Hard Top Side Damage - Fixable? Worth it? (1 Viewer)

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C6H12O6

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Dec 23, 2004
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Location
Beaverton, Oregon
I have two hard tops (mostly) from my 1974 FJ40.

Top One: The remnants of the original '74 top that was hit by a tree many years ago. It was sitting upside-down in a field, exposed to Oregon elements for 20+ years and is in not great shape, but it's the original top, and has the original Freeborn Red paint with matching patina for the rest of the truck. The rear hatch is toast, and the front windshield frame is pretty smashed, but the right side looks like it might be fixable. There is a little bit of rust to address, but it doesn't look fatal. Mostly just a

Top Two: Looks like it's from a '71ish parts truck. Rattlecanned red, and poorly. It is in much somewhat better shape rust wise, but there is some and it's in need of some minor work and a repaint. The red spraypaint over white original paint is flaking off in spots, is a poor match for the rest of the truck, and doesn't have a couple year-correct things like the shoulder seatbelt mounts and the side B-pillar light.

I'd like to clear some space in the shed and was going to get rid of the original sides to somebody who wants to cobble a decent top together, but was curious if this damage is fixable. I mean, anything can be fixed, but at what cost. The rust is pretty minimal—mostly just pinholes and surface rust, similar to hard top #2, so that's about a wash. I'm mostly trying to gauge whether the straightening of the top is doable at a cost that makes sense.

Thoughts?

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it's really hard to assess sheet metal damage from pics but I agree, that side is absolutely repairable. if all else failed you could section in the top front corner from another side that was roached out from rust along the bottom.
 

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