CJ7 1/2 Doors

I've always kinda wanted a set of YJ 1/2 doors for my CJ7 but they sell for way too much money to justify the purchase. A friend has a friend who cleaned out a storage shed and found a set of CJ7 doors. He wants $20 each for them. I'm going to buy them.

Wondering if anyone knows why I couldn't cut them down to make a set of 1/2 doors. Of course I wouldn't have the roll up window any more but neither do the YJ doors.

I wouldn't try it myself...prolly hire someone in the body shop business. Thinking just cut it down, and do away with the window and internals of it (except the latch of course) and cap off the top and install maybe a stainless checker plate interior panel with a strap handle.

Course, by the time I pay someone to do this, I might be better off buying a set of YJ doors.

Either way $40 for a set of doors is cheap enough, I could resell them if needed.

 

Actually John, I've done that for a friend for his Samuria. I don't know if it's worth the trouble. I thought you had doors. There's a plastic/fiberglass model someone makes out there think I've seen them in Quadratec. Buy em for a good price sell em on ebay and then buy some.

 

resell, and buy the ones you want John...

 

Yeah, I have looked at the YJ 1/2 doors up close. The 1/2 doors are just way cool to me. They help out tremendously when in the mud to keep the mud out of the vehicle and also somewhat conceal the interior contents of the vehicle better...ie beer in cup holder. Personally I'd much rather have a set of YJ doors since they'll hang right on there with no modifications, but these are so cheap, I thought I could butcher them up and wind up with the same thing or there abouts.

Another thing I noticed while searching ebay is that early CJ7 doors had windows in them that slide open and closed....split down the middle sliding front to rear. I'm hoping that these are those style of doors because my window roller upper/downer hits my front hoop now and I can only open and close my windows if I open the door.

The problem with the soft doors is I'd have to remove my strike and replace it with one that works with a paddle style door latch.

 

I have 1/2 doors on my TJ and love them. But I have the real glass sliding uppers instead of the factory plastic zip windows, which makes a ton of difference. I love being able to pull the upper halves in about 2 seconds and throw them behind the back seat and go semi-doorless. They're great for drive-thru's and ATM's and toll booths too.

Seems like cutting them down would be relatively easy except for the door handles, aren't the full-door handles higher up on the door than the ones on the 1/2 doors? If you do cut them down, try to match the contour of the upper 1/2 doors that way you can still use factory upper halves. Q-tec sells the little plastic inserts that the upper door pegs slide into, it would be pretty simple to make them work. Look at it this way, even if you try it and screw them up you're only out $40.00

 

What about the Bestop soft 1/2 doors?
www.4wd.com part #53038.
$159.95 a pair for the rotary latch.
Or part #53028 $139.95 a pair for the other style.

 

Except Spring and Fall There's a lot of "in-between" days where it's nice to have the half door option. And TJ's with the nuts on the door hinges are a pain in the nuts to take off.

 

That's the good thing about Jeeps, so many options to suit the taste of the owners. I say tomato you say full 2-piece soft doors....

 

Got the doors today...$20 in lieu of $40 like I thought. I think it'll be a piece of cake to cut them down. Just have to relocate the latch and install a door panel of some kind.

 

I'm not gonna touch them. I have a friend who runs a paint and body shop. He does alot of work for my brother and on occasion does work for me. I'm just gonna drop them off and tell him what I want done. I'm pretty stoked. I figure if he charges me $100.00 (worst case scenario) I'll have a pair of 1/2 doors for $120. That's far better than I could get a set of YJ doors for.

Actually, I may not cut them exactly like a YJ since the YJ has a slope from the front to rear. There's a clean line on the CJ door that runs flat to a point then turns upward and to the rear just a little bit. I'm thinking this might be the best place to make the cut.

 

Here's a couple pics I got off ebay. The blue doors are the same style as the ones I've got. The red ones show an alternate latch method. The horizontal line that changes to vertical is where I'm thinking might be the best place to cut. I'll post a YJ door in the next post.

 

More Pics....

 

just a point of clarification John:
all factory steel CJ7 doors had roll up windows, not sliders.
some aftermarket doors (probably most) had sliders to save money

the blue doors pictured have the later paddle style handles, intoduced about 1981 or thereabouts.
the red doors show the early L handle style, and the door shown has the handle on incorrectly; the L handle should be facing forward, not protruding out past the door and to the rear as pictured
FYI

 

IMO....I would sell the full doors on ebay ....and save the money ...Look on local jeep sites and forums at the for sale sections.
I Got a set of cj7 half doors for mine for $100...then i turned around and sold them on ebay for $350. Keep lookin the deals are out there!!