Soft top b-pillar (3 Viewers)

[LSUfj]

how are you guys adressing the use of late model doors with the straight (vertical) b-pillar on aftermarket soft top bows? Looks like there is nearly a 1/2" bend inward of my doors to match the hard top. This results in the door contacting the b-pillar at the top before it's actually shut. Do I get early doors or put a bend in the soft top b-pillar? Seems like the latter might result in poor fit of the soft top.

Thanks for any input.

 

[antFJ]

you are correct! you could try and find a set of late bows with the b-pillar bent. AFAIK they were never sold in the USA - only imported. My set of LATE bows came from pakistan (Ehsan)

I have never heard of anyone having issues though - I think most people just move the striker out a bit and call it good.

 

[LSUfj]

thanks for posting that image. Every post I found in searching resulted in 5 or 6 posts just to describe the issue.

Do you have an opinion on what the impact would be to the soft top fit if I added some bend to the b pillar? I would really like the doors to fit right.

 

[SouthBostonFJ40]

Eventually your doors will crack from the stress. You might be able to bend the B pillar but it will be tough. Maybe use some heat to help bend them.

 

[Pin_Head]

You should use the proper soft doors to match the B pillar. You could also use the straight side hard doors

If you can't for some reason you can't use the proper doors, you can make a reporduction B pillar using late model hard top sides and some sheet metal.

You could cut a slot in the original B pillar, bend it in and weld it up, but I would hate to see more OEM parts destroyed and you would have to shorten the hoop too.

 

[LSUfj]

It's a real steel bow set. I was thinking of just cutting, bending and welding as you suggest. I wouldn't do this if it was OEM. The hoop is a two piece arrangement, so shortening it would be pretty easy. Thanks a bunch for the feedback.

 

[Pin_Head]

OK. Go head on then. Just cut a kerf with a sawsall or hacksaw at the location of the bend and weld it up. A 1/16 wide blade is about right after the shrinkage due to welding. If it isn't enough, make another cut.

 

[antFJ]

you asked about soft top fit if you make the modification - I will tell you that when I started making soft tops with 0% shrink fabric it was an issue. I had to have 1" extra fabric on either side when making an early (straight bow) top vs. a late (bent bow) top. The bows are about 2'' closer at the top of the b-pillar IIRC.

If your top is made of cotton canvas it should shrink to the bows if you decide to make the modification. A couple wet/dry cycles out in the sun should do it.

 

[LSUfj]

It's an OCD top that I got when he was still making them. Not sure what the canvas is. Since I have the real steel bows, I was thinking I could just adjust the b-pillar tube up after I'm done.

I just finished cutting, bending, welding. So we'll see pretty soon what the results are.

 

[antFJ]

cotton cavas is what he used for the majority of them. It should fit fine

 

[antFJ]

another issue you may run into is that the b-pillar tube for real steel bows is supposed to go through that piece you're holding. with your new bend it might not go through any more. Looks like you are comfortable with a welder so it shouldn't be too much more work.

 

[LSUfj]

All done. Doors fit now without issue. I took about 1 3/4" out of the horizontal part of the bow. Haven't put the top back on yet, but I think it will work ok. The tube of the bow still fit through the b pillar after it was bent. FYI, for anyone that wants to do this, I ended up making two cuts and bending at the centerline. A 1/16" cut would be more than sufficient, mine was a little wider but it wasn't too big to weld up.

 

[LSUfj]

Forgot to mention, I made the cut at 7 3/4" above the bottom of the b pillar. I used my hard top and a straight edge as a guide.

 

[KY Longhunter]

So to be clear, you cut the outside face of the B pillar and the inside edge and then bent inward till it matched the door profile?

and you removed 1 3/4" from the middle of the B Pillar?

Any final pictures with the OCD top on?

 

[LSUfj]

That's correct. Two cuts, one inside and one outside, leaving the "flange" area uncut. i bent and compared to the doors until it matched, then tack welded and rechecked, then final weld. I removed 1 3/4" from the top, but there wasn't really any science to this. I didn't want to remove more than necessary so that the top would still fit well. The real steel bows are flat across the top, so I also worked a little arch into them. Hopefully that will help the top fitment as well. I think you could make it work with anywhere from 1.5" to 2" out of the top bow. I looked up a post by Pinhead with dimensions of the b-pillar bow and it shows 62.75" as the width. Mine are shorter than that now, by about 2". Not sure if his dimensions were off of an early bow set.

There is also some ability to adjust the final width of the real steel bows by grinding the hole in the top of the b-pillar so that the tube can be a bit wider (angle slightly outward). I may do this if the top needs to be tighter. I think once I get it fit correctly, I am going to tack weld the b-pillar part to the tube. I don't know if this is the intent or if people just use the set screw in the tube to cinch down the tube. Seems like it might rattle if the two parts aren't joined somehow.

 

[Living in the Past]

I have four sets of OEM bows from 67 to 73. Need to check if any of them has the bend. What I do find interesting is the US was one of few markets that got soft doors on soft top models. Back to the FJ25s Toyota was importing soft top models with hard doors to many markets. Why would they either make two versions of soft top bows or hard doors to match a straight B pillar bow.

 

[mtweller]

Funny, I think Real Steel is unaware of this issue... I asked them point blank if I'd have to modify the pillars for late model doors and they said no. After receiving them today and test fitting, they are absolutely wrong. I should have known to trust this thread, but then you'd think RS would know. Now to decide if I'm ok with 1/2 doors and soft uppers (built to fit), or if I'll take the time to do this mod on $1000 "kit". Ugh.

 

[SouthBostonFJ40]

Funny, I think Real Steel is unaware of this issue... I asked them point blank if I'd have to modify the pillars for late model doors and they said no. After receiving them today and test fitting, they are absolutely wrong. I should have known to trust this thread, but then you'd think RS would know. Now to decide if I'm ok with 1/2 doors and soft uppers (built to fit), or if I'll take the time to do this mod on $1000 "kit". Ugh.

They are well aware of the issue. They just don't care.

 

[antFJ]

funny. I thought I was crazy when I was making soft tops and they didn't fit real steel bows. For a soft top with 0 shrinkage material there is a difference in widths due to that bend in the bow by about 1 inch per side

My late model top on an early truck (straight b-pillar)... notice how it doesn't cover the lip on the tub.

and on a late model truck (bend in the b-pillar) - perfect fit

if you're buying a canvas top it shouldn't make a difference because the top should shrink to fit whatever style you have

 

[Trollhole]

I love friday the 13th. Pretty sure you guys are going to make my head explode.

I've got a set of straight bows on my 76 cruiser with late model doors and never had an issue. I'm not saying it's not an issue but I sold over 50 tops last year and no one mentioned this issue to me. No way all those were early models.