Armadillo Designs Aluminum Hardtop

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

They have all sorts of videos on their instagram if you go back far enough.

I think I have seen all of them. They have really updated their processes....it would be nice to have a "Shop Tour" video.

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[DUSTYcazOREGON]

Quick status update for tracking, officially in powder as of yesterday:

Did you receive all of your notifications through the stages of process? Thanks

 

[Chritaka]

Did you receive all of your notifications through the stages of process? Thanks

Not all, but they seem more consistent for newer customers. I got a notice for welding/blending and powder.

 

[WILDcardOD]

Did you receive all of your notifications through the stages of process? Thanks

I got most of them, never got the last bubble filled but instead they just emailed me it was ready and to set up scheduling.

 

[TheLawnDart]

Storage rack is the last piece of the puzzle for organizing the back!

 

[BroncoBill44]

The Bronco had a bath today and I couldn’t pass up a photo op while I continue to drool over the armadillo top. While driving - I tend to look up at the interior liner too much. Just love this thing.

 

[ct1975]

I noticed this below the rear “windows”. Genuinely curious about what appears to be a quality top, is this a concern at all?

 

[Ninjak]

I noticed this below the rear “windows”. Genuinely curious about what appears to be a quality top, is this a concern at all?

When you put the top on they tell to be sure not to have any pinch areas. That looks to be a pinch, where as you can use a removal tool (Plastic Radio tools) to get it to come out.

When I did my top, this was one of the things I really looked at to make sure I did not pinch the rubber. It is easy to do while you are focusing on other parts of the top.

 

[BroncoBill44]

I noticed this below the rear “windows”. Genuinely curious about what appears to be a quality top, is this a concern at all?

I’m going to go with that’s the lighting in the photo. I don’t see that when I’m out there. I’ll look closer tomorrow when it’s light out.

 

[Chritaka]

Armadillo Designs Hardtop installed… Love it..! And… the M2M attic shelf worked, with some tweaks and adjustment to the rear door corner gasket that seals against the rail. They had to use a credit card to finesse more gasket out in that corner to close a small gap, due to the M2M shelf brackets that mount to the top of rollbar and sandwiches between it and the top, before tightening it all up. I lost about 1” of storage due to the top being roughly ~1” shorter in the rear than the soft top… I’m going to see about modifying and drilling a lower hole for the shelf pin to sit 1-1.5” lower. It’ll have a slight tilt then, but give back some room. There is also a top brace that runs right across the top of where the shelf sits, so it also blocks some of the storage room… The storage in the gulls really makes up for any storage loss, and then some for sure. Noise level drastically decreased…it’s as quite as my old JGC.

I’m happy with how it came out. They use a welded shim pack for the mount to the rollbar so if they removed 1-2 shims and used a rubber isolator to make up they height, that would give options for other accessories that mount there.. As is they also had to add extra shims to the side rail mount to help compensate for the M2M bracket. Sam was there and I talked to him about it, he thought it was a good idea..so maybe they’ll incorporate…

 

[zyglyrox]

Can’t wait to see some of the 2dr hardtops getting out in the wild.

 

[Chritaka]

Armadillo Designs Hardtop installed… Love it..! I did a shop tour also and will upload more pics in the Armadillo thread. And… the M2M attic shelf worked, with some tweaks and adjustment to the rear door corner gasket that seals against the rail. They had to use a credit card to finesse more gasket out in that corner to close a small gap, due to the M2M shelf brackets that mount to the top of rollbar and sandwiches between it and the top, before tightening it all up. I lost about 1” of storage due to the top being roughly ~1” shorter in the rear than the soft top… I’m going to see about modifying and drilling a lower hole for the shelf pin to sit 1-1.5” lower. It’ll have a slight tilt then, but give back some room. There is also a top brace that runs right across the top of where the shelf sits, so it also blocks some of the storage room… The storage in the gulls really makes up for any storage loss, and then some for sure. Noise level drastically decreased…it’s as quite as my old JGC.

I’m happy with how it came out. They use a welded shim back for the mount to the rollbar so if they removed 1-2 shims and used a rubber isolator to make up they height, that would give options for other accessories that mount there.. As is they also had to add extra shims to the side rail mount to help compensate for the M2M bracket. Sam was there and I talked to him about it, he thought it was a good idea..so maybe they’ll incorporate…

Shop tour pics. They’ve really come a long way and are continually working to optimize process, from now having dedicated blenders, vs the welders doing it all, to their jigs, to the 40 parts per batch process to streamline production, to their <8ft shipping container size (the awkward tilt of the top). It was great meeting Fabian, Sam and Andrew (install lead). A great bunch and they really worked to make that attic shelf work! They even test fitted the Braptor inside molle panels ( they have cutouts for the brace)to see if they’d work with the attic shelf, which are super close to working. I’ll need to make a very minor cut to them and told Fabian and Sam I’d share pics of the mod once done.

There was one issue, and just my luck, they installed the wrong color liner..apparently their first time.. However, they quickly stripped it and installed the right one without hesitation or question. It was cool hanging out with them and discussing their process and the chaos of trying to make it to support so many different aftermarket parts. They’re some genuine guys really trying to put out a great product…

M8 M2M bolts replaced with the M8 studs:

I missed getting a pic of the other tops ready to go and in final assembly just on the other side of the Bronco, during install. They had at least a handful I that phase…

 

[EasternSierra]

I'm curious how well the hatches keep out dust on really dusty trails. Some dust is always going to get in unless it's wet outside, but it can be a matter of a little bit vs. a thick coat on your gear depending on how well the hatches seal.

Any field reports?

 

[ObsidianTheBronco]

I'm curious how well the hatches keep out dust on really dusty trails. Some dust is always going to get in unless it's wet outside, but it can be a matter of a little bit vs. a thick coat on your gear depending on how well the hatches seal.

Any field reports?

I personally have +10,000 miles with the top through various on and off road conditions. The roof latches work great and the seals are heavy duty. Almost nothing gets in, and we don’t have any leaks to report.

The gullwing latches are a bit finicky and let some dust in that way. Not a significant amount to make the car dirty by any meanings.

The seals on the tailgate are better than factory hardtop imo. Coming back from sand hollow and the amount of residual does that made it to the back is much less significant than last year.

Hope this helps, if you have any more question just holler!

 

[EasternSierra]

I personally have +10,000 miles with the top through various on and off road conditions. The roof latches work great and the seals are heavy duty. Almost nothing gets in, and we don’t have any leaks to report.

The gullwing latches are a bit finicky and let some dust in that way. Not a significant amount to make the car dirty by any meanings.

The seals on the tailgate are better than factory hardtop imo. Coming back from sand hollow and the amount of residual does that made it to the back is much less significant than last year.

Hope this helps, if you have any more question just holler!

Thanks for the info, and also for the leak report - that's something I forgot to ask about.

I spent decades dealing with dust coming in through the tailgates (and rear hatches of camper shells) on my pickup trucks. With some finagling I could keep the dust down to a fairly modest amount in most circumstances. Rain was another matter entirely.

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