HJ45 Fiberglass Hardtop Removal (1980) (1 Viewer)

[048642]

I am getting ready to remove the fiberglass hardtop on my 1980 HJ45 Troopie to do some work on it. My plan is to seperate the fiberglass hardtop from the sides. I'm looking for any advice or best practices for this evolution. I don't know if this top has ever been removed. Is there anything I should do to protect the weatherstripping?

Any input would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

[Chamba]

Spray all the bolts with penetrant several times for a few weeks before you begin. Then chase all the thread with a tap and die before before putting it all back together using anti-sieze.

Otherwise, just make sure you get all the bolts out and use several people to lift it. Be sure you lift it from inside first to break the seal free.

Finally, make sure you put it on the Registry: the link is in my signature

Photos?

Josh

 

[2fpower]

You may think about replacing with stainless steel hardware.

 

[048642]

Well, I swung by the shop after work to spray the bolts, but decided to try one to see how hard they would be...very quickly realized that they all came out smooth as butter and the hardware appears to be stainless.

I also loosened the roof rack that obviously needs to come off first. I hope to get back to it tomorow evening and I will make sure I take a few pictures.

 

[048642]

Shop Monkey Support

Took the helpers in to assist with the rack removal.

Removed all roof bolts except for the 4 over the rear door, wanted to check the manual before trying to access those.

 

[048642]

Creeper Racing!

You always need to find time for creeper racing!

 

[048642]

Roof Off!

Roof came off like a charm, but too big to carry home on car.

 

[048642]

Girls to the Rescue!

Fits like a new tonneau cover.

 

[048642]

Topless Troopy!

Now to start the next part of the project!

 

[flaminbandit]

i really hope mine comes of that easy but im 99% sure it wont ive got heaps of rust in the gutters

owell once its done i wont have to worry about it again im going a fiberglass gutter no more rust in that ever

 

[048642]

Cleaning Up The Roof

Scrubbed the roof down with a sponge and then sanded the remaining headliner material off the underside.

 

[048642]

Prepping the roof

Sanded the roof down to prepare it for a new layer of gel coat.

 

[048642]

New Layer of Gel Coat

Used white tinted gel coat, coverage was not perfect, but good enough to hide some of the worst stains and provide a nice seal to the chalky surface.

 

[048642]

And finally a teaser of what's to come...

Headliner?

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Bitchen Mog toy, where did you get it? Whatever happened to your head and piston sleeve? If you get over the hill with it let me know.

 

[048642]

Headliner nearly completed!

Finally got some time to post new pictures!

First quadrangled down! Now committed to complete project...

 

[048642]

And the completed headliner!

A little touch up here and there...

 

[048642]

Quad Choice

Each Quad was picked because it representd a place we lived or were one of our kids was born.

 

[dingbatt]

That headliner is absolute genius! I love it.... I have a whole wall of my bedroom covered in maps, so I am a super fan of the map mosaic!

Nice work.

I'll be doing my roof soon ... I was wondering exactly what that gel coat stuff is, and how it works ... a sealant I assume? Easily applied?

I like your work mate

Cheers,

Matt

 

[048642]

Thanks it's my wife Katie's project, she will appreciate the words. The sealant we used was very easy. It's a two part fiberglass resin (resin and hardener) from the local marine supply. I will post the details later, the cans are in the garage.

Doing the mosaic was actually very easy, but it should be done in small segments as the mix hardens quickly and you need to squeegee all the bubbles out.

We did two layers actually; the first was simply white paper so we would get an even background for the maps as they become a little translucent when they soak in the resin.