hello all, I have a 1983 toyota std cad short bed and was woundering if anyone out there has ever done there own hard top conv and would be willing to give a fellow mini trucker some hints or tips.  

i am seriosly thinking about cutting the top off of my jeep, but wanting to keep it a daily driver. so had the crazy idea to make some kind of latches on it so i could take it on and off, put seals on it and everything. dont really know if it would work, but it is an idea no the less.  

i have seen trucks with that mod, so it can be done, just remember to istall some kind of permanent bracing in the cab.  

yeah can totally be done.  there was a tech article in MT, a long time ago now haha, but they did an all metal convertible conversion.  i think it was on a mazda.  as burnzya said, cab bracing is a must.  made metal filler plates for all caps on cab and roof, with latches to secure and seals to keep water out.  looked real smooth when it was done for sure.  basically just a full metal handmade thing modeled after the plastic convertible top cap and seal kits.  biggest prob with the plastic kits i saw was people buying the kit, grabbing sawzall to cut roof off, installing kit and putting top back on to find out it leaks like a strainer cause they didnt trim out the thickness of the seal plates so the top would sit about 1/4 inch too high and not seal up right no matter how much weather stripping was used hahahhaa.

so yeah, can totally be done, the article was in maybe '94-'96 MT  not sure now though.  just take your time and do it right!  

good point  

aim industries use to make a kit I Installed many of these kits back in the day if there still out there just read and foliw the directions. Its straight forward deal not shure what  your abilitys are but it can be done.