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ontarioXJ 07-10-2013 03:59 AM

xj chop top question
I have been seeing a lot of xj's with their rear half of the roofs chopped off like the H2 with the mini truck bed.

just curious if I do any kind of chopping like this to my xj, will it weaken it?
or is it like a pickup? can I just chop away?
some I have seen have full cages and some look to have minimal to no extra supports...

any kind of input on this subject would be great. preferably someone who has done this already.


Machinist 07-10-2013 10:42 AM

Unless you run a full cage and brace the to the unibody the whole thing will fold like a cheap suit!!

ontarioXJ 07-10-2013 03:17 PM

Lol thanks.

Thats exactly what i needed to know.

underpowered 07-10-2013 04:33 PM

XJ's are unibody, the entire body is a structural member of the vehicle. you chop the top, you weaken it.

simple test, flex it out. not a little, but as much as you can. try to open the rear hatch. most likely you can't, the body is twisting preventing you from doing so.

Motorcharge 07-10-2013 06:30 PM

A full cage isn't necessary but you do need to brace the rear if you wheel it. If you're purely on pavement you can get away with not doing it but it's still going to be significantly weaker in a roll over or crash.

You can cut out the rear of a Comanche to weld in the back to close it off and run a tailgate to gain back rigidity and brace the unibody or you can run a roll bar of some sort from the chop back like most people do. Obviously not as strong as a full cage, but as long as it keeps the frame rails and unibody from twisting too much you're ok.

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