Possible advantage of MIC tops

[North7]

Left the pic in, just because of it's 70's awesomeness.

Since the painted Mod top isn't metal, I think the hail damage concern is moot. However, there is the trail scratching concern.

I went with MIC, and figure if I hate it, I'll have it painted, or plasti dipped, or something - most likely white. Having driven a JK with a molded top for 13 years, I think we're going to find the MICs very practical in a functional way (painted vs ABS flares are a similar discussion). Besides wind noise n the front two corners of a 13 year old top, the only problem I have had is the passenger freedom panel getting water in it during heavy rains (which I think I have now sealed).

Since the supplier is having so much trouble with the Mods, maybe they aren't so practical ... maybe MIC is the way to go. Especially if you intend to use the Bronco.

I'm torn, I want a white top but I don't want the scratches so I'm leaning back to MIC. But everything I've read about doing colored Line-X on your roof or body is its very difficult to keep clean.

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[RHW]

I

I went looking for pics of Texas hail damage, the stuff I have to watch out for, and I came across a Lite Brite video of all things, when they are not doing Jeep/Bronco videos they are actually car insurance appraisers.




Texas Hail:

Texas Hail Damage:

Texas Hail Protection:

Living in North Texas, this is accurate. I remember many times I have had to hastily grab all the blankets/old comforters from the hall closet and throw them over the cars out front, dodging hail myself. Or preemptively throwing them on when the word Hail was mentioned in the news or the sky started to turn green. Always best to have a garage or carport

 

[mcdoogs]

I'm torn, I want a white top but I don't want the scratches so I'm leaning back to MIC. But everything I've read about doing colored Line-X on your roof or body is its very difficult to keep clean.

Why can't you buy a white top later if you turn out to hate the MIC top? afaik this isn't a 'one-way-door' decision

 

[Dads_bronze_bronco]

I'm torn, I want a white top but I don't want the scratches so I'm leaning back to MIC. But everything I've read about doing colored Line-X on your roof or body is its very difficult to keep clean.

Yeah - that is why I was thinking trying plastidip, at least as a try out. My son's tan Jeep hardtop was a dirt magnetic mess impossible to keep looking good. a gloss Line-X like hard surface would be washable, but the texture would offer infinite dirt valleys.

 

[Werkedperformance]

MIC is great for those that plan on using the tops alot. When you scratch it the color is the same... when it gets dinged , it just gets character. Cant wait to hose off my non sound deadened hard top.

 

[Old Hound]

Too bad he couldn't just put it in that garage ...

They call those storage sheds in the south, no one parks there car in them.

 

[Efthreeoh]

First, let me say I got the Base with the MIC top, and I prefer that to a painted top, but this comment is true regardless of bias.

I just glanced out an upstairs window and saw my 4Runner from above in afternoon light and realized for the first time I have many dings on the roof. Hail? Walnuts? Not even sure. The hood has zero. So I conclude the roof is a thinner or more malleable metal than the hood.

I then thought about how probably hail or whatever won’t damage the MIC top.

This is my theory. Plenty of time for theories while I wait.

Unrelated:

This photo from 1978 shows my dad’s 1976 Bronco, which I still have. The orange 1978 Renegade CJ-7 with Levi’s package was my mom’s. This was a meet-up with a bunch of other folks before heading out to explore trails all day.

Who is taking the picture of the person taking a picture of your Parent's rigs?

 

[Efthreeoh]

I went looking for pics of Texas hail damage, the stuff I have to watch out for, and I came across a Lite Brite video of all things, when they are not doing Jeep/Bronco videos they are actually car insurance appraisers.

Texas Hail Protection:

It's called "Car Bubble". Googleit.

