What's involved in converting a Land Rover Defender from a hard top to a canvas soft top, and can you go back and forth? A quick look at everything involved, and the pros and cons of different setups. www.autologymotors.com
I have a hardtop that I switch to soft top in the summer. Once you have all of the necessary parts, it's not that difficult. However: First, don't underestimate the number of parts you'll need to acquire, and there's a lot of bits and pieces with a soft top, and they can quickly add up to serious $$$. Tailgates, hoop sets, header rails, fasteners, the soft top itself, front door conversions, etc. Look at the parts catalogue and make a list, and then count on surprises when you actually do the job. Second, the hard top is heavy and bulky to remove and store. You could theoretically disassemble it to save space, but that would be a major hassle and you'd compromise what little watertight integrity these hard tops have by disturbing seals, gaskets, etc. Inside storage would be ideal, but few people have that. Putting it outside under a tarp will invite invasion by spiders and rodents, and I wouldn't recommend it. Even storing the soft top is a hassle, what with all of the hoops and all, and stored soft tops can mildew if not stored correctly. So the upshot is that I find it worth it for the enjoyment of a soft top in summer and the security/comfort of a hardtop in winter. But it was a major investment to acquire all the parts. Once you've got all the parts and have done it a couple of times, you can still plan on a solid half day to swap back and forth, with much more time required the first time you do it.
I own a Series 2a. Once you swap out tops you do not want to go through it again 😓. Not so much labor intensive, rather frustration at its finest. This why I'll eventually own both.
My 70' IIA had a pickup style tailgate that went down on chains I used with the soft top. You closed it up with levers on each side to lock it down. Never had to change the lock set. The canvas top had a rear fold up window. In the winter month's would put the hardtop back on with the full rear door and take the tailgate off. Not a big deal if you have a overhanging tree and a little manual winch. One person can do it that way.
I love the pickup-style "flop down" tailgate. It's such a great impromptu bench, dinner table or cocktail bar. The downside is much more difficult access to the rear for human beings, and if you have seats back there it makes it hard for people to clamber in and sit down. Thanks for watching!
For the Santana that you built with the either or, what soft top do you use? The D90 is longer and the Series 3 is the same length but with a flat windshield roofline. I have a 91 Santana 2500DL and interested in doing this conversion.
Have an 03 disco 2. Considering doing a soft top on it as well since the sunroofs don't work and it has a lot of rust holes up there. Is this a possibility with the disco 2?
Hey Paul, Thank you for the explanation. I am would like to convert my TD5 2005 from hard top to soft top, could you help me with that and what is the cost to do it? I also would would like to know if in Spain you can convert to soft top without the need to register the change in the car papers? Thank you Andre
We will be traveling to Spain in summer of ‘23. One of goals of this trip is to locate and purchase a LHD D90 TDI to ship back to the states. Is this something your shop can assist with if I leave it with you to have work performed before shipping it?
