stevebythesea Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 My 1986 90 was originally either a truck cab or soft top. At some time in the past someone put a hardtop on and added a safari door of sorts. Having spent weeks stripping down to the chassis, coating everything with POR15, then bolting together with stainless, my attention has now turned to the bodywork. My spray man, who has quoted for a complete respray, and whom I trust, reliably informs me I will need new door skins all round, which is probably correct given the corrosion on the ally. The door frames have been repaired as part of the rebuild. The argument for soft top conversion goes like this. If I convert to soft top, the landy will ultimatley fetch more money when and if I sell. The cost of conversion can be partly offset by not respraying the roof and sides, re-skinning and spraying the back door and by the sale of the roof and sides - all in all, a saving of somewhere around £700.00. To boot, I will have a soft top as well, and seeing as though this is not our primary car, its more of a fun vehicle, that makes sense. I have looked around around at various loop sets, roll bars, canvas etc and there are some good options. What I am asking is can anyone recommend a particular manufacturer? I like the hoop set sold by offroadrovers, comes in powder coat or galvanised - but which is more durable? Any advice greatly received. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I would go with Galv. Eventually, it may start rusting, and a quick shot blast and a re-galv and its as good as new. With powder coating, it tends to chip, get water behind, rust out the steel, and then a big sheet of powder coat falls off and leaves a hole in the frame....my spare wheel carrier's been this way. Have you looked at All Wheel Trim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris113 Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 As above, I would go with galv. The hoodsticks on mine are galv and have held up well -the galv hasn't even been damaged by repeatedly being bent on trees and straightened with a winch! I have heard good things about all wheel trim, but have only had dealings with exmoor trim, of which I can say I was pleased with the soft top from them. The only problems I have with my soft top is that the vehicle is less secure. I also like to drive with the back rolled up the whole time, which means on wet roads you get a fine watery mist covering everything (including you)...The simple solution however is to fit mudflaps or roll the back down. Consider a fume curtain if you go for a full soft top, it makes a huge difference to the warmth during winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thingybox Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 My 90 was originally a truck cab when I bought it 5 years ago. I immediately replaced the truck cab with a black canvas hood and galvanised hood sticks from Exmoor Trim. The hood has only been removed on hot, sunny days, remaining on the 90 throughout the last 4-5 winters. I have to admit that it's absolutely brilliant! The hood's looking a bit faded but it's still waterproof. I wash the hood at work too using the company's pressure washer. This is a heavy duty, industrial type pressure washer that's used to clean HGVs and the hood still remains waterproof. The hood sticks are as bright as when I first bought them and are showing no signs of rust. However, I understand that Exmoor Trim have now changed the material they use to make the hoods. From it's appearance, it would be prudent to assume that it is a better quality material than the hood I've got. I'm actually tempted to buy a second hood in this new material but, unfortunately, it'll have to come after a 200tdi engine to replace the 19J engine and a replacement rear axle with disc brakes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris113 Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 My 90 was originally a truck cab when I bought it 5 years ago. I immediately replaced the truck cab with a black canvas hood and galvanised hood sticks from Exmoor Trim. The hood has only been removed on hot, sunny days, remaining on the 90 throughout the last 4-5 winters. I have to admit that it's absolutely brilliant! The hood's looking a bit faded but it's still waterproof. I wash the hood at work too using the company's pressure washer. This is a heavy duty, industrial type pressure washer that's used to clean HGVs and the hood still remains waterproof. The hood sticks are as bright as when I first bought them and are showing no signs of rust. However, I understand that Exmoor Trim have now changed the material they use to make the hoods. From it's appearance, it would be prudent to assume that it is a better quality material than the hood I've got. I'm actually tempted to buy a second hood in this new material but, unfortunately, it'll have to come after a 200tdi engine to replace the 19J engine and a replacement rear axle with disc brakes! They make them in canvas or in mohair. The latter is much more waterproof and doesn't shrink/stain as badly, but is a lot more expensive to buy. I have a canvas hood on mine which is very old, yet is still waterproof and it can be patched up if torn on trees. My dad has a mohair version, it fits very well and looks good. However, it attaches to the body with popper studs (which don't seem to last too long) and it has zips on the sides and rear. This makes it very quick to roll up the sides/back, but the zips fail after a while and require a professional to change them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom1809 Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 i really like the nas style soft tops, i originally wanted to go down this route after i had to rule out it being a winch challenge king cab, now its a van back as i need it for work. all wheel trim where reasonable on there price and p&p nas cage wasnt to bad either, how ever it was powder coated, i guess tho your just looking for a standard soft top set up, i would fit a roll bar tho if that was the case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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