Can a hard top easily be converted to a soft top??

GARover

GARover

Well-known member
May 29, 2007
132
0
Atlanta, GA
I've had my eye on a Defender 90 for a long time. I'm still not sure I want to spend that kind of money, but I'm looking around for a "driver".

I really prefer an early manual soft-top model for where I live, but notice many of them are hard-top.

Can a hard-top Defender be (easily) converted to a soft-top?? The roll bars look TOTALLY different, but I think I've heard of people doing this before. The hard top part looks like it's made of fiberglass or high-density plastic and appears removable.

I was looking at a hard-top Defender that had been involved in a rollover "incident", so I thought that might be perfect.

I'm just also wondering the cost involved in converting to a soft-top, cost of soft-top itself, etc.
 
GYM

GYM

Well-known member
Oct 17, 2006
209
0
West Coast
There is more to it than simply swapping tops and roll cage components. You'd need soft top type doors as well as a soft top rear door and spare tire carrier. Additionally, if you plan on running a stock "Bestop" set up, there is a soft top specific windshield header piece, a rod kit that the soft top edges wrap around by the door windows, an alpine bow that clips into the rear cage, and special clips and rear window retaining bar. If you were really into creating an accurate NAS soft top, you'd have to change out the seats, (different color on SW and ST) as well as source soft top specific charcoal colored sunvisors, upper inside windshield molding, interior light and rear speaker housings. SW's were carpeted, NAS ST's had rubber mats and transmission tunnel covers. The forward tunnel-to-fire wall rubber cover is recently no longer available....and don't even get started on rear seat options...there are seat belt mounting differences between an ST and SW as well.
Plus, in the end, anybody who reads the VIN could tell how the car was born. (If the 6th VIN digit is a '2' it was originally a soft top; a '3' denotes an SW.).
It's true, if you want an ST, buy an ST.
 
R

Ron

Well-known member
Jun 15, 2004
1,820
0
Main Line
What you need are the full cage (including the front part which is 1in higher on SWs), the rear tailgate and tire carrier, header bar, snap rails for the tub, 5 snap bars, alpine bar, and rear tailgate bar and obvioulsy the top. Sure the doors are different but they work, same with seats, visors etc.
 
Matt Taylor

Matt Taylor

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
761
0
51
New Orleans
The soft top thing gets old after a while anyway.

I have station wagon envy.

Somebody should start a swap database, where ST guys could swap with SW guys after the shine wears off. Problem is, eventually everyone would want a SW I think.
 
specops1526

specops1526

Well-known member
Jan 17, 2007
845
11
Los Angeles, CA
Buy a ST and look for a used Fiberglass top...they aren't too durable but if you find yourself with SW envy you can fake it with the plastic top. ;)

I bought the fiberglass top when a bunch resurfaced in the early 2000s. Used it for a while but missed the open air driving of the ST so I took it off and have never gone back...just bought another car that actually had a top!
 
D90DC

D90DC

Well-known member
Nov 4, 2004
1,793
0
63
New Hampshire
I'd love to buy a good quality removable top for my SW like the ones fitted to the I hate to say it Jeeps
 
nrene

nrene

Well-known member
Dec 16, 2006
759
0
Lovettsville, VA
photobucket.com
D90DC said:
I'd love to buy a good quality removable top for my SW like the ones fitted to the I hate to say it Jeeps
Click to expand...

You could have just referenced Series Rovers.

Hardtop to softtop in less than 1 hour if you know what you are doing (and have some extra muscle to help).
 
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