Going Topless...Need Support!

[chrisvango]

I live in Wisconsin...that sounds like a good place to start:

Although my 40 is not a chromed out show piece, I refuse to drive it in the salt as an effort to have some of it left for my kids to enjoy.

I have a paint job planned for the near (hopeful) future and would really like a set of half doors instead of the stock doors that IMO are too high and they rattle like no other.

Here are my thoughts:
1. Make my own set of half doors by cutting the current doors.
2. Instead of wasting my time/money painting the top, get rid of it all together since it is a fair weather truck anyway.
3. I have a full soft top in case I need it.

Here are my worries:
1. Cutting perfectly good 40 year old doors.
2. No place to store my hard top so I have to get rid of it.
3. Will I regret this after the fact?

Input valued..
Chris

 

[big dawg]

Ebay has some Aluminum 1/2 doors for sale. I don't drive mine in the winter either because of the salt munchies!

 

[bikersmurf]

40s seem to have higher resale value with a hardtop... Personally I'd disassemble it and find somewhere to store it.

I tried a soft-top, and hated it... It flapped, leaked, and took forever to reinstall...(next to impossible when cold & raining).

I'd build/buy half doors... My preferred form is rigid bikini top with half doors... Full doors when it starts to rain.

Your current doors can be fixed so they don't rattle.

 

[shelfboy1]

if you take the top apart you can hang it from a ceiling and stash the parts around your house or garage i have a freind that stores part of his behind his furnace .i have 7 or 8 of them stored around and they dont take up much room hanging from the garage rafters.

 

[Tigerstripe40]

Why half doors at all?

NO doors is simpler and cleaner IMHO.

 

[A10Driver]

Keep the hard top, never know when you will need it. I used d rings, a few pulleys, and a come along and store it hanging from garage ceiling

 

[A10Driver]

I would look for some used doors to make half doors. Half doors look much better with the top of IMHO

 

[fj4some]

Thought of the same myself. I would like a set of half doors too. Anyone make and sell them?

 

[bikersmurf]

PAK doors would be one option, if you could find a source for them...
https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/784051-two-piece-doors-factory-soft-top.html

I've got the older style flat doors... They could very easily be mimicked out of some sheet metal and a steel frame. I'd build a set, if I didn't already have: vinyl 1/2, vinyl full, steel full doors.

As for why run 1/2 doors, I've been told you must run doors or risk a ticket in these parts... Although, I've spoke to officers I know who had no clue what I was talking about.

I'm also know people who've been hassled about no flares, and Off Road lights... Which I've never been bothered about in 22 years. (Just don't provoke the police).

 

[DSRTRDR]

there are those places that say: self-store or U-store or RV-storage or somesuch - they really are not that expensive - plus, you can put a whole lot of other cruiser crap there with the hardtop

and, I wouldn't cut a good pair of doors - find a junker pair and have at it - or go with the sheet metal or plexiglas options

 

[Tigerstripe40]

As for why run 1/2 doors, I've been told you must run doors or risk a ticket in these parts... Although, I've spoke to officers I know who had no clue what I was talking about.

I'm also know people who've been hassled about no flares, and Off Road lights... Which I've never been bothered about in 22 years.

The one time I was pulled over for no mudflaps, I didn't have doors on my 40. The office noticed and thanked me for having the mirrors, that alot of jeep owners remove the doors (with mirrors attatched) and neer have the side view mirrors. He wrote a warning for the lack of flaps and sent me on my way.

(Just don't provoke the police).

This.

 

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi all,

X 2 !!

Take off the top, take off the doors, and 'wheel nekkid!


-Alan

Why half doors at all?

NO doors is simpler and cleaner IMHO.

 

[bikersmurf]

One half door option...
http://www.aqualu.com/specials.html

"On Sale" $622

You could buy them or make something similar...

 

[bikersmurf]

Some 1/2 doors on eBay...

Not 1/2 doors, but cool...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FJ40-Toyota...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cda00a10a

 

[kbill45]

doors

I have the old Safari doors that were discontinued some time ago but I think someone else makes them.

Are you familiar with the oem safety strap? pm your email ad and I will send pictures. You can have the straps for free + shipping.

I do not know how to post pictures here. Sorry

 

[alkarich]

I also live in the rust belt and don't drive my 40 in the salt/snow.

I opted to go with a soft top (Specialty Top) with soft doors that can be run as half doors.

I toyed with the idea of selling my hardtop and doors, but I know I would regret it. Luckily I have the room for all extra parts. As for cutting your doors, I wouldn't if they are in nice shape.

Where in Wisconsin are you located? Any pics of your 40?

 

[Living in the Past]

One thing about factory hard door they were not all created equal. Pre 75 door were two piece. The top half being a window channel the slipped into the bottom half. Those were the real rattle traps. I switched to the late model doors on my 6 thirty years ago. The main use for the 40 back then was a hunting vehicle. Most the main forest service road were pretty washed board road. The rattling drove me crazy. The early doors would crack on the bottom part where the vent window rear channel slipped into the base. The more it cracked the more they rattled. I have a pair of late model door shells that the upper frame is trashed. Probably make a set of half door out of those. But not sure I will like the lower height. The stock height makes a nice arm rest. Another option is to run full doors with the B pillar and door headers from the factory soft top bows. The upper door frame will help limit the rattle on the doors if they have good weather stripping and are adjusted properly. The early style doors with just the windshield for the upper door channel don't have much support. Even if they don't rattle as much that way the more they flex the weaker they become. The US seems to be one of the few markets that got soft doors with the soft top instead of hard doors. With their quick removal hinges those are nice too just not easy to find. Not sure if they are still around but there was a bikini top option that used the factory bows. Those keep the side of the bikini top from flapping around. If you drive any distance to where you go off road that's a nice option.

 

[chrisvango]

Thank you all for the advice. Some really good ideas.

I think I will hold on to my hardtop after all, which means I should prolly not cut the doors (they are in really good condition, for the pre 75, rattly kind).

This means that I am in the market for a old set of doors to "half out." I may just fab up a pair as one of you mentioned...maybe tube doors.!.!.! I like to have something, the kiddos wouldn't mind, but I would feel better with some barrier between them and the ground.

I live right smack dab in the middle of Wisco...Stevens Point! Any locals?

I will work on the pm part, but in case I don't succeed, pm me (if that's possible).

I tried to attach a pic, but not sure how to do that. The pic isn't the best...after the lift, 35s, custom front bumper, etc.

 

[Howard705]

I hate the tops on but in IL you need one for 6 months a year. Besides so much better visibility off mine are so much noisier inside with hard or soft tops on. I don't have any kind of sound deadener any more but the top kind of traps the gear/motor/tire sound in. With them off so much better.

 

[bikersmurf]

Seems like a good plan to keep it. You can store it against your ceiling. I've got the same doors. They can be improved to have fewer rattles... If they're anything like mine they'll have a bunch of cracks throughout them.

It would be easy to build half doors from scratch that would work with the stock door hardware.