roof replacement

[canadian_driver]

or that red ZJ that had the same, i think it might have been a trailready zj

[OverkillZJ]

Finish caging it properly and get someone to build a soft top.. in the end I think you'll be happier than "welding it back together" in a slapstick redneck style none of us have done yet...

[paulkeith]

man, you guys are a bunch of sandbagging bastards

Try it. worst case scenario it doesn't work out and you have to cut it off or scrap the plans. You'd be out whatever you spent on the chunk of sheet metal, which you could probably end up using to make a hinge line at the C-pillar anyway in that case.

[OverkillZJ]

Haha true, but if he thought he was willing to waste all that time without any result, I don't think he'd ask. But I've been wrong many times bofore.

I'm sure it COULD be done, no doubt, just a matter of satisfaction with the end result was my concern.... my thought is that 2 or 4 pieces of custom bent tube welded in properly, and a canfas over it, whould bre much better than a "re welded on" what you"cut off" sheetmetal cover.

[BigDaveZJ]

Have you considered grafting a tailgate top in behind the c pilars and turning the rear into a bed? I remember that awesome red AEV XJ done years ago.

That's been another consideration that I've had. Really the only difference in work there though is that I don't have to do the d-pillars and line up the latch.

I think like Paul said though, worst case if it doesn't work I can hack it back off and go with one of the other options.

I think I'm gonna go for it.

[silber]

A couple local guys out here that I know did successfully complete a similar job a couple years ago too. They had an XJ that was rolled, cut halfway up the A, B, C, and D pillars. Got a donor top from a junkyard, lined everything up, and all the doors, glass, etc ended up fitting fine and was watertight. They did not use any tube to reinforce anything either after it was all done.

I'll start this off by saying I'm in NO WAY an expert, or even know what I'm talking about, but I think this approach would produce the best overall results. Better than just replacing what you have cut off. Kind of like how they chop a top in the hotrod business. Didn't that guy with the old ZebraJ (or what ever it was called) do this? I remember him buying a rolled Jeep, replacing the entire roof, and it turned out fine...

Or, I could just be talking out my ass.

[chadjans]

Cut the rest of the roof off and weld in a whole new roof at the pilars?

[IndyZJ]

I wouldn't cut off the rest of the roof...

Just turn the welder WAY down and take your time stitching the roof section together if you really want to do it. That big a piece of that thin of sheetmetal warps really bad really fast and can be next to impossible to make right again. Easiest way to make the hatch work would probably be to put it in place first on the latch and support it, then trim the pillars on the donor piece to fit around it. Make sure to get all layers of the unibody put back together, or it might twist itself apart.

In case you can't tell, I still think a soft top would be less work for a good result, and you could take it off if without a sawzall next time.

[Austin]

Big Dave, have you had any luck enclosing your ZJ. Lately ive been wanting to get more into expedition wheeling. Im trying to do the same thing right now and dont know were to start. I also have time and a welder but don't have the funds to swap everything to a new ZJ. I tried to move the tailgate window up but it tapers like 6 inches on each side. Just wondering if you were successful at it yet.

[Jim311]

It'd be sweet to make it removable, like a T-Top so you could take it on and off with a few bolts.

[JohnBoulderCO]

It'd be sweet to make it removable, like a T-Top so you could take it on and off with a few bolts.

T-Top's !!!

[bshows73]

I have done this before on an XJ it took me an experienced welder 8 hours just to weld it up right. I wouldn't recommend it. If you do use .023 wire and take your time. Its a long and horrible Job.

[LoganZJ]

Dave if you are still contemplating this i would say go for it. This is essentially the same process that you would go through when chopping or sectioning a street rod. After you mock up the new peice and get it right, tack in some 1" tubing to brace the panels and keep them from distorting while welding. A mig welder would be preferred since you will not be able to planish your welds. Before final welding i would suggest that the joining panels be tacked every half inch. As long as you are patient and keep moving around it wouldnt take very much metal finishing to acheive a nice, clean finished product.
Just some thoughts...

[it usually runs fine]

http://pirate4x4.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=83 ...check out the "removable xj top" he makes a removable top, but thats not what i want you to see, he makes a soft top thats bad ass a few pages into it check it out.

[BigDaveZJ]

Sorry for the shitty cell phone pic . . .



Just need to find a decent liftgate now.

[BigDaveZJ]

Grabbed a liftgate at the JY today so hopefully I can get started on this pretty soon. Got a bunch of crap from Bullet on the way since I have a feeling I will be using a LOT of cut off wheels and flap disks for this.

You can kinda see from the pics, but the roof section I got is cut just below the pinstriping, and then right in the middle of the rear doors. I think I will cut the actual roof back a little closer to mine, but I think I will everything else mostly intact on the new roof. I will cut my ZJ at approximately the same spot on the pinstripe to match up. Then once all of the cuts are eyeball close I will tack it in and make sure the liftgate works. Once I am confident the liftgate will function properly, I will burn it all home.

I'm leaning towards doing all of the new tube work first since I will have easier access without the roof in place. I will also put a sort of backing plate on when I'm welding the sheet metal together on the panels. The d-pillar and the curve to the roof have several layers, but everything else is just one layer. I plan to put a thin piece of like 2" strap on the interior side of the seams, and use a couple small plug welds to hold both sides in place, as well as weld the seam itself. I think this will distribute any forces a bit more, and also give me a little more material to work with when actually welding the seam.

Should be fun . . . lol

[fpkites]

I lost count how many liftgates we looked at today...most of the fuggers were locked for some stupid reason

The more I think about it, the more I think you should definitely do the toob work before putting the top on. You can use Clunkenstein as a model for the toob measurements.

[OverkillZJ]

Don't forget to alternate when you're welding, I'd hate to see it pull so far to one side that the lift gate never closes, and you're back to square one. I'd be mildly amused, though!

[BigDaveZJ]

Oh absolutely, it will be tacked in every 1/2" or so as suggested before it gets burned home, and even then I won't do more than say 3" or so at a time, and I'll alternate sides.

I'm also contemplating doing a rear quarter guard out of leftover tube over the seam where I weld the two halves together. Adds some additional protection, and helps cover up the seam.

[F3X]

One of these could be your best friend!!

http://www.eastwood.com/pistol-grip-...ccode=ga030240

[IndyZJ]

One of these could be your best friend!!

http://www.eastwood.com/pistol-grip-...ccode=ga030240

Harbor Freight sells flange tools that work just as well for $30-40. Eastwood in general is a ripoff, but there are some things you can only get from them.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=66370
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=1110

The straight one is a lot more maneuverable. Either will make it MUCH easier since you have some extra material to work with.

[BigDaveZJ]

At least I can say that no matter how this turns out, it will look better than this:

[Brad S]

You hope anyway

[fpkites]

When you only have 3 cylinders, you need to cut all the weight you can!

[Aaronjames]

so....... I bought a rolled 96' grand cherokee with 86000 mi. i had a 93' that i had previously sunk in the gila river ruind the drive train n electronics. well i choped the top off the rolled one, then choped the top of the good one and had 3 friends come over n help me swap it out. i placed a cple pieces of angle iron n each of the pillars n with a step bit did several plug welds through the differnt layers of metal. u think that is sufficent for support? if it was jst me i wldnt have wasted ur guys time but i have my lil kids tht like to go out wth me. n well i really wld hate my self if sumthin were to happen to them cuz of my poor structual reinforcement. it seems pretty stought compared to how it was when i drove it around the yard topless.