soI lost the removable hardtop...went offroadin', it went down the mountain aftersome of the bolts went right through the holes in the body and some just clean busted in half...dont ask how,I put this truck through hell.
anyone know of a good place to get a soft top, or should i try to find another hardtop to keep it as original as possible (what id like to do but have an idea of how hard itll be to find a good hardtop not thrashed.)
i also thought about installing a softtop...
the only thing i have found is the "Bestop Tigertop" which is available custom made for 1974 - 1979 Dodge Ramcharger. The top costs around US $ 600,- + shipping & installation and is available at several retailers...
Nice price ,..he...(:-( http://www.bestop.com
But finding a new hardtop might be difficult and also expensive (think of the shipping...UPS won´t handle this ... lol)
So good luck and have a dry ride !!!
Best regards Jens Biastoch
i kinda wondered if california car cover co. could design a top, and I also thought about buying a truck rack (from a flatbed pickup) and doing a little bit of custom fabrication on it and basically building my own latch-down soft top design, either way im looking at a good 800$-1000$ of work, only hard part is working on the window frames.
thanks guys for your replies, im browsing some sites you mentioned right now.
You might want to take a careful look at your existing top. As I remember, early 1974 Ramchargers/Traildusters leave the upper window frames with the top. Then, when you have the top off and you roll the windows down, nothing is in the way. 1975 and on the window frames stay with the door. This means if you have an early '74 you will have to find an early '74 top to replace it with or you will have an inch and a half gap between the window and the top. This is also why Bestop does not make tops for '74 models (if they make them at all anymore)
So if I can find a trashed top,I can cut out the window frames and weld it in with the custom top Ill make, if damage to the top is too extensive, that is.
I feel for ya, my first truck was a 74 RamCharger. I tested the stopping power on a steep incline at high speed and learned that the top can become the bottom. One thing I would really recommend if you're going to run the 74 bodystyle without a hard top is PUT A CAGE IN IT! There's nothing between the world and 5000# of angry truck except for your headand a piece of glass with some tin around it if you turn that one upside down. I piddled around withmy rolledtruck trying to get doors with window frames and a windshield frame that all fit, no luck. I think the idea of welding the old window channel into a later model top is your best choice if you want to stay moderately dry and wind free. If you go without the frames the upside is if you smoke or have an exhaust leak you'll never have to crack the windows. I can tell you with a stout cage and without the top, tailgate, doors, bedsides and windshield you really pick up a lot of speed and power, not to mention cops inquiring to the legality of such a set-up. Good luck and let us know how your top adventure turns out, I'm putting together an old RamCharger for nostalgia sake and boredom, it'll live in a barn most of the time so I'd like to put one of the soft tops on it for summer fun and coyote hunting.
thanks man..ive been thinjking about using a truck rack for a sort-of-soft-top. just cut and weld whereI need to fit the width and length of my truck, make some channels for the windows, brace them to the rack, and maybe do some sheet metal on those sections to cover it up. the only funny part will be the windshield, how it does this ( . but it should be fun, not spending alot of moneyI have friends who work with migs and tigs and all that good stuff. andI agree with your opinion of a roll cage, ive got that in mine also, ive come damn close to flippin her, but ive been luckyI guess. ill let ya know how it all goes.
mopar or nocar
1974 Dodge Ramcharger...topless
