UPDATE II: Here is a color version of the CJ-5 w/hardtop that appears in the brochure below. I found this on Flickr. One commenter there noted that, “Reinforced Plastics Corporation was in operation on Martha’s Vineyard from 1952 to 1959. They made these tops as well as other fiberglass items.”
================================
UPDATE from October 26, 2017: Here’s another one of these rare brochures for sale. Thanks to Bill Norris and Derek Redmond for the extra pics. This brochure has been for sale on the same eBay pager for four years. It’s on sale at the moment.
This unusual fiberglass hardtop was created by the Reinforced Plastics Corp. I have yet to see one in the wild. Two journal articles (Chemical Week 1957, Volume 81 and National Defense Transportation Journal 1957, Volumes 13-14) both have announcements for the new top, pegging its inception around mid-1957. Unfortunately, Google will only provide snipped views of these University of Michigan scanned journals. The date of these journals suggests the lister of this brochure is probably wrong about the 1955 date for the brochure.
View all the information on eBay
I Didn’t know they made fiberglass tops for Jeeps as early as 1955. very stylish and way ahead of it’s time. I like the big windows on this model, which would have been a big selling point compared to the small windows on the metal tops. I would assume the high cost of a fiberglass top in this era kept sales down to a minimum.
That is slick!
…but for some reason we only see the steel hardtops still around. They are like old boats, the sun gets to them.
**Steve E.**
This brings back great memories. The first jeep that I drove, when I was a teenager, in the 70’s was a ’57 cj5 with that fiberglass top. It belonged to a widowed neighbor who would let me use it whenever I wanted as long as I ran errands for her (with the jeep). I never abused it because it was an privilege and an honor to drive. Especially when my friends saw me driving it. The roll up rear door rattled like nothing I’d ever heard. That jeep is one of the reasons that I’m a life long student of jeeps.
I love the stories of how you got the bug. Thanks for sharing, Mark.
**Steve E.**