Hardtop Repair or Replacement?

Robin Down

Robin Down

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 6, 2016
Messages
100
I was wheeling in the snow with my club a couple weekends ago, and while I was stopped on a turn a truck approaching from the other direction slid into me on the driver's side. When we tried to separate the vehicles, his truck's bed rails caught the edge of my hardtop vent and pulled it backward, breaking it in several places.
So, long story short - my insurance totaled the vehicle, I retained it - they paid me the difference, and now I have some decisions to make to repair or replace the top. Vehicle was already salvage title - it will remain salvage title but I will only have liability insurance. I don't plan to sell the Jeep anytime soon, since I have made significant upgrades (bumpers, axles, lockers, long-arm, skids, etc..) and I like having a hard-top, especially in the cold weather and since it rains most of the winter where I live.

My thought is I can probably do some repairs myself on the fiberglass, and with some paint (bedliner) after it should look pretty good. I was able to salvage the vent dividers, although broken I think I can glue them back together. I haven't found them anywhere online.

Asking for your opinions (yes I know the dangers!! ha ha...) should I:

  1. Keep the top and repair it myself (I have a little exp with fiberglass before)
  2. Keep the top and spend $$ to have it repaired
  3. Sell the top and buy a new aftermarket Hard-top (I see some for about $1250-$1300 that look decent)
  4. Sell the top and go with a Soft top (Bestop NX looks nice)


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It wouldn't cost much to attempt a repair using fiberglass. If it turns out nice, then you could paint it. You could get creative and use some thin metal sheeting or some other material as backing to the cracked areas.

Repair or replace the vent dividers first. If you don't have those parts, repairing the top doesn't make sense.
 
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I love my hardtop, and I also love my trek top NX. It really comes down to how much money the insurance gave you and if you want to spend it all on a top. If you want to save money then repair it with the proper cementing material (the hardtop is a composite plastic and not fiberglass). But there are some videos on repairing hardtops on YouTube to check out. I like rally tops since you can get sliding windows in the back and various options such as roof racks and stuff.
 
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I wouldn't even attempt to repair that unless you're really good working with FRP. IMHO, I'd replace it.
 
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If you've got more time than money, try to fix it. If it fails then you can find another. While you're fixing it, you could get the soft top.

My .02
 
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BuildBreakRepeat said:
Fibe-Reinforced Plastic, it’s what they make the hardtops out of. You can buy the stuff to repair it but it’s not cheap.
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Problem is, even if you repair it, the repair ends up being stronger than the surrounding material, so you still have an imbalance of physical properties that can lead to continued damage. That's some info from @Jankoid, who does that kind of work for a living. Best to ping him for the finer points of the frustration.
 
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Davidtj said:
So they totaled your jeep for broken top and scrape on side
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Yes, exactly. The repair estimate was $3800, the value of the vehicle was estimated at $6600, which did not consider my upgrades - and the salvage value was $2400 so they paid me $4200. Since I purchased the vehicle with a salvage title I really don't mind at all. If I had gone through the trouble of calculating all the upgrades that I have reciepts for - it still left a large chunk that would not be counted (axles purchased from CL or other friends, etc) and then so I think I got the best deal out of this I could, and I get to keep my Jeep.
 
Store the top and do the nx and watch Craigslist for a top with no glass , or buy a hull at a Jeep yard and convert all your good parts over the summer.

Get a corner guard for the back tub corners to cover the scrape and roll on.

Then find the guy in the truck who creamed ya , slap him , and say “that’s from a guy named Jerry Bransford.” 😎
 
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The tops are actually made of sheet molding compound (SMC).

I repaired part of an old top with with an SMC/Fiberglass filler from the company USC. I'd never performed any sort of body work before but it worked!
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