I had a 1972 88" NADA deluxe hardtop. Just after it's arrival, I swapped the hardtop for the station wagon lid I had on my 1962 88" Series IIA. This was an easy job but probably took several hours for the change over. Did this within a week or two of the Series III's arrival when it was brand new. Two or three years later, I purchased a new "truck cab" from the Land Rover parts catalogue. About that same time I purchased a full length canvas top and appropriate hood stick kit, and a "3/4-inch" canvas top with appropriate hood stick kit. I used the factory's name for the latter canvas, which in reality was about 1/2 length, as it covered the rear load area when the truck cab was on the Land Rover. I also installed a tropical roof panel on the truck cab. These tropical roof panels were a very good investment, especially in summer months. (I was sad to see the factory do away with them when they went over to the 90's and 110's even before changing the Land Rover name to Defender.) Thus for my 1972 88" (s/n 25900379a), I had a full-length station wagon roof; a pickup (truck cab) roof; a full-length canvas top; and a 3/4" "tilt" canvas top. At the time I bought the Series III (August 1972), I was living in Missoula, Montana. In 1974 I moved to San Diego where I had a Land Rover parts business from 1974 to 1986. I found it wasn't too hard and didn't take too much time to change from using either the station wagon roof or the truck cab over to the full length canvas top. That said, the top I used most often was the truck cab (with tropical roof). I only used the 3/4 length canvas top in winter months where I'd be taking long highway trips. When the day comes I order a "new" (restored) Defender or Series vehicle, I'll probably go with a truck cab and a full length canvas top. And, to be sure, I'd use the Series III type of 2-piece front doors. (Solihull produced truck cabs came with the drop down tailgate that was also used as standard on hardtop (non-station wagon) vehicles. All your videos I've seen, Paul, have been excellent. I've been working on a book titled, TIME TO REEXAMINE PEARL HARBOR. After that's published late next year for the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, I plan to order a fully restored Land Rover. When the time is appropriate, I'll give you a call. "Land Rover Andy" as I used to be known does not need any distractions. I started doing Pearl Harbor research in October 1983. I've been working on this ever since. Those who have written the Hawaiian commanders did not have the same high level of intelligence we had in Washington, D.C. do not know what they are talking about! Of course, the U.S. Government did its best to mislead folks with disinformation. My wife and I have spent months working at Archives II and the FDR Library in Hyde Park going through thousands of pages of documents which, of course, we scanned into our computers. I've also read---and indexed---all 39 volumes of the Pearl Harbor Attack Hearings. Hopefully, our book will be the first book ever published that tells readers that despite testimony to the contrary, Admiral Kimmel and General Short on Oahu and key subordinates had the same intelligence our "Ultras" had in the War and Navy Departments and at the top of the Army and Navy in the Philippines.) Sorry I'm verbose. I do look forward to the purchase of another Land Rover made between 1948 (the year I was born) and January 2016. Thanks for your faboulous videos, Paul! Andy McKane, P.O. Box 166, Maunaloa, Hawaii 96770.
Hey Paul, quick question...I’ve got a 2016 defender 90 pick up and and I was thinking of swapping the two front seats with 3 bench bucket seats style similar to the old series truck for a more vintage look and more room. Do you think that possible? Thanks
Sorry for the delay in response. I didn't see this until just now. Anything is possible, but I have never done it myself. I suspect it would be fairly straightforward in one respect and tricky in another. Like the Series trucks, the original Defender has a uniform, transverse bulkhead that the seats mount to, so the seat frames from a Series III should bolt up easily and accept the original Series cushions. But unlike the Series trucks, the Defender is slightly wider, and the vertical bulkhead behind the seats is set back a couple inches and less vertical.It might be difficult to get them oriented correctly without gaps, and with the correct rake for the seat backs. But it's a cool idea. I may try it myself.
Great video Paul. I’m thinking of converting a 1988 Defender 110 Army issue with a canvas top to a hard top. Do you think this will be relatively straightforward and similar to what you did in the video? Thanks
Where can I get a series 3 rear door? Do the hinges on a series 3 rear door matchup with defender 90 hinges? I know that he said that the latch and striker must be changed when installing a series 3 door, but what about the hinges? Thank you.
You can get a Series III rear door from pretty much any Land Rover parts supplier. AllMakes, Paddock Spares, Britpart, etc. But no, the hinges don’t line up. You will the door itself, the hinges, the latch, lock assembly, and striker plate. It’s typically about… 800€ in parts plus paint? Something like that.
Hey Paul 👋 This is such an interesting video, thank you! It's awesome that you can accommodate someone who wants both. Out of interest, how weather proof is the soft-top version? Will it withstand a reasonable downpour without soaking the occupants?
