by Pam and Dave Lippmann

Bestop www.bestop.com 2100 W. Midway Blvd. Broomfield, CO. 80020   Cust. Service: 1-800-845-3567

With winter on our doorstep and the old Bronco wrapped in a soft-top that had trouble qualifying as a wind breaker let alone a moisture barrier, we decided it was time to take a hammer to the kids piggy banks (when they were sleeping, of course) and buy a new Bestop soft-top.

We were looking forward to ridding ourselves of the old soft-top's hardware, especially the snaps!

The top on our truck had served us well over the 18 years it survived, unfortunately they weren't always happy days. Namely the time I tried to squeeze under that fallen tree on the trail (operative word being "tried") and realized, only too late, that I wasn't going to fit. Or when the truck went left when I specifically turned the wheel right and nearly lost an eye when a branch ripped through the top. We also have slight clearance issues with entering the garage. If the center cross bow was ever forgotten to be lowered when entering the top would rub. That happened one too many times. You get the idea, it was time for a new top.

Anyway, we waited patiently by the phone anxious to receive the call about our new addition to the family. Once it arrived we checked the contents of the package (as stated to do so in the instructions) to be sure all of the pieces were there. Sure enough, they were.

After hurriedly reading over the instructions, installation began.

To start I removed all of the old hardware. I figured it would be wise to stick to using everything included in the installation kit. Anything that might have been a little worn before was now replaced with brand new pieces.

Next, I installed the windshield brackets. It might be a good idea to use your old weather stripping along the windshield header. Our windshield frame was a bit uneven and worn which is not too surprising for a vehicle this old, that has seen many soft-top raisings and lowerings, as well as the yearly changes between soft-top to hard-top and back. Consequently, we used our old weather stripping in conjunction with the windshield brackets to ensure a water-tight seal.

The design of the windshield brackets and vertical rod mounts around the doors was much better at keeping the base in place.

Because of the wiper motor and its associated bits, the windshield bracket/rail had to be quite tall.

As you can see, it's a two-piece bracket which joins in the middle.

Here is the mounting bracket for the horizontal rod that will form the top part of the door frame.

Now it was time for the side rails. They consisted of only one piece per side instead of two. This is where I had to drill two new holes on either side to accommodate the bow mounts. The new bow assembly design also consisted of fewer components making installation and adjusting easier. The adjustments are necessary to compensate for change in temperature and body differences.

Instead of using snaps the updated top uses a belt rail system which makes for a better all around seal from wind, rain and road noise. The rear window uses a solid bar tailgate retainer, which clips into the tailgate brackets that are attached to the side rails. This also provides a better seal to protect against unwanted noise, exhaust fumes etc. Since the snaps have been eliminated, opening the rear window or tailgate is no longer a chore.

Here's a shot of the old snap-on rails.	The bows hinge directly to the side rails.	The rails run from the door opening all the way to the tailgate.
This photo shows how the rear window rail attaches to the side rails.	The result is a much tighter seal than with the old system.

To actually put the soft-top on is much easier than before since the bow assembly allows for adjustments. This way, all of the side belt rails can be done up first, and then the bows can be changed to the proper tension. No more hanging off the side of the truck to try and pull the top down enough to do up the snaps.

Once all the hardware was installed, all that was left to do was install the soft-top.	Here, we're attaching the horizontal bar to the windshield frame. This bar forms the top part of the door frame.	Attaching the vertical bar/bow to the side rail. This bar forms the back half of the door frame.
When putting on top, it's easiest to start from the front by slipping the soft-top's leading edge under the windshield's channel rail.	Next, we fastened the two snaps (one on each corner of the windshield).	Then we'll fasten the snaps that attach the soft-top to the bows. This will be the last time we need to fasten these snaps. When folded, the bows can remain attached to the soft-top.
Hook-and-loop fastening material is used to attach the soft-top to the top door frame bars.	The last step in attaching the soft-top to the frame is to hook the rear corners to the side belt rails. For the tailgate, we attached the cross bar to the rear window insert and attached that to the side rails.	Then, with a simple upward push on the bow tensioner, the top was tightened in place.
Installing the side windows was much easier than before. It's just a matter of zipping them in...	Slipping them into the belt rails...	And attaching them to the vertical door frames.

The zip-out side and rear windows provide a more modern look than the old roll-up safari style. The only downside to the new Bestop is now we will have to be careful of where we wheel so as not to make Swiss cheese out of the top again. Oh and I guess the truck is still too tall for the garage.

It's nice to see that a big company like Bestop hasn't ignored the smaller markets like us die-hard Early Bronco owners. It's over twenty years since it came off the show room floor and we can still buy a brand new, latest technology, replacement soft-top that is better than anything that was available back then. We've been very pleased with our purchase. The new Bestop provides us with the same comfort level as the hard top with the versatility and style of a soft-top. What could be better than that?