I get caught in the rain.

Regards,
Tim

 

Maybe a boat specialist can make you something nice because what I have seen is not very nice and is expensive.
The price of good quality materil is not a problem, good zippers resisting to salt water are mandatory (buy YKK).

I made my own top easily with good cotton fabric, afterwards I bought for 200€ bikini+full one with tubes.
But I just use the small and in winter, no Jeep, because put back the Meyer is boring.
But I don't find it noisy, it is well adapted.

Here is the big top which I never used - test I lack the screws on the body.


In winter with the Meyer


My first cotton top, easy to fix, transparent window at the back, using the roll bar


and my brown 'bikini', very nice in summer, easy to take off and keep in the Jeep.

 

Thanks much! It all looks like basic tubing and rod. My first priority is the top. Doors can come later, albeit I'm considering a soft door for my Meyer hard top just to have something easier to put on. Ideas...

Regards,
Tim

 

Other than the front bow to windshield, what would not fit?

Also, I can see the rear bow attachments that look similar to all CJ2/3/5, but what would the front bow attachment look like? I can't seem to find photos at all.

Found them:


Regards,
Tim

 

Based on this site: http://cj3b.info/SoftTopHistory.html it seems to me I could use the Walck's front and rear bows, plus the rods between them. The 3 rods that go from the front bow to the windshield may be too short or too long. Two challenges:
1) length of the rods;
2) how to connect rods to the windshield -- still need to find those photos.

Regards,
Tim

 

Hey there, in sure other cheaaaap members like me and you would also like to know the original bow measurements! Please post your findings.
Thanks j

 

My replacement tub did not have any sockets anywhere for top bows.
Electric conduit is sold in ten foot lengths. You want what is sold as 3/4 inch size. You need a guy (electrician) with a tube bending bar set. My guy bent a 23 inch down length with a 90 degree angle on each side leaving a 54 inch wide top of bow where the bow hits the canvas top. The shape is a U.
I made my base plates out of 3/16ths thick 1080 plate next and drilled all 4 plates with 3/16th inch holes, centered, I drilled the mounting holes 3/16ths from each end.
I made my uprights 6 inches long using 3/4 inch (62-116-02) hardened steel rod. Bow tube slides right over it. Using 1018 welding rod attached to two of the four 1018 plates 3/16ths inch thick measuring 2 1/4 by 3 1/4. The other two are needed under the rear fender. Set the welded pair as close to the outside of the top of the rear fender next to your shoulder as possible, put the bow in place, drill thru the body. I tapped the thread thru the lower pair of plates so I cannot loose the nylon insert lock nuts. This is the center bow base. You choose what bolt size that you want to use.
Just bend a second tube for the rear the same way as above, I have sockets on the back of the tub now, THANKS WHEELIE.

My windshield frame had no loop in the curved upright for the tension bar that you hit the back of your head on as you get in and out with the soft top on to hold the top of the door fixed opening so I made something there too, in the next entry.

 

In the side of the uprights of your Crown replacement windshield frame there are two sets of two holes 1/2 inch wide near the top, just before the roll in the top of the windshield arch. Original windshield frames had a loop there from Crown, not now.
I used a 1/8th in inch plate 5 1/4 inch by 2 1/4 inch wide, I polished all edges towards round and smooth to the touch.
On the shorter edge I cut a 1 1/4 inch deep cut toward the center, centered, with a hack saw, nice and slow and straight, sand and smooth to the touch.
Measure 5/16 from the end of the left half, drill a 1/2 inch hole. Cold bend the left side tab with the hole to 90 degrees in the vice with a hammer and block of steel to keep the peening marks off of the finished part. It sticks out about 3/4 of an inch at least. This catches the upper door mounting pin of the soft top door. The tab points outside the Jeep mounted from inside the windshield frame side. The hole faces downward.
I used 5/16 1080 rod with a 90 degree bend at 1 inch after the bend. Drill a 1/16th inch hole for a locking pin thru the side. File it down to fit the 1/2 inch hole in the tab on the left side.
On the same side of the plate, 5/16 down from the other end drill another 1/2 inch hole, this catches the rod that you bang the back of your head on to make up the door frame.
On the other side of the shorter dimension of the 1/8 plate, cut down 1 1/2 inch on the center line again, them remove that tab and toss it out, sand and smooth.
Now that the tab is removed measure 3/4ths of an inch down on the center, drill for a 1/4 inch 20 thread tap. Bolt the guy on the upper hole loosely on the inside of the windshield frame, bolt on the outside of the windshield frame, take care with the length of the bolt, mark the lower hole drill and tap it too.
The other end of the door frame bar sits at whatever makes up to the top, drill a hole in the middle top bow facing forward side for the other end.

$35 in materials and a couple of beers for the electrician