EZ removal of FST (complete)? (2 Viewers)

[woytovich]

I understand that the way I have my FST on is not as secure as was intended at the factory.
This thread is about rigging up a quick way to remove the entire factory soft top including the bows. We have drifted off topic clearly.

 

[Living in the Past]

Think the hardest part of installing and removing the top is feeding the top thru the door headers and down the B pillars. Bows are simple. Couple plain wrenchs and a few minutes the bows are out and in pieces. Feeding the top thru fixed in place bow is hard enough. Loose moving around is going to be even harder. Late soft tops had a folding rear bow but B pillars have always been fixed with a bolted header and tube deep into the B pillar.

 

[Martyt]

X2 The bolt is located behind the B pillar. There is welded nut. The bolt has a loose nut. You tighten the bolt then thread the loose nut tight against the welded nut to lock in place. This is why it is important to be sure the full B bow is there and fits into the plate towards the bottom. Cut short it was just bend the bow if you tightened the bolt too much. This is the same on the hard top. This has a lot to do with the strength of the B pillar. Many cut the tube short because it can be a pain to line it up with the plate below. Personally would repair any cut tube. Piece of tube from a hard top with tierod in center would be as strong or stronger than original.

Exactly correct!!

 

[Martyt]

I understand that the way I have my FST on is not as secure as was intended at the factory.
This thread is about rigging up a quick way to remove the entire factory soft top including the bows. We have drifted off topic clearly.

Sorry for the drift. I think the drift is just based on the comment about what is holding your bows in place and, at least my concern, that it may be more easily (and inadvertently) removable than one might think. If it were me, I would want to make sure my top is first of all very secure (like the OEM). I don't think it is an odious task to remove the OEM bows but I get wanting speed in today's world. m

 

[bugsnbikes]

The only other way I came up with was something akin to the RTT garage overhead liftoff pulleys work. basically lifting the entire top upward......this would allow you to run a longer B pillar by hoisting the whole thing up out of the channels after undoing the windshield channel (if u have a later unboltable style)

A basic 4hook system with two hooks on the C pillar area softtop rings / and forward hooks grabbing the B pillar should lift the whole thing fairly easily in a garage overhead system.

Getting fancy would be a way to use your garage door motor

 

[woytovich]

Yes my thought is to lift the entire thing off in one piece, canvas still attached to bows.

 

[Living in the Past]

Would be a better on the option on a mid 65-12/74 windshield but welded the soft windshield channel to the metal channel from a hard top and bolt that to the windshield. The mid 65-12/74 uses four bolts verses two bolt on the 1/75+. That would allow the front channel to lift straight up. Possibly might have to loosen the knobs that hold the windshield to move forward to deal with the angle on the windshield. Not sure on the the FST header would clear otherwise. Obviously the small angle on the windshield need to come off along with what needs to be done on the B and rear bows. I would also install some cover braces like the rear doors/hatch uses at the top. The headers are designed to be supported front and back. With just the single bolt on the B pillar the header is pretty flimsy. Possibly attach that bracket with screws and nutserts.

 

[Stumpalama]

For the windshield, I am planning to do the same thing I did with my original Kayline top. It had the rope in the front that slipped through a screwed down windshield rail.
I didn't like that, so I found a piece of 1/2"x1/4" aluminum flat bar and mounted that to the windshield with washers as spacers to raise it the thickness of the stock soft top rail and sealed the back of it with silicone for water proofness. I then notched the soft top rail to clear the washers. The mount then slides right in the gap made by the washers and holds very securely. That way, you could just pop it out and lift the whole top off in one piece.

 

[woytovich]

[ NOTE:better solution provided by @Stumpalama below - scroll down the thread ]



Revisiting this...
I am planning on modifying the WS strip to be able to be removed without flipping the canva over the top. The plan is to use the captured nuts along the FRONT of the top of the WS (old style with top wipers) the same way the hard top would be attached.

I'll add an "L"to the bottom of the WS mounting strip to mimic the part of the ard top that bolts to the top of the WS. This will probably be welded to the strip.

With that in place I should be able to pull the canvas off of the rear part of the bow assembly (C pillar up to B pillar, unbolt the rear section from the B pillar, then remove the B pillar & the door toppers & the WS strip (all still attached to the canvas) as one unit. Then just ift off the Rear bows and done.

I might even change the bow to B pillar bolts to wing nuts.

Pictures as this progresses.

 

[Stumpalama]

Revisiting this...
I am planning on modifying the WS strip to be able to be removed without flipping the canva over the top. The plan is to use the captured nuts along the FRONT of the top of the WS (old style with top wipers) the same way the hard top would be attached.

I'll add an "L"to the bottom of the WS mounting strip to mimic the part of the ard top that bolts to the top of the WS. This will probably be welded to the strip.

With that in place I should be able to pull the canvas off of the rear part of the bow assembly (C pillar up to B pillar, unbolt the rear section from the B pillar, then remove the B pillar & the door toppers & the WS strip (all still attached to the canvas) as one unit. Then just ift off the Rear bows and done.

I might even change the bow to B pillar bolts to wing nuts.

Pictures as this progresses.

View attachment 2086095

Let me see if I can draw what I did this evening

 

[woytovich]

I think I understand... pics would be great.

@Stumpalama 's solution:

]

 

[woytovich]

 

[woytovich]

Your solution worked GREAT Mike (@Stumpalama)! Thanks for the brilliant engineering.

 

[woytovich]

Now on to the rest of the EZ on/off mods.... stay tuned.