Is my soft top OEM or aftermarket?

Mfpaul73

Mfpaul73

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Curious if this looks like OEM to you or not. Time for a replacement either way, but trying to assess what quality level I have been experiencing with this old top and also whether I should get new framing due to apparent age. Thanks for any opinions. It does have a Sun rider feature but still not sure who made the frame or top.

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Looks like a factory top to me. Soft top frames don't go bad unless you have banged it to something. You can get a replacement top fabric only from bestop ("replace a top" on their website). I think it comes with the rear windows but you can double check.
 
T
psrivats said:
Looks like a factory top to me. Soft top frames don't go bad unless you have banged it to something. You can get a replacement top fabric only from bestop ("replace a top" on their website). I think it comes with the rear windows but you can double check.
psrivats said:
Looks like a factory top to me. Soft top frames don't go bad unless you have banged it to something. You can get a replacement top fabric only from bestop ("replace a top" on their website). I think it comes with the rear windows but you can double check.
Click to expand...
thanks
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BTW, Bestop customer support is great. I purchased a used Bestop for wheeling and it was missing a few parts (windshield brackets and four nuts, bolts & washers). I wasn't sure which parts I was missing so I ended up sending 3-4 photos to Bestop they turned around and sent me the missing parts for FREE (it was $30-40 dollars worth of hardware) and the instruction how to install.
 
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Your frame and top look just like those on my LJ. I assumed they were both original when I took ownership of the Jeep a couple years ago. Mind you, I bought it based on pictures alone and didn't see it in person until I got it from the vehicle hauler. After looking closer I believe mine to be an original frame and a Bestop replacement top.

To my understanding the sunrider feature was factory standard for all LJs. Again, your frame looks and acts like my frame. So as others have said, unless it's bent all to hell, that's good to go.

(EDIT: I don't know what frame I have at this point. The two outermost attachment points are snaps, that's where my window straps snap to the frame. The four middle points where the top is attached, those are all screws. WTF?)

I confirmed my top as a replacement when I saw a faded Bestop tag on the rear upper corner of the passenger side soft window. The other clue was the manufacture date and product information stamped into the bottom left corner on the rear window, mine is dated sometime in 2012. Also, when light hits my rear window just right I can make out where (at one time) there was a square Bestop logo decal(?) or marking just above this stamped data area.

Last thing, most, if not all, of what I believe to be factory original tops had undivided side windows. I mean the clear vinyl was all one piece, not two clear vinyl pieces divided by a section of top material. If you go back and look at old promotional materials, all the LJ windows were one clear vinyl piece. I think the dividers came into play as the Jeeps were used and the frame's side bar abraded the windows through motion; then those dividers made of top-material came into play. That top material doesn't show wear as easily as clear vinyl. Just one guy's opinion/hunch. So I'm betting your original top was at some point replaced.

Last point, Bestop is reported to have been the original manufacturer (sub-contractor?) for the original tops. So I've always thought if it has an original frame, a Bestop Replace-a-Top should work. (That's assuming their product stays similar in fit and function.) However, I think anything in your budget which fits an OEM style frame would work for you and your situation.
 
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I'm going to say, it looks like you have a RAP on the o.e. frame, for two reasons.
The original side windows didn't have undivided side windows. At least my o.e. didn't.
Your top also appears to be missing the rear corner supports.
The RAP to doesn't come with them and you have to swap them from your old top.
 
williambmac said:
I'm going to say, it looks like you have a RAP on the o.e. frame, for two reasons.
The original side windows didn't have undivided side windows. At least my o.e. didn't.
Your top also appears to be missing the rear corner supports.
The RAP to doesn't come with them and you have to swap them from your old top.
Click to expand...
The divided/undivided window thing is (I believe) tricky to definitively pin down.

Reviews produced (via Car & Driver, Motortrend, and others) when these Jeeps were new show a majority of undivided windows; especially on the LJs. For some reason, TJs look like they had divided windows. Could those all be pre-production items? Maybe, but then that doesn't explain the original tops that still occasionally show up on vehicles for sale that have undivided windows.

Please don't misunderstand, I'm not saying yours didn't have original, divided windows; only that for some reason both divided/undivided windows from the factory appear to be a possibility. Maybe in 2004 undivided windows were the standard and in 2005 divided windows became a thing. I can't say 100%. This is why I say it's hard to definitely pin down.
 
williambmac said:
I'm going to say, it looks like you have a RAP on the o.e. frame, for two reasons.
The original side windows didn't have undivided side windows. At least my o.e. didn't.
Your top also appears to be missing the rear corner supports.
The RAP to doesn't come with them and you have to swap them from your old top.
Click to expand...
I'm thinking that a Bestop RAT would have Bestop markings somewhere...perhaps a bit more discreet than the current tramp stamps, but identifiable nonetheless. My RAT has a reasonably discreet tag sewn on the passenger side window upper fabric, and had the B logo on the rear window, which I successfully removed.

If this is in fact a Bestop, the PO must have removed tags and logos.
 
