Barn Door for JK factory hardtops

[jscherb]

The rattle can of Spice paint arrived today, so I primed a small square of fiberglass and shot it in Spice.

The I took the square down to Elmira Auto Paint and they scanned it. Their computer decided it was a close match for Chrysler paint code LTB, which is Spice, so good news there, the rattle can matches what I can get mixed.

They then mixed me a 2 oz sample so I can compare that to the rattle can.

I like the look of the Spice with the Cherry Red JK, but more importantly, Heather approves.

 

[jscherb]

I checked the color Elmira Auto Paint mixed for me, it's a good match for the rattle can I test I sprayed yesterday. When I'm ready to paint, I'll get Elmira Auto Paint to mix a quart of Spice base coat for me.

Since the interior of the Jeep is black with black leather (or whatever marketing name Jeep uses for the black-like color), I'm going to do the headliner in a complementary color. Here's a swatch of the headliner fabric next to the carpet in the cargo area, it's called "Heather Charcoal" and it's more of a gray than a charcoal but I think it will go nicely with the interior.

I've also ordered 4 yards of Spice soft top fabric from Collins Bros. to make the roll-up soft sides and the soft barn door: http://collinsbrosjeep.com/haartz-soft-top-and-seat-material-spice-37/. BTW I'm going to sew two skins for the soft barn door - one will be Spice to match the Safari Cab, and the second skin will be done in black factory soft top fabric so it will go well with the factory hard and soft tops.

The only color decision left is the inside of the side and rear panels. The interior of factory hardtops is white, so I'm thinking I'll shoot them with white bedliner.

 

[jscherb]

I've posted before about the slider window retrofit kit for factory hardtops I've been working on. The other day I finished up a Safari Cab side panel with a factory window to use for testing, and the first test was to see how difficult it would be for someone to remove the bonded-on factory window. It turns out it can be done with a utility knife - it takes a bunch of passes on each side to cut through the adhesive, but a utility knife will do the job.

Next I laid out the exact shape and size of a custom-fit RV-style window frame for the opening. The blue and green tape indicates the frame shape and size; any fiberglass showing inside the tape lines would need to be trimmed back so the window would fit in the opening.

The next step is for the RV window company I've been working with to make up a prototype window frame for a test install. They've agreed to make some prototype frames for me but I haven't decided yet if I'm going to go any further with this project.

 

[jscherb]

I'm working on the JK soft barn door upper, here are some photos of the frame sitting in front of the hard barn door upper. The soft barn door mounts to the tailgate with the same hardware as the hard barn door and will work with both the factory hardtop and the Safari Cab hardtop. As soon as I get a chance to verify the fit on the Jeep I'll sew the skin for it.

The LJ soft barn door worked out very well, so the JK one follows the same design, just different dimensions and shape.

I have enough steel rod on hand to make a second frame so I may end up making another one so I don't have to swap the skins to change color.

I plan to sew two skins for the JK soft barn door - for one I'll use factory black sailcloth soft top fabric so it will go well with the factory top and match the factory soft top (I've got a design for using the barn door with the factory soft top). The other skin will be done in Spice soft top fabric to match the paint color I plan for the Safari Cab hardtop.

 

[jscherb]

This morning I finalized the fit of the soft barn door frame to the factory hardtop. There hatch opening has no straight lines, so the curves of the soft barn door frame have to be exactly correct to form a good seal to the weatherstrip. Everything's now been adjusted so the frame pushes tightly against the weatherstrip all the way around.

The barn door is secured to the same stakes that the hard barn door mounts to; I used wing nuts so it's very quick and easy to remove the upper.

The next step is sewing a skin for it and then it will be ready to use.

Here are a couple of photos of the frame installed, followed by a video of the barn door in action and how long it takes to remove it. Sorry for the lighting on some of these, it's zero degrees outside so I decided to do the photos and video in the garage today.

 

[jscherb]

The other thing I did on the JK yesterday was finish up the tub side wiring. I had already done the connections at the back - wiper, defroster, third brake light and a plug for switched and unswitched accessory power, but I hadn't yet made the connections in the engine compartment for the accessory power.

I added a small fuse/relay box near the battery, it attaches to a fender bolt. Inside are three fuses - switched power, unswitched power and a fuse for the relay that controls the switched power. Power is drawn directly from the battery, and the relay to control the switched power is driven off a fuse tap in the TIPM (main fuse box).

Now the Jeep is completely plug-in ready for the Safari Cab and all of it's circuits. All of the wiring additions plugged in to existing locations in the Jeep, nothing complicated was required.

