Soft top b-pillar

[SMG]

Has anyone else performed this mod? I really don’t want my front doors binding. I’m worried how my new PVC top will fit if I do this. I know I can raise the bows a little but I would like to keep the heights as close to factory specs. Maybe I can oval the top B-pillar hole outboard for the bow to sit a little wider after I bend and weld the pillar? This would allow me not to remove so much tube from the center section of the bow.

Anyone do this with a PVC top?

 

[LSUfj]

I know it’s been years since I made this mod, but I’m still getting the cruiser together. I’ll dig out the painted bows this weekend and snap some pictures. It will probably be a couple weeks or more before the doors are on. Needless to say, my rebuild moving sloooooww. 12 years and counting.

 

[KY Longhunter]

Pic of my ‘81 with relief cut in B Pillar, hard doors on. You can also see we cut a couple of inches out of middle of bow.

 

[SMG]

View attachment 1894823

Pic of my ‘81 with relief cut in B Pillar, hard doors on. You can also see we cut a couple of inches out of middle of bow.

Thanks for the pic. Have you tried fitting the soft top to see how it fits over the door area?

 

[LSUfj]

Here is the painted b pillar with a straight edge on the lower part, you can see the gap at the top

 

[KY Longhunter]

Thanks for the pic. Have you tried fitting the soft top to see how it fits over the door area?

Yes, loosely. I have an OCD canvas top, but I’ve never stretched out completely.

 

[SMG]

Here is the painted b pillar with a straight edge on the lower part, you can see the gap at the top

View attachment 1895662

Thanks again, I am planning on doing mine soon. This picture will help.

 

[UZJ40]

I am curious what the general consensus is for early vs late doors is... I have a 67 I'm working on, and it definitely has a bend it the upper part of the door where the window track starts. It's an early door. I'm assuming it's from the 67 originally, but can't be positive.

The funny thing is, on my 76, I thought my doors were straight up and down, and I didn't notice a bend in my hard top side panels either. So this thread is basically the opposite of what I was thinking.

I am planning on a soft top for this 67 and just ordered the Reel Steal kit, but I'm guessing I'll have to modify it. Here are some pics.

Thanks!

 

[KY Longhunter]

UZJ40 What I see in your doors is not the bend / taper described above. IMO, Your doors just look tweaked.

 

[UZJ40]

UZJ40 What I see in your doors is not the bend / taper described above. IMO, Your doors just look tweaked.

Thanks for the reply.

The strange thing is it looks factory to me. The window track is vertical, with no kinks in it. The window goes up and down just fine, and each door is the same. The kink starts at exactly where the relief cut is made for the late style doors. Also, the contour matches the hardtop sides on both sides.

I took a couple more photos. You can see how the window track and weatherstrip flange converge at the top of the door.

Thanks again... not try to argue or disagree, just trying to get to the bottom of this. I might have to swing by BTB on the way home and look at a few 40's.

At the bottom of the window frame, the weatherstrip flange is about 1.25" out from the window track

At the top, it's about .75" out

 

[UZJ40]

One other thought... windshield frames seem pretty interchangeable throughout the years, other than hinges, wipers, and a couple holes, but the overall outside geometry seems to be the same.

It seems like early windshield frames would be more vertical to match the doors, and the later frames with later doors would bend in toward the top. So I guess I'm missing something, but now I'm really confused!

 

[SMG]

Man that is strange. I thought all of those older doors were supposed to be straight. Maybe someone tweaked them. It doesn’t take much.

I started putting the bend in my Real Steel bows last night. One single cut (width of a bandsaw blade) on the back side is all it took.
Unfortunately this is the only pic I have. More pics to follow.

 

[LSUfj]

Looking good. I test fit my top and am trying to decide what to do regarding the height. In order to make up for the reduced width at the b pillar, I raised the front bow, which sits about 1” higher than the rear. I’m not sure if it will be noticeable. The bottom of my soft top runs parallel with the body line, so I don’t think I can raise the rear much without changing how it looks at the bottom. If I lower the front, it may be too loose. I’ll check it again once I get the windshield frame in.

 

[SMG]

Yeah, I’m working on this too. This is what I was worried about, I was thinking I would do the same by raising the front bows. I went ahead and cut my front bows and welded the stub end that goes into the tub directly to the B-pillar. I ordered some 1” shaft collars off Amazon to place on top the B-pillar to help set the heights along with welding some nuts at the top of the pillar to use a set screw.

Keep us posted on what you decide to do. I’m in the same boat.

 

[voyager:01]

If you are having an issue w the top being a tad loose after this mod try this. These worked wonders for flappage for me and they probably come in a variety of thickness.

 

[Varty Yo]

Brilliant and cheap!!! Pipe insulation

 

[cruiserkreutz]

I am curious what the general consensus is for early vs late doors is... I have a 67 I'm working on, and it definitely has a bend it the upper part of the door where the window track starts. It's an early door. I'm assuming it's from the 67 originally, but can't be positive.

The funny thing is, on my 76, I thought my doors were straight up and down, and I didn't notice a bend in my hard top side panels either. So this thread is basically the opposite of what I was thinking.

I am planning on a soft top for this 67 and just ordered the Reel Steal kit, but I'm guessing I'll have to modify it. Here are some pics.

Thanks!

I've used Real Steel bows on my 1969 and 1974 FJ40's. My doors on both rigs looked like yours. I ended up cutting about 1 1/4" from the slip joint on the B - pillar bow and re-drilling the bolt hole. I'm not by either rig right now, this is the best picture I have.

 

[CruisinGA]

3 year thread revival…

I have ordered real steel bows and looking at tops and it seems that the door taper is not an “early vs late” door thing but rather a “hard door vs soft door” thing?

I have 10/73 doors and they look and measure the same as @UZJ40 ’s doors with some taper “in”

Have the folks that tweaked the b pillar “in” and shortened the b hoop found success with fitting the top?

 

[UZJ40]

3 year thread revival…

I have ordered real steel bows and looking at tops and it seems that the door taper is not an “early vs late” door thing but rather a “hard door vs soft door” thing?

I have 10/73 doors and they look and measure the same as @UZJ40 ’s doors with some taper “in”

Have the folks that tweaked the b pillar “in” and shortened the b hoop found success with fitting the top?

I have not made my soft top yet. Also, since I'll be making it from scratch, it will fit exact, and I won't be able to compare it to other aftermarket top fitments.

I will say though, after the small tweaks I made, the soft top frame fits extremely well. And I agree with your theory that it is a soft vs hard, not new vs old door issue.

 

[whitey45]

The difference is did it come with hard doors or canvas doors as delivered. I have never seen an early fst with hard doors here in the US.