Need help deciding... (1 Viewer)

[martola]

Okay Mudders, I got Lola the LC about 2-3 weeks ago and I have been struggling whether to try my best to salvage this hardtop; or say f@&k it and buy a bestop soft top as a replacement.

Some things for my reasonings:

-This hardtop is in beat up shape as you can tell from photos.
-Im a 20 year old college student in Miami, Fl so beach days are the norm
-Being a college student, i am also on a tight budget.
-I feel like Hardtop with NO A/C would suck a$$.
-I would have to sell/trade the Hardtop because I have no place to store it.

Now, I would love to keep the hard top because all the glass is intact and i prefer the look of it vs a soft top.
But i want some opinions from you experts.

Is it worth trying to salvage it?
Is it even worth anything?

Thanks everyone in advance.

 

[martola]

Heres some more pics:

My three girls.

 

[brian]

The hardtop is done. What's left isnt much more than bondo.
I'd be throughly inspecting the tub as well....I doubt that it isnt much further behind.

 

[bhsdriller]

Florida + beach days = no top

Maybe sell it for parts

 

[martola]

The hardtop is done. What's left isnt much more than bondo.
I'd be throughly inspecting the tub as well....I doubt that it isnt much further behind.

the tub isnt in too bad of a shape, theres just one major hole that Im planning on replacing with diamond plate steel. I know its a sin but i was never planning for a resto, just something I can use on the weekends to go to the beach/mudding.

 

[martola]

Florida + beach days = no top

Maybe sell it for parts

I was thinking that, Ive been taking the top off every day i want to drive her HAHA! Thanks.

 

[Living in the Past]

Florida + beach days = no top

Maybe sell it for parts

Also equals a very short life for a FJ40. Even in a dry climate like certain parts in the Southwest there are areas that rust in a FJ40. I have an 82 FJ40 frame and tub that CarFax showed it originally came from Florida. Very is very salvageable. Worse is the two brackets for the radiator. Those are almost gone. Tub anyplace sand collected rusted. Even the the corners for hood in the cowl have rust. Back side of the A pillar in the cab are rusted thru. Putting money to fix up a 40 then running on the beach is like throwing your money away. A soft top weights much less and tub would last longer minus all the weight. But still fighting a loosing battle.

 

[rainingagain]

@waiting for time's build thread would disagree that that hard top cannot be saved... check out this thread: Builds - Rebuilding a 40 but no longer in a 1 car garage. - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/rebuilding-a-40-but-no-longer-in-a-1-car-garage.951238/page-5

 

[Catching Neutral]

FWIW...I am on my second 40... I struggled with this same thing mightily with my first 40 because I too think the classic look of the 40 hardtop can’t be beat. So every March I took off my hard top and put it back on in Nov. I love the open air experience however this limited the days I could drive it since we basically have a 30-40% percent chance of rain almost everyday during the summer months. I could not drive it to work and leave it parked for 10 or 11 hours knowing full well it would likely rain at some point during the day.
I am now on my second 40 now. Hard top is coming off soon. Soft top ASAP. My plan is to run soft top from then on giving me some open air while allowing more driving days.
I would ditch that hardtop.....sale what you can and put it towards the soft top.

 

[martola]

Also equals a very short life for a FJ40. Even in a dry climate like certain parts in the Southwest there are areas that rust in a FJ40. I have an 82 FJ40 frame and tub that CarFax showed it originally came from Florida. Very is very salvageable. Worse is the two brackets for the radiator. Those are almost gone. Tub anyplace sand collected rusted. Even the the corners for hood in the cowl have rust. Back side of the A pillar in the cab are rusted thru. Putting money to fix up a 40 then running on the beach is like throwing your money away. A soft top weights much less and tub would last longer minus all the weight. But still fighting a loosing battle.

Well said. That is something i didn’t really think about; putting extra money into something that I know I will eventually ruin it with the salty air and sand makes no sense. I bought the 40 for only $6500 and considering the shape of the body, I think I'm just going to run it until I graduate and can afford a new tub. Considering this, I think a Bestop is the way to go.

 

[martola]

FWIW...I am on my second 40... I struggled with this same thing mightily with my first 40 because I too think the classic look of the 40 hardtop can’t be beat. So every March I took off my hard top and put it back on in Nov. I love the open air experience however this limited the days I could drive it since we basically have a 30-40% percent chance of rain almost everyday during the summer months. I could not drive it to work and leave it parked for 10 or 11 hours knowing full well it would likely rain at some point during the day.
I am now on my second 40 now. Hard top is coming off soon. Soft top ASAP. My plan is to run soft top from then on giving me some open air while allowing more driving days.
I would ditch that hardtop.....sale what you can and put it towards the soft top.

Thanks for the input! I think this isalso the route I'm going to take. It makes more sense my lifestyle. Hopefully given the good shape of the glass i can almost even out for a bestop!

 

[martola]

@waiting for time's build thread would disagree that that hard top cannot be saved... check out this thread: Builds - Rebuilding a 40 but no longer in a 1 car garage. - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/rebuilding-a-40-but-no-longer-in-a-1-car-garage.951238/page-5

I just skimmed his thread. @waiting for time is a beast for taking on a project like that. Props to him. I wouldnt be able to have the time and patience for that!

 

[waiting for time]

I just skimmed his thread. @waiting for time is a beast for taking on a project like that. Props to him. I wouldnt be able to have the time and patience for that!

I just like the challenge of working on them, you guys want it done ASAP. For me the satisfaction of getting things fixed with as much oem material as possible is bigger.

Its all about the trip not the destination.

 

[waiting for time]

Looks like a bit of work but totaly fixable, it does require a lot of tools and time.
I don’t know how rare they are becoming in the US but in your situation I’d probably try to sell it too.

 

[jmylie]

Take all the time you need to fix the hardtop. In the mean time:

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