Chop Top Ideas

[caseygriff]

How's it going, had a couple of new ideas for chopping the top of my 87' B2 and adding a shell. Has anyone seen a B2 chopped with a ranger camper shell/soft top? My plan would be to cut and then roll some metal over the tops of open bedsides, add a tailgate, and then throw on a shell when needed. Two main issues, sealing the cab off and finding or making a soft/hard shell that fits. I live in southern CA and as you know we don't get much rain here. But I'd like to have the capability to take her into some weather without going full rust bucket. Seen a few chopped builds with a fully closed-off cab but the fab required is out of my tax bracket, unfortunately. The goal is to rig up a top for the bed that would seal to the cab so she can handle snow/rain. Did some looking around for an '80s Ranger soft top. Softopper wants about a grand for theirs, and that ain't in the budget right now. Figure I can always get a used topper and cut it to fit the short bed of the B2. Could i potentially use a shell made for small Toyotas and modify it partially? Curious about what you guys think. Have you seen a build with a similar idea? Full cage is another idea but again expensive and maybe I'll go that way later on