I have just gotten an 88 Bronco and am trying to decide if taking the top off is as bad as I have heard. I have always heard about leaking, drafts, etc. from removing tops on older Broncos and am wondering if the same is true for the big ones? Any advice??

 

I have an '89 XLT and I took the took the top off 2 weeks ago. It was an easy job (a couple screws and bolts) and took about 30 minutes between the 2 of us. We were careful to number the brackets as me removed them and outline with a magic marker exactly where they lined up to hopefully make putting the top on an easier chore. I've heard conflicting reports on whether or not there will be leak problems when the top goes back on.

I would suggest supporting the top where it will not get warped or damaged (I have mine suspended from the rafters in the garage). I will take extra time to make sure all the seals and weather stripping are lubricated to make a tight fit if and when I replace the top.

I live in Vegas and I love having the top off. It looks great! I'll probably look into some sort of soft top in the future.

Good luck!

Stick
'89 XLT, 5.8 EFI

 

I was actually thinking of storing mine from my garage rafters as well. I have a few pulleys attached to the rafters and was planning to hang the top with a couple of pieces of rope that would run right down the middle of the top (parallel to the side windows). How did you store yours?

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 24-Aug-01 AT 03:30 PM (EST)[/font][p]good advice..and look here at Frogger's page on it too!:
http://frogger01.3iii.net/tech/Topremoval.htm

and here on some storage ideas and a pic:
http://forums.mybigbronco.com/cgi-bin/topic.cgi?forum=1&topic=1418


good luck!..btw, I saw a "quick top hardware set-up" for early big broncos here:
http://www.langeoriginals.com/products/kwick_top.html

some fellow late model owners were looking into using "dzus" type fasteners for their Broncos

 

I heard all the horror stories as well. I had no problem removing the top or replacing it. My truck has been in VA most of its life. If the seal rip or tear, it didn't look like it would be that hard to replace. I stored mine by hanging it in the garage. I did all the work on my own and used an extended drill bit to remove most of the screws. 30 minutes with two people sounds about right, mine took longer cause I did it myself. One other hint. I backed into the garage before taking the top offso all I had to do was pull out when I was done.

Here are some sights if you want to leave the top off and get something to cover it when your away for "some secruity" or inclement weather.

http://truckworld.com/KBARS/80-96bronco/accessories.html

about 3/4 of the way down the page you'll see covers or convertable tops, I have seen both on trucks and they look ok, but I would imagine is much a much more convieniant way to cover up when you need to.

 

The only thing that I would ad to the posts above is:

When I first took mine of of my 79...part of the seal on the front came loose....no problem...I picked up some 3M weatherstrip adheasive...cleaned the channel real good...sprayed it on...let it get a little tacky...and...wala....good as new.

oh...and one more thing...I stored mine on some 2X4s on the ground...and it was fine.

 

Thanks alot for all of the advice! I checked out those links and they were exactly what I was looking for. Hopefully I can get everything rigged up in my garage in time to get the top off this fall.

 

TOP? A Broncos got a top? I've had 4 of them and....oh those fiberglass things that are sitting out in my yard...those are Tops? I thought they were packing crates. Seriously pop that sucker you'll love it. Course I pulled the doors off my 85 too....so what do I know lol. Whit