Hardtop to windshield clamp

RussTJ

RussTJ

TJ Enthusiast
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Joined
Nov 22, 2017
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547
Location
Bridgewater, MA, USA
Just picked up a hard top for my ‘97 SE. My buddy had an ’06 with both tops. I had tried to buy the hard top from him several times because he didn’t use it and my soft top was torn. He called me recently and said I could have the hard top for free. His ’06 had been in an accident and totaled. Luckily, he was okay. The hard top was sitting in his yard and I just had to pick it up.

Putting the hard top on was easy enough but I couldn’t clamp it on at the windshield no matter what I tried. Long story short, I needed to swap the hinges from my factory ’97 soft top to the ’06 hard top. The hinges are a little different and that made the difference. Thought I’d pass it along.

The hinge on the left is from my 97. The one on the right is from the 06.

Also, I'm aware of the venting issue.

hinge 1.jpg


hinge 2.jpg


hinge 3.jpg


hinge 4.jpg
 
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p.s. What a great deal. Pics? I paid $900 for mine and thought that was a good deal compared to most prices.
 
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SSTJ said:
Good to know; thanks for sharing.

I wonder if this is another 97 thing? I often hear that hard tops are interchangeable, aside from the vent locations.
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Interested to know when the change happened, or more importantly when does it become important. My 97 hard top has no problem latching onto my 02, and the soft top header bar from the 02 fits perfectly fine on the 97.
 
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hear said:
Interested to know when the change happened, or more importantly when does it become important. My 97 hard top has no problem latching onto my 02, and the soft top header bar from the 02 fits perfectly fine on the 97.
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Interesting. My next guess would be that it changed in 03, which is when I think the vents also changed. Right?

Or, if it it is another quirk of the 97s, then it's likely true only for some 97s, perhaps manufactured before a certain date.
 
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Just thought of another possible piece to this puzzle. I replaced my windshield a few years back. I bought it aftermarket from Crown and had it painted. Not sure if that played a part in this.
 
RussTJ said:
Just thought of another possible piece to this puzzle. I replaced my windshield a few years back. I bought it aftermarket from Crown and had it painted. Not sure if that played a part in this.
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Well, that might explain it if neither clamp worked, but the fact that the soft-top clamp worked still confuses me. Was the soft-top original?

Or, was the soft-top using clamps that came with your windshield?
 
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SSTJ said:
Well, that might explain it if neither clamp worked, but the fact that the soft-top clamp worked still confuses me. Was the soft-top original?

Or, was the soft-top using clamps that came with your windshield?
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The soft top was original and clamped on to the original and replacement windshields without trouble. Like you mentioned, it’s probably a 97 thing.
 
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macleanflood said:
I bought a random aftermarket used hard top from a junkyard and it went on my 97 with zero issues...other than tightening the clamp bolts a little to dial it in.

I don't think there's a difference from 97 to 06 in the mounts, spacing, etc.

-Mac
Click to expand...

Got it. But since these 97 quirks are sometimes true for only the earlier models (96, etc.), maybe it only applies to some?
 
LittleTankTJ said:
I can't tell from your post. Was the soft top clamp tighter or looser? The current hard top doesn't clamp tight enough. But it sounds like you had the opposite issue?
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My original soft top clamped down without trouble and was secure. When I got the hard top, the clamp would not drop down far enough to hook on the windshield. The clamps that I finally used (from my soft top) would allow the hook to drop down lower and secure on the windshield. The clamps that came with the hardtop weren't even close to hooking on.
 
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