Return to the Early Civilian Jeep Hardtops table of contents.
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 Standard halfcab illustrated here had doors shaped to fit the door openings on the tub, and thus had room for only small roll-down windows.
See a brochure (100K JPEG) illustrating both models. The pictures in the advertising often highlighted winches as well as hardtops, since Koenig also manufactured winches, sold under the King brand name.
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).
A Super Cab on a CJ-6 has 2560 square inches of glass area. This brochure illustration clearly shows the later square-cut doors which extend below the door cutout on the body, but doesn't show the full-length piano hinges which make the doors more difficult to remove.
See the full Super Cabs brochure page (120K JPEG).
By this time Koenig was also offering the Jiffy Cabs for the budget-minded.
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."
Also on The CJ3B Page, see Jack Ahlberg's article on Retrofitting a Koenig Jeep Hardtop.
See the full four-page Koenig brochure:
Thanks to Bart McNeil. -- Derek Redmond
See also more details on the the Jeep Body Extensions made by Koenig and others.
Return to Early Civilian Jeep Hardtops on The CJ3B Page.
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