Extra hard top making open sided top any suggestions? See images

[PGG]

OK the other day I purchased a extra single wall hard top.
So I have two with the plan of making a hard no hatch no windows top like one of these two option shown in the images. I want this in stead of a bikini top and didn't want to drill any holes.
What do y'all suggest and how would you do it.


The Red K5 owner told me he made it out of a double wall top its on Ebay now and NICE.
I would love to know who owned the green K5 and did that top but so far no one seems to know.

The Bronze K5 is my truck with the roll bar as it is now. I am leaning towards the green version.

Thanks for any opinions. PG

 

[ashman]

I did mine just like the red one. It was nice, but I was really hoping that it would cut down the weight enough to make it easy to take on and off... it didn't. It was still heavy as hell.
I did like it when it was on though because it really cut down on the road noise vs using the regular soft top with the sides rolled up. I ended up having a soft bikini top made for it in the end. Without the rolled up sides catching wind it is much quieter. Also, since it doesn't have sides or a back and I had it made out of very light material, it is really easy to take on and off and I can store it in the center console so it doesn't take up any room.

 

[PGG]

Cool thanks can I ask if yours was a double wall? Mine are both single walls and I understand much lighter then a double wall.
I think I would leave it on almost all year long personally but that might be wishful thinking on my part. Thanks PG

 

[ashman]

Mine was a double wall top. I have heard that the single walls were lighter, but I've never had one so I can't tell you from personal experience.

 

[bp71k5]

I've had both double wall and single wall. They both weighed about the same from a "take it on and off perspective". The single wall top just had a thicker "wall" with extra wooden reinforcement rails on the top side. The double wall had two thinner walls with air in between them. Neither was fun or easy to install or remove.

 

[Greg72]

Cool thanks can I ask if yours was a double wall? Mine are both single walls and I understand much lighter then a double wall.
I think I would leave it on almost all year long personally but that might be wishful thinking on my part. Thanks PG

I would have serious concerns about the rigidity of a hardtop (single or double) once you chop out all the vertical components and just have a flat upper shell...... seems like it would be a flippy-floppy, wet noodle up there... especially at highway speeds when you had some air buffeting underneath it....

-G

 

[PGG]

I just spoke with the body guy who is cutting the top for me.
He thinks the Green style top with the back legs or whatever you would call them is the way to go.
There will be some support from my roll bar behind the front seats I am planning on adding padding to it so it could rest on that.
What else could/should I do to help?
I am here for ideas from the experts!
Thanks PG

 

[bp71k5]

Judging from the 5" roll bar and the TV system in the bed of that green one, I wouldn't use it as an example of anything "practical". The hard tops are flimsy enough and deleting all the attachment points along the bed will just make it worse. Depending on how much it costs to modify, a soft top would be better money spent and more useful in the long run.

If you read through Gregs "hardtop evolutionary process" theory it's pretty spot on. I wish I didn't waste any money on mine and just skipped to the end stage.

 

[PGG]

Where can I find this? "hardtop evolutionary process" I did a search and found this thread only.
I also have a double bar roll bar that I am going to pad to support the top.
I am committed to trying this so while some day I might want a soft top I am cutting this extra top I have up and its not in great shape anyway so no huge loss if
for some reason it wont work. If I need to I will do a full cage going back add padding and support it more. If it fails I will cut it right behind the roll bar and
make a hard half top with no sides at all.
Thanks for thoughts and opinions.
I do not plan on taking it on and off if its nice I will leave it on and drive it if its not nice I will leave it on and garage it!
Thanks PG

 

[ekajkrats]

If i had a full family cage, like the red one, I think I would try that too, especially if I had a place to garage my Blazer. Looking forward to seeing how your top turns out!
-Jacob

Here is the full quote from my thread:

Nice work getting that top removed..... It won't take long to fall in love with open air driving,, especially living in NorCal.

You are well on your way along the continuum of what i like to call "1st Gen Hardtop Disenchantment"

I think every new 1st Gen owner goes through the same progression..... you get a truck with a fiberglass top (probably double-wall), then dream about replacing it with a nice single-wall version so that the bolts are easier to deal with on the bedrail, and you can have cool interior dome lights.

Then there's the reality that there's about $500 worth of seals that need replacing to make it seal worth a damn (and usually not even then.....there's a good reason why the front cab corners are always rotten in these trucks!).

Maybe you get that far and get the top working right (and don't have to locate a blown-out hatch replacment (rarer than hen's teeth)....so now you've got a great convertible truck that's......actually completely closed-in. ...... and noisy to drive.....and hot and stuffy in the summer since the back glass doesn't roll down like it does on the later trucks.

So, then the decision is to store the top in the summer to really maximize the enjoyment of the open-top truck. Maybe build a "Greg72 Pulleys From Hell" setup in your garage and store that 350Lb monster as high as you can and hope it doesn't fall and kill somebody in the meantime.

Eventually, the thought of driving with that stupid hardtop installed becomes so offensive that you decide to buy a soft top instead so that you can easily swap between weather protection and sunshine..... the hardtop sits in the rafters (or out behind the garage) collecting spiders and other critters, because you're convinced that keeping the truck "original" will add value someday. Eventually, after about 5 years on CK5 and other internet sites you realize that it's pretty darned easy to find a hardtop if you want one because everyone else is getting sick of storing theirs also.....

You try to sell your top (hopefully it's a single-wall) and find that nobody is interested even if it's almost free... one day, in a fit of frustration you finally take out the Sawzall with a demolition blade and cut the top into small chunks that will fit in the garbage pail and throw it away a little bit each week until you are finally free of the albatross once and for all.....


Disclaimer: This is all speculation, and not based on any direct personal experience.

 

[PGG]

OK update time.
Ok, so last fall I got this top with a beat up hatch that I gave to another Blazer owner trying to fix his.
Its been at the body shop of a buddy for a while and I thought I would update as to the progress with some pictures.
I am copying the look of the green Blazer if for some reason it wont hold up the style done on the red one is the first back up design.

It is being painted white in some kind of durable finish similar to Rhino liner I am open for suggestions he is going to show me before he paints it what he suggest. I was thinking a non shinny mat finished look.

Here they are. PG

 

[PGG]

Here is how my extra top started.
Like I mentioned the hatch was somewhat beat up and repair would have been needed to put it back on the top so I didnt feel so bad cutting one up.
I also do have a good single wall white top that came with this one. PG

 

[ashman]

Looks good. I hope you end up using it more than I think you will. :P

 

[Sholti]

I like it. (A junk top mod is cheaper/quieter than a soft top.) I just don't have the weather to do that!