Homemade Conquest Hardtop Build Thread

[bluebruin]

The previous owner had glued all sorts of cheapo mirrors all over the inside the argo on the hardtop and windshield. these were the dollar store variety and none worked too well. As I removed them, I was thinking... "hey, I have a mirror I could use left over from when I sold my 67 mini cooper". So, here it is. My wife bought it for me a while ago. Its a "no blind spot" mirror. works pretty well. Had to make some modifications to mount it. But I can see out all side windows and back windows from the driver seat now.

The No Blind Spot Rear View Mirror - Hammacher Schlemmer

[bluebruin]

making progress!

I heated my garage with my fireplace and electric heater up to 90 deg! I was literally sweating as I worked.... I applied a coat of epoxy (goop coat-it) to all the outsides. Then I kept warm and let it cure. I think its going to take a while to FULLY cure, so I've had heaters running 24-7 to keep it about 60 or more in there since its 0-30 outside.....

Then I finished cutting all my polycarbonate windows and installed them all. Put the door latches back in place. Then screwed the hardtop back together, and finally screwed it into the aluminum hardtop frame.

here is what its looking like.






next step is putting the roof on. After about another week of letting the epoxy cure, I will put a coat of black paint over the outside to protect the epoxy from UV. Then I can put the tracks back on and I hope I'm ready for cabin action again!

[bluebruin]

found a bunch of junk in my garage tonight... going to add the following:

- dash LED light
- tail lights to come on with LED light bar
- 12v plug to mount in dash
- 12v electric heater to supplement heat in back of cab for kids/wife
- tilt meter
- grab handles to help get in?
- gas strut to lift/hold rear hatch door
- fine mesh screen to add to vent holes on hood to keep out blowing snow

also, turns out the 1/16" HDPE plastic sheets I had for the top (got them from junk pile somewhere) are 1/2" too short in one dimension on one of the sheets..... I have been looking around, there isn't much big enough to cover the roof in one piece. I think I am going to use grace water and ice shield like you do under shingles.

Grace Ice & Water Shield 36 in. x 75 ft. (225 sq. ft.) Roll Roofing Underlayment in Black-5003002 - The Home Depot

that stuff is amazing. it is SO sticky when you apply it in warm conditions. really greats a leakproof seal. plus, its black mostly. And, I found an old roof rack I had welded up on a previous offroad trailer project, that also fits the roof perfectly. I just need to add foot plates, and I can screw it on. If I put the water shield on first, then the rack, it should seal up the holes where the screws go through mostly to be leak free. plus its relatively light, and I have a roll, so its free. I can always peel it off later if it does not work out. guess we'll see.

[bluebruin]

Before installing my ice sheild roof, I decided to buy some cheap polycarbonate "L" trim all around the perimeter of the roof. This way, I would have a nice smooth edge on top to stick the roofing to to form a tight seal. Also, this way, any water running over the edges from rain, or melting snow, will be forced over the outside of the hardtop, preventing water from dripping in between the plywood and the aluminum hardtop.







Here is the roof. I just laid the foam boards back in from the previous owner. (I sealed up the drain holes in the bottom of the roof trays with silicone first so water can't drain down in the rack tubes as others have suggested has caused them issues with the water freezing and bursting the tubes)







So, last week I started laying the ice shield as my roof membrane/top. well, I had JUST enough and I accidentally let an end of one of the three sheets of the stuff flop over and touch itself - sticky side to sticky side. Let's just say it was instantly bonded. I tried for over an hour to pull it apart, but could not. So, I did not have enough to finish. Its $144 a roll.... so I did not want to buy a new roll just for 4ft of it!

Instead, I bought protecto-wrap. only 9" wide, but only $25 a roll. Its meant for a similar purpose when installing windows in a house to protect and seal the rough framing around the window frame you drop in. anyway, not ideal, but it will work. If I have issues in the future, I'll just cover it all with something else.

I just spray painted it all black but don't have a pic yet.

[bluebruin]

I think I am going to mount the gas can in here instead. Fits well under the seat. Keeps the weight down low for COG and also one less mount to bolt onto the hardtop.



double sided tape to install the tilt-o-meter I found in my junk



here is my dash flash light LED. just has magnet on back, so just stuck it to the defrost shield.

[bluebruin]

put the black paint on over the epoxy.




I weighed some of sides and glass before installing. I estimate the entire wood enclosure weighs about 120lbs. Not sure about the original aluminum top.

[bluebruin]

roof painted



super fine mesh added to my hood to keep out blowing snow accumulation, such as when argo is sitting out front of my cabin over night. ( i built hood previously, I am working on refining design and will post that separately later)



bullet tail lights added. wired to led light bar so when that's on, so are these. just solid red, not "brake lights". Added reflectors too.

[bluebruin]

added interior door handles



next up, dash mounted 12v socket and a USB 12v charging port

[thorn]

Fantastic work. That top is going to come in handy when the winds are whipping! The hood looks great and should function well. I put some holes in the the front of my OME hood to give the engine compartment a bit more air like the hood scoop on the newer machines.

[bluebruin]

not enough real estate on the dash for the 12v socket, so I opted for this flat spot.









This is the little heater I am plugging in. Not sure it will do much, but might come in handy if its really cold. the cab is so small, don't think it will take a lot to heat it once a few warm bodies are inside



might relocate as right next two two gas cans is maybe not the ideal spot

[bluebruin]

added door "striker plates".. just some aluminum L channel to take the repeated impact of the latch as well as add a tad of thickness to keep the door drawn shut tightly.




needed a way to unlatch the doors from the inside. took some doing, but managed to drill out some metal behind the latch bolt, and drill a hole in the latch bolt, and then add this shower curtain ring. now I have something to pull from the inside and release the latch.




doors needed a limit strap. otherwise they open 180 degrees and you can't reach them if you are sitting inside the argo.

[bluebruin]

rear hatch has a rather thin frame around the window so I could keep the window large and maintain good visibility. but the wood has warped some and it does not stay flush in the frame completely. maybe 1/4" gaps here and there, but that will let in a lot of snow over time when the argo is parked in the windy snowy cold at the cabin.

I decided to add some extra latches like you have in a newer jeep to hold you hardtop in place. just swivel them around and they will keep the hatch tight.

closed



open



you can see them both here

[bluebruin]

had an extra gas strut from the rear glass on my jeep. one lost pressure, so I ordered and installed a new set. Ended up with this extra and had some mounting plates/balls from another project that fit. installed it and its enough to hold the hatch up.

[bluebruin]

built this mount for my spare tire out of HDPE plastic.






then got the spare mounted on the roof, along with the rack.



Rack came from my old M416 offroad trailer. It was on the lid I made before I cut it off to add a roof top folding camper top


Here is the argo as it sits now. My list is finally getting shorter. Tomorrow I will put the tracks on, finish some things up, and get this thing loaded to go up to the cabin!

[Noel Woods]

Looks sharp man. Should keep you and your crew warm and cozy in there.