Just bought a 1973 fj40 for a restoration and resale. The hard top is in poor condition , does it make sense to restore the hard top, install a ragtop, or do both as far as resale values???? The car is in Rhode Island. Thanks
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I bought mine with a hardtop and within 6 months took the top off and haven't put it back on for 4-5 years now.
Am considering buying a soft top, but just never drive in the rain (and I live just outside Seattle), and would probably never use it.
But, buying one without a top, I would have expected the price to reflect buying one somewhere else.
If you're thinking you're gonna restore a vehicle to be worth more than $10K, any soft top better FIT. Any buyer takes it out on a test drive and gets it going over 40 is going to notice the flapping sound. It is just a part of the land cruiser experience, but not the part of it that I think well healed buyers of well restored vehicles are always looking for.
If it has the hard top, and they want it open to the sky, the hardtop is removable. Having to remove 20+ bolts (hopefully not all rusty and on the verge of snapping after you've restored it) and lift a very awkward 300 pounds is something they'll figure out on their own later.
So, ya, restore the hard top. And it helps separate it from looking like a jeep.