Making a DJ into a hard top for a cj5

Has anybody seen any good threads or websites on someone cutting the top off a mail jeep and fitting it to an early cj5? I'm cutting one off of a mail jeep from LKQ wrecking yard and I'm going to make an attempt but it would be cool to get an idea and a walk through on How to do it well!

 

Would it be easier to take the whole tub from the DJ? Lose the doors and modify the wheel wells. On the side where the dj door is use your existing body panels to fill it in.

Either way - it would be work.

 

Hate to be a naysayer, but this seems, to me, like not a very good idea.

Used Meyer steel cabs are out there, and they bolt on without a lot of fabrication.

Also, others have converted mail Jeeps to 4WD. If you want the DJ cab, this seems like a much more realistic way to go about it. Really, just take the whole body and put it on a CJ chassis. Cutting off the DJ top and grafting it to a CJ body seems like self-inflicted punishment.

Google "converting a mail Jeep to 4WD" and you'll find lots of material. Here's a Four Wheeler article http://www.fourwheeler.com/project-vehicles/129-0605-1975-jeep-dj-5d/

At the risk of piling on, I really dislike steel cabs on CJs. They really change the feeling of the Jeep, making it drive different and seem much less stable. And they are noisy, noisier than a flapping soft top.

 

Have to agree with Timgr.

To me a steel cab defeats the whole basis of Jeep freedom and wonderfulness.

 

x2

 

I agree with you guys in the fact that steel cabs aren't the best looking, but I know the a lot of people who work there and the manager told me I can cut off the top for free if I wanted to make an attempt. At that point why not try it, you know? Plus I'm just a college kid so I have almost no money and most of the money I do get goes towards college expenses! So I'm all about the free parts haha

 

True, but it allows me to drive one the other 9 months of the year...

 

I had a 1971 International Scout 800B with a hard top and that thing was loud inside. Then I installed a full roll cage with a soft top and it was quieter.

 

When I hit a big enough bump, the roof oilcans and it sounds like a thunderclap.

 

Lol! So true.

 

The postal jeep top is specific to the DJ- different door openings, tailgate/back door opening, corner braces, braces for the original sliding doors, etc. Your modifications will be extensive, time consuming and laborious. The attachment to the windshield is pretty similar to a CJ. There is a way of doing it all, though it will no doubt always look cobbled together. In its unaltered form- that is to say, still remaining on a postal jeep- the top is very strong- nearly rollover protection level strength. But sever the top portion from the body and the postal sort of falls apart. It's just the nature of the design.

The postal is at a wrecking yard? You'll need power to run a shear or sawzall to cut sheet metal and a drill to cut spot welds.

The cynic in me predicts the top will never make it out of the wrecking yard, much less be successfully adapted to a CJ. Postals have good parts on them, but the body tub and top aint one of them- the values are more in fenders, steering column, 11" brakes, wiper motor, frame and rear axle.

I did extensive work on my DJ to make the body no longer look like a postal- probably the majority of the body work was to the tub/top. It was a LOT of work. I learned a lot also- a good thing

Being poor shouldn't be your reason for taking this on. You'd be better off making 800 bucks on side jobs and getting a soft top. But if you decide to go ahead, good luck and have fun. You'll learn a lot, that's for sure!

 

I appreciate how in depth you went gunna haha. I'm pretty dead set on doing this so I'll try posting through out the process.

 

I think its doable and shouldnt be all that bad. Just make sure you cut far enough down on the top so it doesnt end up being too short. You can weld on a channel that sits on the cj tub as long as the dimentions are the same. Are you going to use the back door instead of the tailgate? The hard part is going to be the doors I think

 

I think its doable and shouldnt be all that bad. Just make sure you cut far enough down on the top so it doesnt end up being too short. You can weld on a channel that sits on the cj tub as long as the dimentions are the same. Are you going to use the back door instead of the tailgate? The hard part is going to be the doors I think. Get the steering column youll be glad you did if you decide to convert it to saganaw steering. It looks the same as the cj one but has a u-joint on the bottom instead of the steering box

 

Mine is already converted to power steering, but good thought! The DJ doesn't have the back door so I'll probably fabricate a hatch. As for the doors I agree! I really want to cut them so the fit well and try to make them swinging! Any recommendations are welcome!

 

So you're going to try to adapt the sliding postal doors to fit the opening and swing out? That'll be an engineering marvel! I know how those sliding doors are constructed; even after all I learned about fabrication, that's something I still wouldn't take on. I found a set of aluminum doors off an old Sears top and worked them into my DJ. Still a lot of work...


Recommendations? Yeah, stock up plenty of hard liquor, or whatever you use for calming the nerves!

edit: you could also try doing a half cab- I almost went that route. Honestly, trying to use those sliding doors is going to be tough. I saw a you tube clip where a guy used them in half door fashion, but by the time you do that , you could fab some doors up instead. Anyhow, good luck

 

I have a back door for a DJ that you can have if you want it. Don't know where you are. I am near Dallas and travel to St. Louis and Corpus Christi a few times each year.

 

Once I bring it home o start my game plan on the door, until then it's just theories

 

Sadly I live in Northern California so I am unable to meet up, but I really appreciate the offer!