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Sat May 12, 2012 12:48 pm

Searched...saw the wood slat info, but is there any advice on the metal of these roof racks? Are you guys painting the metal, and polishing the aluminum? Also a bit bent on the top, please advise... Thanks!

Sat May 12, 2012 2:29 pm

OK, I'll bite. "Bent on top" in what way? Pics, as usual, would be a huge plus

Sun May 13, 2012 10:43 am

Well, this is the pictures after dis-assembly. As you can see the "top" section which seems to be aluminum is wavy at best. Also pictured is a base section which is galvanized, just wondering what finishes would be recommended. Thanks for any links or replies.

Sun May 13, 2012 11:51 am

Galvanize the legs, clamps and support brackets, replace the tubing, and polish the corners and uprights as best possible. You can take 1/8" solid aluminum rod and hand make rivets for the corners. Wood - pick a hardwood like ash, mill to the correct size, and apply three coats of satin varnish, sanding inbetween each coat. Screws vary by year, you can either have the originals zinc or silver cad plated or you can buy new ones.

Sun May 13, 2012 1:21 pm

And start soaking those bolts on the uprights with some kind of penetrating oil BEFORE you try to take them out. Sometimes electrolysis has occurred and it can be nearly impossible to remove the bolt without stripping the threads in the aluminum upright.

And remember that ALL the original hardware is metric, including the screws.

Sun May 13, 2012 7:24 pm

OK, thank you. I have no experience with galvanizing... I did manage to find this thread http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=217457&highlight=galvanizing
I saw a company in CA selling the aluminum tubing, is this stuff pretty common, or should I start the goose chase?
I'm sure some have painted these, and maybe powder coating? I'll stick to the galvanizing if the price is not over the top...anyone know a good comparison? Thanks again, there was also some great info here...
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=267804&highlight=westy+roof+racks
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=225453&highlight=westy+roof+racks

Mon May 14, 2012 7:41 am

Galvanizing shops are relatively inexpensive depending on where you live. Near the coast there are a lot of yachts and ships that have their anchor chains re-galvanized so maybe I'm skewed where I live. The tubing can be straightened pretty good by using two wood pieces with a vee cut in a vice and pounding a slightly smaller dowel down the inside but be prepared to abandon the wood if it breaks or gets irretrievable. Once upon a time you could buy the repro parts and pieces. Dunno the latest on that.

Mon May 14, 2012 8:31 am

The aluminum is just metric tubing. Caliper yours and get more.
I have aluminum rivets for you, I think. You will want a big vise or arbor press along with some home-fried rivet-mashing tools to use.
Polish the aluminum pieces and if you want the finish to last, have it all clear powdercoated prior to assembly. Replace the galvanized hardware with stainless and use anti seize on the threads. There are some oddball pieces of hardware there that might be hard to find in stainless. Reuse of course if possible.
The bows and clamps are just hot dip galvanized steel. The old galvanized finish must be completely removed 100% and the base metal cleaned to a high level for the new galvanized coating to go on properly and smoothly. I would only re-galvanize if absolutely necessary. If the zinc is just stained, you can get it very nice just by using steel wool. Touch up any nicks with gray paint.
I had to have two clamps re-galvanized. They did my battery clamp and a couple other small items that I didn't want to ever rust again. It was $50. The clamps sold for new repop racks are electro-galvanized. The coating is bright zinc and does not look correct, nor is the stamping quite right.

Mon May 14, 2012 8:35 am

I have a flawless NOS rack if you need specifics for reference just let me know.

Dustin

Mon May 14, 2012 10:00 am

I think the bows are just stained. Mostly with the rust from the wood screws.
The rivets on the corners are odd. They look more like plugs. Let me know MajorW, I'll take you up on those rivets.
Thanks everyone for your input. Dustin- I would'nt mind seeing a few pics...I'm curious if this tubing has any bends.

Tue May 15, 2012 7:28 am

Roger that, I will try to get it out of storage this weekend and snap some picts.

Tue May 15, 2012 8:46 am

The only bends to the tubing are the front and back pieces, to follow the curvature of the bows. If the side tubes are bent, it is from use/abuse.
You will want a gentle bend, and in order to accomplish that, you must bend it before inserting it through the uprights.
A McGuyver approach will be necessary, gently bending the tubing over a wooden buck. I made mine out of some scrap OSB padded with several layers of masking tape. Several attempts were needed to get the curvature right, as you have to bend it further than the actual curve of the bows in order to for it to end up like you want it when it springs back. Get a sixer, a friend, a jigsaw and some clamps and get to it. Make the bend BEFORE polishing and powdercoating.

