soft top
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New User
Joined: Apr 2003
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From: Tallahassee, FL
soft top
i am lookin into gettin a 1993 eddie bauer with a 5.8 for pretty cheap. i bein the kinda guy i am i want to take the top off and get a soft top. but all the tops i have found are for 80 to 91 broncos. what is the deal? i want one with a metal frame and zip out windows for cruise th the beach and trail ridin. does anybody know if they are available? Thanks!
Junior User
Joined: Jul 2004
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Ok, Here is the deal. The soft tops for the earlier trucks will work. However it is against the law to remove safety equipment ie center high mount brake light and the anchor point for the two rear shoulder belts.
Elder User
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 669
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From: Chino Valley
yes they are available, but however due to the 92+ years have shoulder strap seatbelt attached to the top. by taking off the top you have to take apart the belt assembly thereby making it illegal to take the top off. Many people still take their tops off and it is up to your local lay enforcment to enforce that. many do not care at all, but the soft top manufacturers are liable for any safety regulation things, so they do not sell the top for these years, however a top for 91- will fit yours. do a search of this forum and you will find out a ton more information.
New User
Joined: Jul 2003
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From: Virginia
if you have the outside spare tire rack make a bracket and mount you a 3rd brake light on the tire rack.
and for the rear seat belts check your local laws.here the front passengers have to have seat belts on not the rear unless theyre kids
and for the rear seat belts check your local laws.here the front passengers have to have seat belts on not the rear unless theyre kids
New User
Joined: Jun 2003
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above info is correct. Go here for the write up I had in bronco driver. this is my clubs site
http://www.wt4wheeling.com/tech/softtop.cfm
http://www.wt4wheeling.com/tech/softtop.cfm
Junior User
Joined: Jan 2005
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From: Newport, DE
I've been looking for a soft cover for the rear as well.
Now I know why I couldn't find one while listing my year as 1993. One thing I found inconveniant is that the makers make these soft tops as replacements for the hard top. I don't want a replacment, I want to be able to take off the hard-top travel to the beach and/or mud pit and use a soft top when parking or if it rains. I'm looking for a fold-away canvas that I can stow away and use incase of emergencies when I'm away from my hard-top remove location.
Anyone got any ideas?
-Pendor
Now I know why I couldn't find one while listing my year as 1993. One thing I found inconveniant is that the makers make these soft tops as replacements for the hard top. I don't want a replacment, I want to be able to take off the hard-top travel to the beach and/or mud pit and use a soft top when parking or if it rains. I'm looking for a fold-away canvas that I can stow away and use incase of emergencies when I'm away from my hard-top remove location.
Anyone got any ideas?
-Pendor
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New User
Joined: Apr 2003
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From: Tallahassee, FL
i was thinking about buildin one out of 1/2" and 3/4" conduit as i am a electrician and can get it for free, and just usingk a canvas tarp snaps and velco. has any body ever done this.
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Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2002
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From: Gateway to the West
Havent' done what you are talking about but this top is near completion. The hole in the center is covered witha doubled piece of tent vinyl with 1/2" snaps around the perimeter. the windows zip off at the top edge and snap around the rest of the way. Tis way I can roll them up without completely removing them. No drilling into my tailgate or bedrails for snaps and the seatbelt/stoplamp/rear window use issues are non-existant.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...0&albumid=6510
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...0&albumid=6510
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cool. I had thought about doing something simlar too, but wheel too much to cut the center of the roof out, without worrying about the integrity of the fiberglass and having it crumble around me.
I am still considering removing the side glass like you, except I wanted to take some flat stock, permanently mount and seal it to the top, and then run a a zip in/out soft window onto that.
I am still considering removing the side glass like you, except I wanted to take some flat stock, permanently mount and seal it to the top, and then run a a zip in/out soft window onto that.
Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 9,182
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From: Gateway to the West
Originally Posted by plugly
cool. I had thought about doing something simlar too, but wheel too much to cut the center of the roof out, without worrying about the integrity of the fiberglass and having it crumble around me.
I am still considering removing the side glass like you, except I wanted to take some flat stock, permanently mount and seal it to the top, and then run a a zip in/out soft window onto that.
I am still considering removing the side glass like you, except I wanted to take some flat stock, permanently mount and seal it to the top, and then run a a zip in/out soft window onto that.
No need to worry about that. I wheel all the time. The top is not just fibreglass. There is a steel frame integral to the fibreglass shell. Cutting the hole doesn't remove ANY of the steel framing. In fact the section of the top that gets removed with this design is only about 1/8" thick anyway.
If the top were fibreglass alone, it would fold in on itself and would never support the rear window and um, hello...the rear seat belt mounts in the 92 and later models! Plenty of steel inside the top rest assured.
By the way, the photos don't show it because they were not finished at the time but, there is enough of a lip around thw side window openings once they are removed to install 1/2" snaps all the way around the perimiter of the window opening. The ones on the top shown zip off the upper edge and unsnap from the other three sides. This allows the windows to be "rolled up", let down and snapped, or completely removed by unsnapping and unzipping them.
Last edited by greystreak92; Jan 14, 2005 at 12:49 AM.
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Joined: Feb 2002
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From: Michigan
An idea I've been toying with lately is the possiblity of modifying another hard top (they come though the local U-Wrench every so often and would be cheap).
What I was thinking of doing was to take the top and to cut out almost all the roof with the exception of the mounting flange where it touches the body, leaving a inch or 2 that I could mount snaps on. I'd also leave the rear glass frame intact so that I could actually roll up my window (would almost endup looking like a spoiler if I had the window down). I think after I trimmed the top, I could then go in with new fiberglass and strengthen up and improve the cosmetics of what I had left.
Then after I did this, I'd make up a canvas top that could then snap onto this fiberglass frame and fit over a tube roll bar (to which my rear seatbelt shoulder harnesses would mount) that I plan to add.
I think if I went this way, I could then have a soft top that I could use the stock glass rear window and third brake light. I know it would mean sacrificing a hardtop, but I know one or 2 gets crushed at this yard every month or so.
What I was thinking of doing was to take the top and to cut out almost all the roof with the exception of the mounting flange where it touches the body, leaving a inch or 2 that I could mount snaps on. I'd also leave the rear glass frame intact so that I could actually roll up my window (would almost endup looking like a spoiler if I had the window down). I think after I trimmed the top, I could then go in with new fiberglass and strengthen up and improve the cosmetics of what I had left.
Then after I did this, I'd make up a canvas top that could then snap onto this fiberglass frame and fit over a tube roll bar (to which my rear seatbelt shoulder harnesses would mount) that I plan to add.
I think if I went this way, I could then have a soft top that I could use the stock glass rear window and third brake light. I know it would mean sacrificing a hardtop, but I know one or 2 gets crushed at this yard every month or so.
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