I haven't done the harnesses that go in the hardtop for the accessory power yet, I'll do that in the next week or two along with wiring the overhead console and the power vent windows/switches.

 

[jscherb]

My plan all along has been to use an XJ Cherokee third brake light on the roof of the Safari Cab. In most photos I've had a mockup installed:

I say mockup because in those photos it's only been the lens - the factory light has a bulb housing in the back that requires a huge hole in the surface it's mounted on. Since I don't want to have a big bulb housing sticking into the inside of the hardtop, today I modified an XJ Cherokee third brake light to make it surface mount. I cut the lamp housing off the back, installing LED panels inside the lens and epoxied a piece of aluminum sheet to close off the back and make it waterproof. I retained the factory XJ wiring plug. Here are a few photos of a stock Cherokee light and the modified one.

The LED version turns out to be quite a bit brighter than the stock version.

 

[Comanche Scott]

Very clean! Definitely like how bright it is. :beer:

On the paint, are you going to do it in a satin, or gloss finish?

 

[jscherb]

Very clean! Definitely like how bright it is. :beer:

Thanks. I did the same mod to the brake light for the LJ Safari Cab, if you look in the photo I posted yesterday of the JK, the LJ is in the distance and it has the same LED brake light. It's served well for the past 5 years.

On the paint, are you going to do it in a satin, or gloss finish?

The Spice paint that Elmira Auto Paint will mix for me is two-stage - base/clear, so it needs a clear coat for UV protection. I'll most likely do a matte clear, perhaps something like this:
http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-rat-rod-matte-clear-quart-kit.html, but I'm open to input on the gloss level.

 

[Comanche Scott]

The Spice paint that Elmira Auto Paint will mix for me is two-stage - base/clear, so it needs a clear coat for UV protection. I'll most likely do a matte clear, perhaps something like this:
http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-rat-rod-matte-clear-quart-kit.html, but I'm open to input on the gloss level.

That makes perfect sense to me, since the cloth material will be similar in appearance, so no matter which way you have it set up, it all blends together well.
Very cool Jeff!
Looking forward to seeing how your headliner project goes as well. :beer:

 

[jscherb]

That makes perfect sense to me, since the cloth material will be similar in appearance, so no matter which way you have it set up, it all blends together well.
Very cool Jeff!
Looking forward to seeing how your headliner project goes as well. :beer:

Thanks. Tomorrow I'll post photos of the Spice fabric, assuming it comes as UPS Tracking says it will. Also I'm working on the overhead console right now and should have some photos of that in a day or two. The full headliner will be installed after the roof is painted.

 

[jscherb]

Now that I've finished up the frame for the soft barn door, I'm getting ready to sew the skin. The design includes an openable window, which will unzip/roll down as shown in this drawing.

This next design sketch of the skin is mostly for my own reference, it shows how the parts go together:

Because the curves complicate the sewing and fitting a bit, I'll probably sew a test version using some fabric I have on hand before I sew one from the much more expensive soft top material. I ordered the necessary zippers today, so when they arrive I'll begin sewing.

 

[Jurfie]

Why roll down instead of up like the factory window?

 

[jscherb]

Why roll down instead of up like the factory window?

Which factory window? Ever since Jeep introduced half doors with soft uppers with the YJ, the vinyl windows have zipped down, not up .

Yes, I know this is the back window and not a side door window, so the reasons for going down instead of up are different. Here's why half door windows go down instead of up: imagine pulling into a toll booth and having to hold the window up out of your way while you pay the toll... if the window goes down you don't have to hold it out of the way to pay the toll. Also if if goes down you don't necessarily have to roll it and strap it, it can just hang down inside. If you unzip a roll-up window, you must roll it and strap it otherwise it'll just flap back down, so on half doors, you really couldn't open it while driving because it takes two hands to roll it and strap it.

Most of that doesn't apply to the rear window (except the option of just letting it hang down inside), but the main reason I decided to make it go down is because the visibility out the back of a JK is already poor and a rolled down window won't be in the line of vision. A rolled up window pretty much always hangs down a bit in the window opening, no matter how tight you try to roll it.

Maybe I'll change my mind after sewing a prototype to test, but that's why I designed it to roll down.

 

[jscherb]

The Spice Denim fabric I ordered arrived this morning. I couldn't be happier with the match of the painted fiberglass and the fabric. It's extremely hard to render colors accurately on a monitor, especially when the textures are different like these two are, but I think these photos show how nicely they match.

I've got 4 yards of the fabric, which is more than enough to make both soft sides and a soft barn door with enough extra to make another one or two of of either of those.