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I replaced the OEM top on my TJ with one from Bestop and it was literally almost identical. I say almost because the only difference was the Bestop tag sewn into the side of the top AND the little velcro tab on the rear window that centers the cross bar was missing. At the time, I was deadset on an exact replacement and disappointed with this omission so I called Bestop to complain (true story).

They explained to me that this top is identical to the OEM top that they manufacture for Jeep. However, per an agreement, their version cannot include the velcro tab. I am still a little disappointed with this almost 15 years later but the quality has been great.
 
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Here's something interesting, from the 2006 Parts Manual:

Screenshot 2022-04-05 at 09-38-59 https __wranglertjforum.com_attachments_2006-tj-parts-list-p...png


Part #3, the side (quarter) windows, look to have included the stripe after 2/14/2005. The parts manuals for the other years, 2004 and 2005, just list those as quarter windows, nothing about a diagonal stripe. The only callout to which body or top they would fit is similar to what you see here; 77 looks to be the code for short wheel base, and 78 looks to be the code for long wheel base. (Also the LWB gets the "J" code?)
 
Fulton_Hogan said:
Here's something interesting, from the 2006 Parts Manual:

View attachment 320867

Part #3, the side (quarter) windows, look to have included the stripe after 2/14/2005. The parts manuals for the other years, 2004 and 2005, just list those as quarter windows, nothing about a diagonal stripe. The only callout to which body or top they would fit is similar to what you see here; 77 looks to be the code for short wheel base, and 78 looks to be the code for long wheel base. (Also the LWB gets the "J" code?)
Click to expand...
Interesting...I thought TJs had the quarter window "stripe" or "divider" from day one, i.e '97 models. I know my '03 did.
 
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Tha
rouxbicon said:
Interesting...I thought TJs had the quarter window "stripe" or "divider" from day one, i.e '97 models. I know my '03 did.
Click to expand...
That's just it, all the reviews and photos I see from that time show all (short-wheelbase) TJs with the divider.

It's only the (long-wheelbase/Unlimited) LJs which appear to have undivided windows. Until a point, then it changed to divided windows.
 
Upon further review, it looks like I may I have the Betstop Supertop NX?

I've got the Sunrider feature (which was supposedly a factory feature for LJs?) over the front seats, and my bow assembly looks like what's here:

Supertop NX Frame.PNG


Apologies if I muddied these waters.
 
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Fulton_Hogan said:
Your frame and top look just like those on my LJ. I assumed they were both original when I took ownership of the Jeep a couple years ago. Mind you, I bought it based on pictures alone and didn't see it in person until I got it from the vehicle hauler. After looking closer I believe mine to be an original frame and a Bestop replacement top.

To my understanding the sunrider feature was factory standard for all LJs. Again, your frame looks and acts like my frame. So as others have said, unless it's bent all to hell, that's good to go.

(EDIT: I don't know what frame I have at this point. The two outermost attachment points are snaps, that's where my window straps snap to the frame. The four middle points where the top is attached, those are all screws. WTF?)

I confirmed my top as a replacement when I saw a faded Bestop tag on the rear upper corner of the passenger side soft window. The other clue was the manufacture date and product information stamped into the bottom left corner on the rear window, mine is dated sometime in 2012. Also, when light hits my rear window just right I can make out where (at one time) there was a square Bestop logo decal(?) or marking just above this stamped data area.

Last thing, most, if not all, of what I believe to be factory original tops had undivided side windows. I mean the clear vinyl was all one piece, not two clear vinyl pieces divided by a section of top material. If you go back and look at old promotional materials, all the LJ windows were one clear vinyl piece. I think the dividers came into play as the Jeeps were used and the frame's side bar abraded the windows through motion; then those dividers made of top-material came into play. That top material doesn't show wear as easily as clear vinyl. Just one guy's opinion/hunch. So I'm betting your original top was at some point replaced.

Last point, Bestop is reported to have been the original manufacturer (sub-contractor?) for the original tops. So I've always thought if it has an original frame, a Bestop Replace-a-Top should work. (That's assuming their product stays similar in fit and function.) However, I think anything in your budget which fits an OEM style frame would work for you and your situation.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I am thinking OEM frame for sure and as was noted it’s good to go with no damage. The top has not tags I can find and there isn’t a good logo embossed in the rear window. I was thinking it’s a replacement but maybe not Bestop. The Jeep was originally a hard top based on interior features and build sheet. Who knows when the hard top was discarded.
 
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williambmac said:
I'm going to say, it looks like you have a RAP on the o.e. frame, for two reasons.
The original side windows didn't have undivided side windows. At least my o.e. didn't.
Your top also appears to be missing the rear corner supports.
The RAP to doesn't come with them and you have to swap them from your old top.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I had no idea there were missing corner supports. What do they look like? What is their exact purpose, support when the windows are out? The top doesn’t have any markings I can find. Even rear window stamp seems elusive. Might be able to see a slight Chrysler symbol there but also could swear it might have Omix Ada. Did they make tops? The top has to be replaced. Windows are so hard to see through even after an attempted plastic polish. Close to going with the traditional Bestop RAT, just have to wrap my head around $950 for it…
 
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