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New Soft Tops for 1st Gen.

chevyuser74 said:
i can tell u one thing ppl are not goin to be excited about putting that many holes into their body. would be cool if there was a bracket up there that bolted to where the hard top did.
Click to expand...


Geez guys, the holes across the windshield header isn't impossible to solve.... just build your own overlay that bolts down. Use the 2 hardtop attachment holes, and the sunvisor mounts...maybe even those end cap spots with the 3 screw holes in them. That's about 8 strong factory spots to hold the part down. Voila! :waytogo:

Now you can drill a buttload of snap holes in the intermediate piece and not worry about adding a single new hole to the header.

If Softopper won't offer it, maybe I'll make them myself.


....seriously, this shouldn't be a deal-breaker for anyone who's been dying for a 1st Gen softtop.


:usaflag:
 
There's no reason they couldn't make a bracket that screws on the same was STC did it. STC only used a few snaps on each side. I've got rust issues in that area too now though so once I fix that, no more holes will be allowed in that area.

I'd also be curious to see how it attaches near the tailgate. There's snaps in the pictures, but the description says that no drilling is needed on the tailgate.

Edit: Greg beat me to the bracket idea.
 
Sorry I did not want to start a panic. Yes fabing a bracket is going to eliminate the holes but just making sure they are sealed good should do the trick. I would do it again even after all the headaches of re-building my windshield frame just to be able to run a soft top, altho now I've got some basic fab skills and will probably make a bracket epically now that i have all those new mounting points available. As far as the snaps on the tailgate I've had those in for at least 10 years without any issues. I think it's because their on the trailing edge of the truck and water is not being forced at them which is not the case on the windshield frame. I love my soft top and will just do a much better job with the sealing this time around.
 
I just ordered my top from Softopper for a '71 K5. I am stoked to have a top finally (I am permanently topless for now)
 
The snaps I put in for my old kayline across both the windshield frame and the tailgate didn't cause any problems in the 8 years it was on. I did seal underneath the snaps and the holes with clear silicond and then cleaned up around the snaps. The front drip rail on the windshield stops alot of the water and the snaps are under the top also.

On my new tops the front edge is held on by j channel aluminum that is attached to the truck that keeps the screws well up under the top and on the front of the top it has a hard round plastic piece that is sewn into the top all the way across the front. So when you put the top on the first thing you do is slide the front of the top into the j channel from one side to the other.

On my tailgate I have an aluminum L bracket screwed to the inside of the tailgate and it has snaps in it. If I were to do that again I would use a bracket that attaches to the inside of the tailgate then the L section over the top of the tailgate and then another bend that goes up from the tailgate so the snaps were on a more vertical plane rather than horizontal as the the wind coming over the back of the vehicle pushes down and in on the area above the tailgate and at highway speeds unsnaps it.
 
"On my new tops the front edge is held on by j channel aluminum that is attached to the truck that keeps the screws well up under the top and on the front of the top it has a hard round plastic piece that is sewn into the top all the way across the front. So when you put the top on the first thing you do is slide the front of the top into the j channel from one side to the other. "

Just spoke with Bob at Softopper and they are looking into manufacturing a piece for the windshield that the snaps can snap to. They are going to need to use snaps as this top needs to come loose here first to collapse back.

If you 70jimmy or anyone else can provide some pictures of what they have it may help speed up this process.

Softopper had an exceptional month of May with orders with about a dozen 1st Gen pre orders and they are working with their metal fabricator to finish the 1 Gen top. If someone can email me or Softopper some pictures it would be helpful.

[email protected]
 
The Palmer Top

C'mon Palmer, fess up. Ya gotta be gettin' somethining outa this with all the time you've been putin into this. :D
I am very interested in these tops, but I will bide my time until they come out with a tan kaki color and the front bracket to eliminate drilling. If they don't do a bracket I will do one myself. It'll be functional, but it won't be very pretty, much like some of the other stuff I've done. I'd rather wait if they are going to do it.
 
prices

I did just check the Canback site and found they don't make a 1st gen top, only 3rd gen on up. And get this, the Softopper is priced at just over half of what a third gen. Canback costs (and the Canback is less material and hardware cause it doesn't go to the windshield).
 
I will definitely do a write up on the top as soon as I get my hands on it. It will be a miracle if they get it to me by July 10th. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
 
I called Softopper today and it looks as if he is going to ship my new top fairly close to the time he had told me he would (might go out tomorrow). I am getting excited for sure.
 
Just got off the phone with Bob from Softopper today and he will be shipping my 1st gen top either today or tomorrow. I am stoked to have a top finally.
 
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Got it on- looks great and, better yet, will be very practical here in Colorado where afternoon storms are nearly a certainty.

I'll post some pictures tonight.
 
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