Duno what the PO was telling you but that is not "home made" that was made by Kayline the old Soft Top company out of Colorado...I know because I had one on mine back in the 90s. I bought their SoftTop and carrier.
Here is the only pic I have online and you can't even see it that well. That spare is a new 35" tire that would not fit inbetween the can baskets so I cut them off. I just upgraded to a 37gal tank so I didn't need to carry gas anymore.