@@PluckyLuke "Time permitting" is always the problem. Hahaha! As you can see in the video, my shop is always packed and I have too many projects, but I will try! I promise. As for the weatherproofness, the "double duck" canvas soft top is quite weatherproof, and downpours are usually not a problem. Sometimes a combination of heavy rain AND high winds will get water into the cockpit through gaps around the windscreen and doors, but to be blunt this is also true of the hard roof. Hope that helps, and thanks for watching!
@Paul Misencik Thank you for the reply 😊 You're right, we all know they leak - it's part of life. I have a 2006 Defender and it cannot get through heavy rain, pared or being driven, without leaking 🤣
I suppose it depends on where you live, but I have never heard of it being an issue. The hard top was fully removable on the original Defender, right from the factory, so removing the hard top is not a "modification" to the vehicle. It doesn't change the structural rigidity of the original homologated body shell. If you bought a bog standard Defender you would be able to remove the roof anyway, and just run the truck open. The canvas roof doesn't really change anything.
Owned a 2012 TD4 softtop, was even a lot of work to get the whole softtop off, the doors and front windows stayed and it had a tailgate instead of a door like on the pickup. Nothing like a modern cabriolet with electric hood. I just rolled up the side curtains and the rear curtain. Lot of noise too, listening to the radio or using the telephone on the highway was almost not possible.
Great information. I am very interested in making this happen with my recent Defender purchase. So, series doors and tailgate. Is this also a series soft-top?
If you have a Defender, no. You would buy the soft top and hoop set for the Defender. But the doors, front and rear, are the same size, Series and Defender. So you use all series doors. But the hopples set and canvas hood must be for a Defender. And when you buy the Series doors, don't forget to get Series latches and locks and striker plates. You need to change everything on the doors.
@@paulmisencik I meant to ask about the hoop set. I actually found a side opening rear half door from SP panels but I will be going with the series doors. Thanks for the reply. This kind of information is priceless.
One more quick question. What is your solution for the inertia seat belt? I have seen the military-style roll bar incorporated into the hoop set, the actual seat belt bar, and mounting to the bulkhead behind the seat. I like the clean look without the roll bar.
@@LeeSmith-dv9yy You may not like my answer. I do not personally like roll bars, and I do not personally worry too much about fitting the third anchor of the seat belt in Defender soft tops. In my Series III's, I'm running lap belts only, and that's what I do in my personal Defender soft tops also. Without a roll bar there is nothing solid to mount the upper anchor to. However, if the third anchor is important, Exmoor Trim makes something called a "Seat Belt Mounting Bar." It's a low bar that mounts across the width of the truck, directly above the interior bulkhead, and it has brackets for mounting the upper anchor. It's less ugly than a roll bar, and works. But in my own D90's? For my personal use? I prefer them very clean.
Unbolt it and lift it off. I'm sure you can guess where the bolts are. (HINT: All along the edges that connect the hard top to the rest of the vehicle.) Oh, and remember to unplug the cable for the interior light. It's about as "not rocket science" as Land Rover work gets.
Paul Misencik, thank you for responding. Yes, of course I can guess where they are. I'd already guessed. But somehow I'd got the idea that spending 12 minutes listening to you would add to what I'd guessed. Error. I heard you tell me why I wouldn't want to do it more than once. But I don't. And about military doors. Which I've got - it's an ex-military truck. And I saw some of your shiny LRs. But I didn't add to my knowledge. So I went back to guesswork, tried all the bolts - and only one was difficult, until it did me a favour, and sheared. So I'm now ready to lift it off. Objective is to fit my early (1986) 90 with the soft top it was born with. Got the parts. Now to fit them.
@@j.e.s.bradshaw8401 There you go! See? It was as easy as you thought. Sorry you wasted the 12 minutes, and a few more castigating me, but thanks for watching anyway. Enjoy your rig!
Yes, I do enjoy it. Used it daily for five years, 40k miles. And this after it served in first Gulf War, Bosnia and Northern Ireland. The time I spent watching wasn't wasted. Just faintly disappointing. And I don't begrudge it.
