Pakistan Tops

[myquestoyota]

I really like going topless but I REALLY like the look with the top on. It sucks in the heat of summer but here in Chehalis summer can be a fleeting thing, this year being an exception. I'd like to do the rear sliding windows and wish the amby doors popped out at the bottom like the vent windows pop out at the side. But the look is so cruiser with the top on and sorta j**p with it off. The factory look soft top changes that equation 100% and gives you the best of both worlds. I say that because I have never experienced a PNW fall/winter/spring with a soft top. But I'm eager to try.

 

[allana13]

Alana13, I realized after I posted that that I was being unfair and sounding like a sh*thead. Apologies, welcome to the forum. When I first got on the forum I had a habit of asking questions that were answered first with "do a search" followed by an answer. Those of us that are following these soft top threads have had it ingrained in us what the costs are and pine for the days we can afford a quality one. Again, sorry to be so snippy. This forum is the greatest source of knowledge imaginable. I still get spanked on occasion to do a search and have gotten much better at finding the right key words, it is your friend.
Welcome and I'll try to think before I reply, I don't want to become one of "those guys".

No Probs Dude....

I feel a forum is like a family and all of us are members of the same family.... We may not agree all the time but we are still part of the same family

I have recently aquired a BJ40 Diesel however i am not new to the Toyota scene. I have had the 100 series Toyota and also a willys LHD Converted to a Diesel but that was in India. And from remembrance the soft top we changed did not cost that much.

The reason i said what i did is not to slag Ehsan off, I am sure he is doing a good job and i hope he continues to.....
But as a person who will be the end making that chunky payment of $1K and having previous experience on 4X4 with soft tops i am sure you can get it made cheaper, if getting it made in countries like Pakistan, China or India....
Loads of these soft tops are used by Mahindra Jeeps in India and they definitely do not cost $1,000

But i am no expert.... a mere BJ 40 owner
Anyway if i could get a sample of the material and the dimensions i am sure i can try and find one cheaper.....

 

[Diskord]

Just wondering, why doesn't everyone go 'Topless' ..... its a jeep after all, enjoy the openness.

Thems fightin words mister.


I have the top off mine as soon as the last of the rains stop, and put it on just in time for winter. In fact the only reason my top (Kayline) is on now, is because ill be heading to Pismo next weekend. However, when I do have a top on, I definitely would rather have a factory style top, they just look cooler

I would definitely pay 1k for a top and bows. Especially if I can get a high quality canvas top. Canvas > Vinyl


Just because something is not made in the USA, does not necessarily mean it will be of lower quality. Especially something like this which is more of a craftsman type of product, not something slapped together in a sweat shop assembly line. I dont know who is actually making Eshan's tops but I doubt these are being made in a sweat shop assembly by one legged blind Vietnamese 10 year olds.

 

[allana13]

Just wondering, why doesn't everyone go 'Topless' ..... its a jeep after all, enjoy the openness.

Dude the word Jeep is Banned here

 

[cruiserjunkie]

The bows have a cost are not just thin wall bent tube the pieces that surround the door are not just simple stamped steel. The canvas top is fairly cheap from Pakistan but shipping cost add to it. I don't think it's the cost as much as no trust anymore to shell the money out first and get a quality product in a timely fashion in return.

 

[duffontap]

I don't think it's the cost as much as no trust anymore to shell the money out first and get a quality product in a timely fashion in return.

Exactly. The $1k price is actually pretty attractive for a complete kit shipped to your doorstep (not that I have $1k to shell out at any given moment). Pakistan may not be synonymous with high quality, but I can imagine myself bragging to everyone I meet that I special ordered my soft top from "artisans in Pakistan."

If I ever get some time, I'll probably just try to make my top and bows. I think it would be a fun challenge. At least I know I'll get it that way, even though the quality will be lower. I will always use a hard top in the winter anyway.

 

[SouthBostonFJ40]

No Probs Dude....

I feel a forum is like a family and all of us are members of the same family.... We may not agree all the time but we are still part of the same family

I have recently aquired a BJ40 Diesel however i am not new to the Toyota scene. I have had the 100 series Toyota and also a willys LHD Converted to a Diesel but that was in India. And from remembrance the soft top we changed did not cost that much.

The reason i said what i did is not to slag Ehsan off, I am sure he is doing a good job and i hope he continues to.....
But as a person who will be the end making that chunky payment of $1K and having previous experience on 4X4 with soft tops i am sure you can get it made cheaper, if getting it made in countries like Pakistan, China or India....
Loads of these soft tops are used by Mahindra Jeeps in India and they definitely do not cost $1,000

But i am no expert.... a mere BJ 40 owner
Anyway if i could get a sample of the material and the dimensions i am sure i can try and find one cheaper.....

I wish you luck with getting a US made top cheaper. Its been tried and things haven't worked out. One guy died and the other guy...well you all know what happened with him. Things in Pakistan may be cheaper, but it's not the product that is costly, it's the logistics.

Here's how it was explained to me...

