You would expect a company with a name like Koenig Iron Works to make products that were heavy and solid, and the Jeep Cabs made by Koenig of Houston, Texas, were exactly that. They were always advertised as "All Steel" and weighed in at between 210 pounds for a basic halfcab and 475 pounds for a CJ-6 full cab. The happy fellow below would need to find a few friends to help him put his roof "On or Off in a matter of minutes."
In fact the Jiffy Cabs were the most basic and inexpensive of the Koenig line, lacking roll-down windows and interior liners. But the advertising cleverly emphasized their relatively light weight and the simple interlocking hinges which enabled the doors to be lifted on and off.
Early cabs designed for the CJ-2A had panel board lining in the ceiling and doors. They were "built entirely of 16 and 18 gauge steel" and "spot welded wherever possible, electric welded elsewhere; no rivets used at any points." The windows were small and opened by sliding.
See two catalogue pages (70K GIF) from the Willys-Overland Equipment Book showing full and half cabs.
By the CJ-3B era, the line had expanded to include "Super Cabs" which had larger windows in both the doors and the rear panels, as well as "Standard Cabs." The Super Cab Model 550 full cab and Model 555 halfcab now had large enough doors to allow full-size roll-down windows.
See the original Koenig photo of the full cab CJ-3B with all the doors open (330K JPEG) and an original photo of the Jeep with the halfcab but with the Texas 1954 plate in place (290K JPEG).
A later photo of a CJ-6 shows Koenig finally enlarging the windows in the cargo area of the Standard Cab, but the size of the window in the flush-fit door is still limited by the space available for rolling it down. Thanks to Bill Prince for these CJ-6 photos.
The CJ-6 Super Cab in the brochure below, claims 2,560 square inches of glass area, but this photo shows a version that must have close to double that. The square-cut, full length doors allow massive roll-down windows, but I don't think this top ever made it past the prototype stage. The ALA taillights indicate it's being tested on a pretty early CJ-6. See it also with the doors closed (220K JPEG).
See a full four-page Koenig brochure. The pictures in the advertising often highlighted winches as well as hardtops, since Koenig also manufactured winches, sold under the King brand name.
See the 1959 Jiffy Cab Installation Instructions for CJ-3A, CJ-3B and DJ-3A, courtesy Don Norris:
See the Super Cab Installation Instructions for CJ-3A, CJ-3B and DJ-3A, Full and Half Cab:
See the Rear Door Installation Instructions for Super Cabs and Jiffy Cabs:
The top on Dennie Farris' CJ-3B is a Standard Cab painted to match the Jeep; most Koenig cabs were delivered in primer.
The rear view (15K JPEG) shows the opening and locking rear door, as well as the drip molding along sides and back.
This photo of a CJ-3B halfcab bought by John Hubbard shows the larger windows of the Super Cab, achieved by making the doors thicker so the window can actually roll down outside the Jeep body. But the doors still had slight round cutouts in the bottom back corner (see a Koenig ad, 60K JPEG).
John Shows is restoring the Super Top on his 1969 CJ-5. He says, "I really really like my hard top. It's way heavy and without the headliner installed yet it's really loud, but I still like it. The hard top just seems to fit the era of the jeep better than the newer vinyl tops do." See a rear view (50K JPEG).
"I tried painting the top myself, but was disappointed in the results so I hired a professional. I replaced the glass in the doors, and replaced the fuzzy channel that the rear windows slide in, and still need to have some door panels and a head liner made for it. I may even install a dome light."
Continue to Arctic Tops or return to the Table of Contents.
Thanks to Bart McNeil for his research. Thanks to Don Norris for the installation instructions. -- Derek Redmond
See more details on the Jeep Body Extensions made by Koenig and others.
Also on CJ3B.info, see Jack Ahlberg's article on Retrofitting a Koenig Jeep Hardtop.
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