building a hard top

[ssnovafied]

hi,newbie here,has anybody built or fabed up a hard top? which would be better sheet metal or aluminum. i seen a top that was fiberglas over the canvas top.it looked good painted green.any advice would be greatly appreciated thank you

[John Mc]

I could swear someone on here posted photos of a top they were fabricating. It' possible that it was on the Steel Soldiers site, however.

[NAM VET]

when I bought my truck about 5 years ago, it came out of Nebraska, and had fiberglass over the supporters, which I cut off with a sawmill and then did a little repair and since then a fabric top. I had been lined with shag carpet! hal

[Cal_Gary]

I think I'd grab a CCKW top, or a repro M37 top from Vintage Power Wagons. CCKW tops will fit the M37; the repro tops are expensive but save you a lot of labor.

I use the canvas top myself.
Gary

[ssnovafied]

hi thanks for the replys.i looked at the fiberglass tops but the price and shipping is crazy. a canvas top is close to 500 now plus shipping.so if can make one between 600 and 1000 i'll do that as no shipping involved.

[JimC]

Old post, but I built a 12ga steel top back around 1965 using a fabric top frame and a Duece sliding rear window.
Took 3 days. I'll be doing it again for my XM-708 and will most likely use 16ga this time.

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[JimC]

When I built the hard top for the 37, I made the soft top frame integral to the hard top, welding the sheet metal to it. I think this time I may treat the frame more like an endoskeleton, fitting the sheet metal on it like a glove so that it can be removed and swapped out with the canvas top and vice versa.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

[Cal_Gary]

I would prefer the flexibility and ease of removal-that's why I stayed with the soft top. My first apartment garage door was too short for the top unless I loaded up the bed. Easier to remove the top then reinstall later.

Also, nothing like the smell of canvas as soon as you hit the garage, right guys?
Gary