 

[MississippiMule]

Here is the ‘76 about six weeks ago. My dad quit using it in the 1990s (he had a Tahoe by then and wasn’t the Steve McQueen adventurer of his youth), and it was not driven often. I was an adult and lived away. My brother drove it some in the late ‘90s. Due to infrequent use, the tanks/lines were gummed up and it would choke out driving around. My brother and I did not have the funds nor the knowledge to get it right, but it was essentially mint until then (except the wheel well cutouts, flares, and tires, it was bone stock, as when bought new in Brookhaven, MS, and still is). In 2000 it had no dash cracks, perfect rubber floors, perfect vinyl seats. The top has never been off. No lift. Not long after purchase, he got the rear wells cut, added the flares, and replaced the four wheels and tires. That spare is the original wheel, hubcap, and even tire.

I still don’t have the finances to have both a daily driver and a money pit for fun on the side. So I’m beyond excited about the 2021 Base I ordered as a daily driver and also weekend adventurer. However, this gives me the space now to begin slowly working on the Bronco. A much more mechanically inclined buddy has volunteered to help us get started getting it back running, across upcoming Sunday afternoons. He’s a Toyota overland nut, but once he saw the Bronco in my mom’s driveway he got fired up. There is something special about that pony. It has that effect on everyone. It symbolizes everything joyful.

I don’t remotely have funds to “resto-mod” it like a Jay Leno rig. Just want to get it cleaned up and driveable around town. Replace the flares and tires, brakes, possibly gas tanks, etc. Leave patina. Middle of hood and grill at front are dented in from a fallen tree. Will leave that as-is.

This vehicle is why I am so passionate about Broncos. It took us everywhere as kids. It has just never been practical to pour money into it. We lobbied dad to spend to get it going, but he said he didn’t understand why we wanted to drive a primitive, unsafe vehicle instead of modern tech. At the same time, he never got rid of it. He just moved it out of the garage. That Bronco is in some ways the spiritual epicenter of the family ethos. It is revered not just by us but all our buddies we grew up with. Dad passed four years ago.

The ONLY time it ever got stuck was in the late ‘80s when my parents and some friends were having drinks and Dad decided they should go four-wheeling in his ‘87 XLT about 10 p.m. near the big local lake. He got that one stuck badly in a mud hole. I guess he had his “bag phone” then, because he called a friend to pick him up to take him home to get the ‘76 to pull it out. Got that stuck, too. Had to get a wrecker, which I believe initially got stuck as well.

I want to get it running but don’t want to have to rely on it. And it would really be just for cruising, not off-roading at this point. Hence the new Bronco, which I also don’t have to share with my brother, and has a top that’s easy to take in and off. At this point, it would be just wrong to remove the ‘76 top.

Maybe this is all part of why I’m irked that after I dashed to reserve the new Base Bronco, I hear about line-cutters who didn’t care enough to sign up on day one, getting pushed up to get some silly-ass loaded luxury “Bronco.” I felt my dad in the room with a bourbon in his hand, grinning and saying “Watch this” before traversing a steep slope, the night of 7/14 when I made the reservation and sent a screenshot of it to everyone in the family.

The Base is the PERFECT update of the classic. Spartan simplicity but also basic modern tech to make it the daily driver and highway-worthy.

 

[rugbysecondrow]

The MIC just makes sense for durability. Will it look as good on day 1 as a Mod top...maybe not. Will it look as good on Day 750...probably better than the Mod top. The dings, abrasions the top and inserts are bound to absorb will provide a lasting viability IMO.

 

[Jr87mustang]

I'm torn, I want a white top but I don't want the scratches so I'm leaning back to MIC. But everything I've read about doing colored Line-X on your roof or body is its very difficult to keep clean.

Seems like everyone wants to do the top the hard way. MOD top with a $300 vinyl job and your done. Any color you want, even clear. No scratches no nasty linex, and you can change it when you want. The MIC top is the one thats going to scratch terribly because there is no way to protect it.

 

[MississippiMule]

On my Base, I LOVE the steel wheels. But if the new Bronc were available with white MIC top and white fender flares, I would probably replace the wheels with classic ‘70s style white wheels like on that ‘76, which were American brand. My mom’s ‘78 CJ-7 came with those.

