Soft-top on a hardtop 25?

[Cruiser_Nerd]

Hard top 25's are pretty rare.......the hard top itself, not as much. Considering Steve has three offers here and multiple tops to choose from.

Personally I wouldn't feel bad about cutting the corrugated top, but wouldn't, unless you were keeping the stuff that makes it special (the sides and the bifold). There's tons of late model sides out there that are pretty much giveaways.

 

[coolcruiserfj40]

Hard top 25's are pretty rare.......the hard top itself, not as much. Considering Steve has three offers here and multiple tops to choose from.

Personally I wouldn't feel bad about cutting the corrugated top, but wouldn't, unless you were keeping the stuff that makes it special (the sides and the bifold). There's tons of late model sides out there that are pretty much giveaways.

i was keeping the corrugated and bifold, just shortening them

 

[Cruiser_Nerd]

i was keeping the corrugated and bifold, just shortening them

I think that would be pretty cool......more so if you were doing a little extended cab.

 

[coolcruiserfj40]

I think that would be pretty cool......more so if you were doing a little extended cab.

 

[LandCruiserSteve]

Considering Steve has three offers here and multiple tops to choose from.

Okay, that does it!!

I'm selling my house, taking two months off from work, renting a tractor-trailer rig and doing a mass cross-country trip to collect all three hardtops and every one of these 25s that are going up on the auction block.




And, somebody better throw in a fj25 grill.

 

[Cruiser_Nerd]

I always figured about 10" behind the seam would give me enough leg room.

Did Steve say something?

 

[coolcruiserfj40]

I always figured about 10" behind the seam would give me enough leg room.

Did Steve say something?

mines 14" i think

 

[LandCruiserSteve]

Did Steve say something?

You heard me, wiseguy!!

 

[LandCruiserSteve]

Okay, then what's an FJ21?? Was it a hardtop style body/tub with a soft-top?

I pulled this pic off of this link:

http://tlc.toyota-europe.com/main_frame.html

and clicked on the 20-30 Series timeline.

 

[LandCruiserSteve]

OK, now let me get this straight . . .

Side (front) doors for a hardtop 25: any hard doors up to '65 or '66 should fit??

If so, anybody have a current source for some decent ones?

 

[LandCruiserSteve]

I have some restoreable hard top panel from a 64 that are made for the the short pillar.

John, check your PM's. Do you still have those hardtop panels? Any front/side doors? I think I might have the means for getting them back here . . .

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=84805

 

[LandCruiserSteve]

FJ40 soft-top on 25

Before I got too excited about tracking down an OEM style soft-top (Eshan, SOR, etc.), I wanted to make sure that whatever fits an FJ40 would also fit a topless hardtop 25.

I borrowed my FJ40's 10-year old Kayline FastTrac and it went right on. The rails and hardware matched right up to the 25's existing holes on both the tub and windshield frame. I already had the bikini top channel on the top of the windshield, so I didn't even have to drill one hole. Frigging amazing.

Wish I had a set of soft doors just to see if they'd fit the door opening. Just for fun, I may try hanging on of my 40's hard doors on there just to see if it fills the opening properly (sans the strikers matching up).

 

[LandCruiserSteve]

The only thing I didn't do is install the snap receptacles on the windshield frame where the leading edge of the soft-top meets the top edge of the windshield. That's why it's kinda sticking out there.

(It's hard to tell from the pics, but the soft-top is actually denim grey . . . and a bit faded.)

 

[Living in the Past]

So Steve are you looking for soft top doors too?

John

 

[LandCruiserSteve]

So Steve are you looking for soft top doors too?

I actually would like to have hard doors with an OEM style soft-top (in addition to eventually having a hard-top, too). So it would look like the FJ25 version of this . . . .

 

[LandCruiserSteve]

Confusion settled . . I hope

There seems to be some mass confusion over my ultimate intentions for "topping off" my 25. So, here I be to clear it up.

Yep, I want my cake and eat it, too . . . as the saying goes. Since I've confirmed that my 25's tub will accomodate (virtually) anything made for an FJ40 hardtop tub (due to a PO trimming down the 8" pillars just aft of the front doors), that gives me the choice of either tracking down a vintage style soft-top (after locating or fabbing some bows), or tracking and installing an FJ25 or early FJ40 hardtop.

A single set of hard front doors will be on both configurations.

Well, I'm going for BOTH, since I have a choice and I'll still be able to maintain the integrity of a stocker 25.

Since southeast GA ain't the place to be running around in a hardtop in the summer time without A/C, that's where a soft-top comes in to be my 6 month out of the year "convertible." During the winter months, the hardtop goes on. Just like all the 40 guys do.

John Pendall was kind enough to supply me with someone else's cut-off 8" pillars that can be welded into the side panels of early hardtop side panels to fill the slots. So, I'm in the process of gathering up all the essentials for BOTH configurations. That's why I've been picking everyone's brain about what they got to sell parts-wise.

The biggest problem that still remains is the shipping of gigantic and heavy hardtop parts across the country. I'm not made of money, so that's going require some creativity and timing, some of which is kinda in the works.

So, contrary to popular belief, NO, I'm NOT selling out to the Dark Side. The experimental fitting of the Kayline soft-top was solely for purpose of size confirmation only (and a few laughs). And, I just happened to snap a couple photos of it. So, don't panic!! It's already back to normal.

Anyway, that's the plan. Hope that alleviates the confusion. Yes, I want the best of both worlds: OEM style soft-top and OEM style hardtop. Why? Because I can!!

Neener, neener, neener!! So there.

Love,
Steve