You can install a soft top on a Jeep CJ7 and enjoy the versatility of having a convertible style vehicle on some days and a protective covering on others. Once you install the hardware and mounting brackets, removing and reinstalling the soft top is much easier than the initial installation. It is possible to do this procedure by yourself, but it is much easier to have an assistant help you with the task.
Lay your soft top in the sun to soften it. It is easier to stretch in this condition.
Remove the bolts in the upper corners of the windshield with a socket wrench. There will be one bolt in each of the top corners.
Place the windshield brackets that came with your soft top over the holes for the bolts you just unscrewed. Secure them in place with the same bolts.
Line the long metal windshield retainer up with the top of the windshield. Push it forward until the bolt holes line up and secure it in place with bolts from the kit and a socket wrench.
Grab the kit's bow mounting brackets and open the doors to your Jeep. Line these 1-inch by 2-foot brackets up with the preexisting holes in the lower part door frame.
Hold the tap-in plate on the underside of the door frame, push a bolt through the tap-in plate, up through the bow mounting plate, and hand tighten it into place. Repeat this bolt installation on all holes in the mounting brackets on each of the doors.
Find the small tailgate retaining brackets. Place the bracket with the "R" on the top, right side of the tailgate, and secure it in place with a screw and Phillips screwdriver. Place the "L" bracket on the left side and secure it in the same fashion.
Locate the bow assemblies, which are two metal pipes that have a 90 degree angle on them. The clip on each bow assembly should point inward, and the bracket on the ends should sit against the frame of your Jeep behind the seat and door openings. Secure these assemblies into place with the bolts that came with the soft top kit.
Release the tail gate and find the two bows on the left and two on the right. Push two opposing ends together to form two bow pieces instead of four.
Line the vertical rod of the bow assembly up with the hole on the bow assembly bracket. Let the rod rest in this hole.
Stretch the horizontal rod of the bow assembly from above the door frame to the windshield frame corner. Push the end of this rod through the hole there until it slides through the hole.
Instruct your assistant to grab one side of the soft top while you grab the other. Gently pull the cover onto the top of the CJ7, all the way to the windshield. Locate the center notch on the soft top edge, push it down with medium pressure on the center of the windshield retainer, and work your way out to the sides of the Jeep.
Gently pull the soft top towards the back of the Jeep as you climb back towards the back bow rod. Make sure the soft top goes over the back bow rod before you curl it under the rod and snap it into place on the bow.
Pull the soft top towards each corner belt rail. Loop the hard plastic edge of the soft top underneath the belt rails to secure it into place.
Secure the rear and side windows into place by lining the zippers up on each side and simply zipping them up. There will be two zippers for each window.
Place the tailgate bar on the bottom part of the rear window with the rubber section of the bar facing you. Push the bar into place from the right bottom corner to the opposite side. Hold this in place with tailgate brackets that you installed earlier.
Pull the rear window down and secure the plastic edge into the belt rail. Pull the fabric around the windows until it catches on the vertical rod. Do the same for the fabric around the doors until it catches on the horizontal rod.