One guy makes the tops and a different guy makes the bows, each one has their own skill. Neither guy is a business or has a bank account so you have to deal with an intermediary. They make these by hand in shops that have dirt floors. There's another guy, Ehsan, who interacts with these people. He has to coordinate these guys so that he has tops and bows at the same time. This hasn't always worked, which is why I would have tops and no bows or bows and no tops. He has to move and store the tops and bows and sometimes hold tops until bows are ready and vice versa. Then he has to ship the product by truck to Karachi which is about 3,000 miles away. Then they are flown to the US, typically through London. All this moving and touching adds cost. So Ehsan is actually a couple of layers above the production guys and is more or less a distributor. Everyone who touches the product before him adds cost. Then when the stuff arrives in the US, there are import fees on top of the shipping fees. As a business, it leaves very little room for profit. If a top and bows cost $800 from Ehsan, by the time it gets here and the shipping and imports fees are added, it's actual cost is closer to $1,000. I would sell them for $1,200 and make a $200 profit. That doesn't include shipping material, packaging time and driving to and from UPS. It's no picnic moving these tops around either. The boxes are expensive and a top and bows weighs 70lbs and is 55" long and 15" wide. After a while sending $10,000 off to Pakistan and making less than $2,000 in profit after a few months work just wasn't fun. Not to mention if I had a quality issue. So where I'm going with this is if you want a $500 top then buy a Jeep.

 

[SouthBostonFJ40]

Exactly. The $1k price is actually pretty attractive for a complete kit shipped to your doorstep (not that I have $1k to shell out at any given moment). Pakistan may not be synonymous with high quality, but I can imagine myself bragging to everyone I meet that I special ordered my soft top from "artisans in Pakistan."

If I ever get some time, I'll probably just try to make my top and bows. I think it would be a fun challenge. At least I know I'll get it that way, even though the quality will be lower. I will always use a hard top in the winter anyway.

Where is the $1,000 price coming from? A top and bows shipped via DHL from Ehsan is just under $1,300. The top is cheaper to ship than the bows buy when you add them in the total shipping is about $500.

 

[myquestoyota]

Where is the $1,000 price coming from? A top and bows shipped via DHL from Ehsan is just under $1,300. The top is cheaper to ship than the bows buy when you add them in the total shipping is about $500.

It's a pretty good deal considering
Quote:
Originally Posted by duffontap
Top + ride?
I paid $1050 for the top and the bows including the ride. I got a $50 IH8mud.com discount. I guess.

Here's what duffontap posted

 

[SouthBostonFJ40]

That's a great deal. A few years ago it's was $400 for a top and $400 for bows and then $500 for shipping. $1,050 is an unbelievable deal.

 

[duffontap]

Where is the $1,000 price coming from? A top and bows shipped via DHL from Ehsan is just under $1,300. The top is cheaper to ship than the bows buy when you add them in the total shipping is about $500.

That's a great deal. A few years ago it's was $400 for a top and $400 for bows and then $500 for shipping. $1,050 is an unbelievable deal.

I should have said $1,050 but I was rounding down with everyone else. "About $1,000" is the price you tell your wife when your asking for permission to wire your kids' college fund to Pakistan though, right?

 

[SouthBostonFJ40]

1k for a complete top is a really good price.

Real Steel sells bows for $850? before shipping

They're up to $925 + shipping. There's a set on eBay right now.

 

[broth9640]

Has anyone approached a sail maker or a boat Bimini maker about building a high quality soft top? They use similar materials and the bows they use for boat bimini's are really nice stainless steel.

What the Truck?

 

[ginsudan]

Pictures of My Ehsan Bows Installed

Well first of all sorry for the wait and thanks for the interest. I am very happy with the entire process of purchasing this top. Ehsan is a very considerate and respectful man. He was true to his word throughout this entire purchase. There were some difficulties with the communication because he is on the other side of the world and as far as I could tell he was e-mailing with an android phone. I hope after a couple more sales he will be able to afford a proper phone (Apple iPhone). With that considered he responded to every one of my e-mails. You could ask a guy who runs a local shop to confirm, I ask a lot of questions. I like to no what I am getting for my money. I also like to make sure there are no misunderstandings, been there before too. It does not end well. With all that out of the way. here are pictures of the bows installed on my 1974 FJ40.

 

[cruiserjunkie]

Looks good

 

[ginsudan]

More Pictures of the Ehsan Bows

The the most part the bows went on very simply. The part were stamped so it was easy to assemble. Just match the stamp marks, sort of like "IKEA" except there were no written directions in several different languages. The first trouble I had was that I did not have the brackets that attach the windshield to the door jam top. (Sorry I do not know what the real name for these parts are.) Here is a picture. I had to buy these from my local Toyota for around $7.50 each they are side specific so if you order get one right and one left.

 

[ginsudan]

Ehsan Top

I was not too comfortable with the way these two pieces matched up but in the end it was fine. Please let me know if I put them together wrong. (what am I saying of course you will).

 

[ginsudan]

Ehsan Bows

The track for the windshield did not come predrilled, but I was very glad it was included with the bows. I think the rope incased in the top was too small of a diameter as it would not stay in the channel. I had to feed a length of bungie cord in with it to keep it in the channel. It worked really good. Sorry no pictures of that process. I wasn't going to include that process because I again thought I was doing something wrong, but it worked so I am passing it on maybe it will help someone else. COWBOY work! (Inside joke)

 

[ginsudan]

Ehsan Bows

That is really the only questionable problems I had with the bows. I have to restate the bows were of a very good quality and fit very well. The parts for the rear corners of the tub that hold the upright posts were included and fit very well also. Also included were an assortment sets of nuts, bolts, and washers. There were also of good quality and were metric with was nice and stayed with the Toyota Theme.

 

[SouthBostonFJ40]

Make sure you measure from the bed to the rear bow. It should be 1,200 mm or 47.25". If it's too high, your top wont fit right.