FJ40 Soft Top Selection (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Aug 1, 2022
Threads
9
Messages
20
Location
Massachusetts
Hi folks.........

I going to pull-the-trigger on a soft-top and frame and I looking for some advice.

The Bestops sound like good products, and are less expensive, BUT they look very "jeepy" and the sides don't roll up. What am I missing? Any good reasons for going the Bestop route?

The only other option I know of is the Factory Style tops. There are at least 5 suppliers of the frame-hoop kits and the canvas tops from all over the world; SOR has a kit. Anybody have experience with the international suppliers? Anyone to steer-clear of?

Thanks in advance for the advice.
 
I had a Bestop and gave it away.
Most seem to use the real steel bows. If you have regular hard doors be prepared to modify the B pillars to match the doors. I just went through this.
 
No advice or than going with OEM style keep in mind there are two style of B pillar bows. As just posted need to get the B pillar with the angle. The angle in the B pillar for hard doors use to be available somewhere. US model soft tops use a soft door that was was straight.
 
real steel cruiser parts out of northern Illinois makes good OEM style soft top frames and bows, i bought a trollhole canvas top, recommend the pvc top. mine faded in two years. good quality.
 
I had a Bestop and gave it away.
Most seem to use the real steel bows. If you have regular hard doors be prepared to modify the B pillars to match the doors. I just went through this.

Cruisin -

Sorry to breathe life into a thread a little over a month old. But what modification did you need to make to the Real Steel B pillar to make them work with your doors? I see in your signature you've got a '74 - - - which I do as well.....wondering what you had to do to get them to mate up?

Any pictures would be awesome - as I am going to be going through this process right now as well.

Thanks!
 
@231Designs There are a few threads on it, essentially need to bend the b pillar in to match up to the "hard top" doors and take out about 1.5" where the left and right side of the bows meet in middle (roof). Only FST doors are straight the whole way up and the real steel bows are made to match the FST bows. Kinda silly since 9.8/10 people that buy a real steel bow set having "hard top" doors.

IMG_6113.jpg
 
I agree the Best Top is on the Jeepy side. I'd love to go with a Factory style top but the cost is prohibitive and the Best Top has served me well for many years now.
Must have missed the memo on the sides not rolling up though.

20170524_160434_1495673749888.jpg
 
@231Designs There are a few threads on it, essentially need to bend the b pillar in to match up to the "hard top" doors and take out about 1.5" where the left and right side of the bows meet in middle (roof). Only FST doors are straight the whole way up and the real steel bows are made to match the FST bows. Kinda silly since 9.8/10 people that buy a real steel bow set having "hard top" doors.

View attachment 3290912


Thanks for the information - I've been reading through a bunch of threads and honestly the more I read the more confused I was getting. There seemed to be some thought in the threads that 'early doors' vs. 'late doors' were the issue. But from what you're saying its FST doors vs. hard top doors.....and then likely compounded with early and late hard top doors.

My hardtop doors appear to be 'straight' - - and are the pre-75 version.....but they're at the shop right now and I can't put a straight edge on them to confirm....and its highly likely that they have a few degree tilt to them....considering your picture looks an awful lot like my FJ40 ;)

Thanks for the help.
 
@231Designs Only FST doors are straight the whole way up and the real steel bows are made to match the FST bows. Kinda silly since 9.8/10 people that buy a real steel bow set having "hard top" doors.

View attachment 3290912

Interesting part is most markets the soft top models came with hard doors. Years ago top and bows were being imported from Pakistan. Not sure how the B pillar bows were made on those. I was lucky and starting collecting soft top parts close to thirty years ago. This was before all the foreign imports and everything is US market soft top parts match. Exception is the vinyl top. Canvas ended in the early sixties was was replaced by vinyl.

I agree the Best Top is on the Jeepy side. I'd love to go with a Factory style top but the cost is prohibitive and the Best Top has served me well for many years now.


View attachment 3290952

Back in the olden days when you would search the classified ads in the daily paper found this for $150.
001011.jpg

Included doors, hinges, bows and a Kayline top. Was worth taking a few hours off work. Thru around about way was able to trade a fuel tank from a late sixties early seventies FJ40 for one from an FJ45 which was the later updated fuel tank. This use to be cheap hobby when these were just old look alike to a jeep vehicle.
 
Yessir, back in the day before AL Gore invented the internet 🤣 our only option was to thumb through Specter, Downey or Man A Fre catalog. My first soft top was the grey Tiger Top right out of Marv's magical catalog. Those were the days of the $2500 40 barn finds. Specter was the only company I knew of with a marginal FST replacement, bows were just not available.
 
I also have a Bestop. Mine is my dedicated off roading top if there is any chance of bad weather. They get a bad rap for some reason but they work well and have a few features the FST does not. Mines survived remarkably well since purchasing it in 04. Plus it's easy to fold up and store. Love to have the FST instead but I'd probably just wreck it on all the low hanging branches here in Washington. Bestop is a little more expendable in that regard.
 
I like the looks of the OEM style tops much better. The one real advantage I see with a Besttop is the ability to fold top and bows down for running around topless. I have a hard top and have been “shopping” soft tops for a while. I am torn between OEM looks and topless function. I’m blessed to have a life where this kind of thing is a worry.
 
Julie’s Dirt Road built mine, and the bows are Real Steel (Trollhole).

View attachment 3458500

Believe Trollhole handled Julie's tops at one time then just had people go directly to Julie. He is not Real Steel unless I missed that.

I like the looks of the OEM style tops much better. The one real advantage I see with a Besttop is the ability to fold top and bows down for running around topless. I have a hard top and have been “shopping” soft tops for a while. I am torn between OEM looks and topless function. I’m blessed to have a life where this kind of thing is a worry.

The OEM is a much stouter bow system. Best Tops also look too much like a jeep. 1/76 the US required three point seat belts in the US market. It wasn't until 2/78 when Toyota moved the seat belts too the roll bar. But once the soft stops stopped in the US market Toyota never imported them again. Late in the production in the JDM had it version folding soft top on their SWB 40 series.
 
Last edited:
Julie’s Dirt Road built mine, and the bows are Real Steel (Trollhole).

View attachment 3458500
I am thinking I have a Julies as well got it from the PO. Mine is super tight but I think that could have to do with the windshield being angled a bit too far forward... there is a gap between the door and the windshield as well.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom