Winterizing my Ehsan soft top..

[voyager:01]

Well it's about to get cold here in New England.. and my soft top 40 is my daily driver.. so it's time to batten down the hatches.

i LOVE my Pakistan soft top.. but soft tops will be soft tops and there's places that let in some air..

so i decided to make some canvas flaps to mount to the inner tub lip using the oem hardtop holes to mount it to.. of course u probably noticed i have an aluminum tub.. but it doesn't make any difference here..

the materials are canvas.. 3/4" wide aluminum stock.. a who can sew.. velcro..

i figured the length i wanted them to be.. about 42" long.. generally the length of the inner lip of the tub up to where it starts to curve.. had my lovely fiance sew in a channel for the aluminum channel stock to slide into..

then i inserted the flat bar and sewed it in there.. the next couple steps i forgot to photograph.. no big deal.. but i then fitted the channel and drilled holes thru it to line up with the holes for the hardtop.. fast forward to today.. it stopped raining so i can get it mounted and take a few pics..

first i mounted it like this to make sure the holes all lined up good..

then i folded the canvas over and put a few more holes in the canvas and bolted it down again.. i'm using self tapping bolts i used when i installed my hardtop to my aluminum tub.. with a factory tub you would use OEM bolts in the factory holes..

so this is what it looks like..

and here's what it looks like from inside..

the last step now is to wait for the top to dry (lots of rain last night) and apply velcro strips to seal this together.. the strip will go on the inner flap of the soft top.. my plan is to use some sticky back velcro.. stick it together.. and leave it untill winter is over.. set it and forget it.


i think this will help cut down on the breeze a lil'.. whadya think?!

 

[apeterson]

nice!!!

 

[Liam]

very nice.....


now please tell me how i can get my wife to sew?

 

[Coolerman]

very nice.....


now please tell me how i can get my wife to sew?

Take away her clothing store credit cards?

Good idea on the seal strip.

 

[JohnnyC]

i like your handy work

nice job

 

[voyager:01]

Thanx 4 the feedback.. i also just finished modifying and installing this AWESOME canvas windjammer that my buddy Randy gave me a while ago.. it helps BIGtime to keep the heat up front where i need it.. especially with only a front heater..

 

[JohnnyC]

I saw that in the 1st post....i didnt say anything as i thought randy mayhave done a loner to ya to copy

 

[alkarich]

Nice job. The idea to keep the heat up front should help alot.

 

[3DAMAN!]

Thats a very good idea! Thanks for the post.

 

[82cruiser]

Nice job Markus, looks great. Let us know how it works and when we can order a set from you .

 

[BigRedFJ40]

Nice job Markus, looks great. Let us know how it works and when we can order a set from you .

x2.

The heaters work great with the hardtop but, these soft tops leave a little to be desired for warmth

 

[Dusty 66]

I saw this post this AM I thought It such a great Idea

I cut some EDM rubber pond liner 5" wide, I had laying around the yard about 45 minutes later done .....

 

[voyager:01]

I saw that in the 1st post....i didnt say anything as i thought randy mayhave done a loner to ya to copy

can't slip anything canvas by JohnnyC without him noticing..

Hey Dusty66 that rubber will do the trick!! are you going to use any velcro or anything to attach it to the top? BTW.. your '66 is one of the nicest looking rigs i've seen out here.. so i'm honored that my little mod has made it to your 40!

 

[Dusty 66]

Hey Dusty66 that rubber will do the trick!! are you going to use any velcro or anything to attach it to the top? BTW.. your '66 is one of the nicest looking rigs i've seen out here.. so i'm honored that my little mod has made it to your 40! [/QUOTE]

No velcro needed

Thanks for the cool tip !

We have cold weather in the Nevada Desert too

Headed out to Death Valley camping next week over a 7,000 ft pass.

 

[SouthBostonFJ40]

If anyone wants one of these, my cousin owns a shop that makes high end convertible tops. I can get one made for around $250. Not cheap, but probably worth it when you add up all the hardware and material. PM me if interested.

 

[voyager:01]

Winterizing phase II..

I took a leap of faith today.. and went ahead and stained my extremely faded pakistani soft top with an acrylic based exterior decking stain.. i chose that type of stain mostly due to confusion and also a good lack of knowledge.. and because it won in a game of eenie meenie minee moe.. .. but i gotta say i am VERY pleased with the color and the finish ain't bad.. so far so good.. i don't have time to get into details right now but i will when i get back to cyber space on sunday i will post more pics and info.. until then here's a couple pics..

before




after

 

[82cruiser]

Beautius! Nice work Mark and the color looks perfect. Let us know how the stain holds up.

 

[ocdbeetle]

Having the wife on board with the project is absolutely golden....

Love the windjammer and the nerve to lay down the stain.....Looks great!

 

[JohnnyC]

Let us know how the stain holds up.

X2

looks new

 

[Thornton]

The stain looks good. Was the top khaki or od green to begin with ? How long have you had it ? I've got the khaki and it almost has become an off white compaired to what it was when I got it.