 

[MississippiMule]

Not a fan of Line-X or Rhino on exteriors. Looks silly and adds a lot of weight. Belongs just in truck beds and floors, IMO.

I bought a 2006 Wrangler new and soon sprayed the inside with Line-X. Was great, except putting the carpet back in on top of it wasn’t feasible since the guy sprayed the snaps. So, it was a loud ride.

 

[Spray]

Here is the ‘76 about six weeks ago. My dad quit using it in the 1990s (he had a Tahoe by then and wasn’t the Steve McQueen adventurer of his youth), and it was not driven often. I was an adult and lived away. My brother drove it some in the late ‘90s. Due to infrequent use, the tanks/lines were gummed up and it would choke out driving around. My brother and I did not have the funds nor the knowledge to get it right, but it was essentially mint until then (except the wheel well cutouts, flares, and tires, it was bone stock, as when bought new in Brookhaven, MS, and still is). In 2000 it had no dash cracks, perfect rubber floors, perfect vinyl seats. The top has never been off. No lift. Not long after purchase, he got the rear wells cut, added the flares, and replaced the four wheels and tires. That spare is the original wheel, hubcap, and even tire.

I still don’t have the finances to have both a daily driver and a money pit for fun on the side. So I’m beyond excited about the 2021 Base I ordered as a daily driver and also weekend adventurer. However, this gives me the space now to begin slowly working on the Bronco. A much more mechanically inclined buddy has volunteered to help us get started getting it back running, across upcoming Sunday afternoons. He’s a Toyota overland nut, but once he saw the Bronco in my mom’s driveway he got fired up. There is something special about that pony. It has that effect on everyone. It symbolizes everything joyful.

I don’t remotely have funds to “resto-mod” it like a Jay Leno rig. Just want to get it cleaned up and driveable around town. Replace the flares and tires, brakes, possibly gas tanks, etc. Leave patina. Middle of hood and grill at front are dented in from a fallen tree. Will leave that as-is.

This vehicle is why I am so passionate about Broncos. It took us everywhere as kids. It has just never been practical to pour money into it. We lobbied dad to spend to get it going, but he said he didn’t understand why we wanted to drive a primitive, unsafe vehicle instead of modern tech. At the same time, he never got rid of it. He just moved it out of the garage. That Bronco is in some ways the spiritual epicenter of the family ethos. It is revered not just by us but all our buddies we grew up with. Dad passed four years ago.

The ONLY time it ever got stuck was in the late ‘80s when my parents and some friends were having drinks and Dad decided they should go four-wheeling in his ‘87 XLT about 10 p.m. near the big local lake. He got that one stuck badly in a mud hole. I guess he had his “bag phone” then, because he called a friend to pick him up to take him home to get the ‘76 to pull it out. Got that stuck, too. Had to get a wrecker, which I believe initially got stuck as well.

I want to get it running but don’t want to have to rely on it. And it would really be just for cruising, not off-roading at this point. Hence the new Bronco, which I also don’t have to share with my brother, and has a top that’s easy to take in and off. At this point, it would be just wrong to remove the ‘76 top.

Maybe this is all part of why I’m irked that after I dashed to reserve the new Base Bronco, I hear about line-cutters who didn’t care enough to sign up on day one, getting pushed up to get some silly-ass loaded luxury “Bronco.” I felt my dad in the room with a bourbon in his hand, grinning and saying “Watch this” before traversing a steep slope, the night of 7/14 when I made the reservation and sent a screenshot of it to everyone in the family.

The Base is the PERFECT update of the classic. Spartan simplicity but also basic modern tech to make it the daily driver and highway-worthy.

You said your from Brookhaven, Ms. Did you go to high school there? If so was Brock Pray your principle? He is my uncle! I have family property between McComb and Liberty. I happens to be on Pray Road. The family’s been there for generations. I love it there! Going to be a full time resident in a couple years as my wife has finally agreed that South Florida is not what it was 40 years ago and is ready to get away from here.

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