Well since the major selling points for me on the 1st gen 4runner were:
Seats 5 people
Not crazy expensive on gas
Has a removable top
I figured it was time to go topless:
So off to the hardware store I went to get some eye hooks and straps, and a few hours later:
Then I got to thinking, that was a lot of work to get that thing off, and its going to rain this weekend...
So off to the internet gods I went.
And I found Softopper.com!
Needless to say I placed my order, and it was shipped the next day! Impressive if you ask me, anytime I have ordered aftermarket parts in the past they take 3-5 days to even ship. And keep in mind this was memorial day weekend.
Got this box in the mail yesterday:
I was like wth that's a small ass box, how in the world is a soft top going to fit in there?
I got out the tools and materials which I figured would be required:
14 stock hard top bolts
6 inch socket extension
12mm socket
Rachet
Razor blade (to open the box)
Medium sized Phillips (not pictured)
Cordless drill (not pictured)
Took everything out of the box and started reading:
Starting to actually look like a softtop! Amazing how much crap can be crammed into a box that small. Everything was packed really well, with extra padding on all the metal parts.
Last pics of her before install:
Installed the first bracket, fit like a glove, over the factory weather stripping. Uses 6 of the factory bolt holes and 6 factory bolts. It has button snaps on the side closest to the weather strip, and includes an additional weather strip.
Next I installed the "rails" with the button snaps on each side. This used the factory bolt holes also, 3 bolts per side (you end up with 2 left over factory bolts and holes, I put the bolts in eventually just so they are there when I need them if I ever decide to put the hard top back on.
Lining it up before I tightened it down:
Installed:
Next you install these funky plastic brackets:
Then start building the "frame":