As to the rivets, I do have 8 rivets for you, 3/32 X 1" solid aluminum dome head. See pic.
For the mashing tool, get a carriage bolt and drill a dimple in the head with a bit whose tip has the approximate arc of the head of the rivet. This will hold the rivet head in place and keep its shape while you work on the other end of it.

Photos:

Setting the rivet will require additional McGuyer techniques. Run a nut up the threads of the carriage bolt. This will help keep it square and support it as you chuck the modified carriage bolt in your vise. Once in place, pad the whole vise and everything near it with rags and duct tape in case something slips. Then have several loyal friends orient the completed rack so the rivet head is cradled in the dimple, and squash the other end of the rivet. If you are married, this is the time when your wife will come out to the garage and stand there looking at you wondering what she got into. If you are really lucky, she will snap a photo or two and post it to her Facebook page along with some witty commentary for her friends to enjoy. Anyway be aware that you will need to cut the rivet shorter first--they are too long and they really don't need to protrude much because they are solid and don't mash down alot. Once the rivet shaft is ready for mashing, spread its tip with a prick punch and flatten it with a drift and it should stay. I suggest epoxy on the end of the tubing where it enters the corner piece as well. That may help things from working loose, rattling etc.

Jeremy, PM me your address and I'll get these rivets off to you.

Tue May 15, 2012 10:05 am

Thank you MajorW.
I will take you up on MOST of your advice...the sixer may not look like most, I'm 10 years sober. Odds are if I didn't make that choice, this Westy wouldn't even be here!
And you won't find me (or my wife) on facebook. (I guess we have no friends?)
I appreciate the detailed instruction...now I know why I let this rack sit for so long. I figured it would be a process. I'm planning to visit a specialty lumber place, they have an awesome selection of hard woods. Any thoughts on what to use? I'm leaning towards ash. This place is very cool, they have a bunch of exotics as well. I've been messing around with cigar box guitars since the bus was complete...(well except for the roof rack!)
http://www.hardwoodsincorporated.com/

Tue May 15, 2012 2:40 pm

Get a sixer of Mountain Dew, then--for alertness.

I personally used white oak, though everyone says to use ash. The woods look rather similar, with the ash having less "grain". The slats are not the standard 3/4" thick. You will need to plane them down to more like 5/8, and then ease the corners with a hard sanding block or a very shallow angle block plane if you have access to one.

Countersinking the screws is going to be be another tricky process. If you look at the screw holes on the bows, they aren't uniform. You cannot just drill the holes in exactly the same places on each slat unless you allow for a significant amount of wiggle room. The alternative would be to drill with a tiny bit from below and then drill again from the top with a fluted countersink. I tried it both ways and found that it is best to drill the holes in advance, then countersink them on a drill press with the stop set so that all the countersinks are the same depth, then go back and make the holes even bigger. Use a multi-flute countersink at a high speed, not a flat spade type--the multi flute ones feed more consistently, will prevent grain tearout and are available cheap at Harbor Freight. This will give you straight rows of screw heads but still allow the screws enough play to hit all the old holes in the bows. Just get everything threaded and then go across and around the rack slowly tightening. Put the rack on the bus and then finish tightening the slat screws. I considered putting marine silicone in the screw holes but decided against it because my rack won't see much rain and I figured it would just get everywhere.
Stainless is soft so take it easy screwing into the bows. The OG screws were oval head slotted sheet metal screws, metric. Talk about a needle in a haystack but a stainless match is available.
I suggest prefinishing the slats in satin finish spar urethane. That penetrates and stays much more flexible than old skool varnish. Varnish is extremely hard and will develop tiny cracks and permit moisture intrusion which will then pop the rest of the finish off when the sun shines. Spar urethane is for boats. Thin the first coat 20% with mineral spirits, let it dry real good, then knock the grain and dust off with 220 grit sandpaper by hand, then brush (ok) or spray (better) two more coats.

Wed May 23, 2012 11:20 am

Everyone local is sticking to the 1/2" OD aluminum tubing. Although very close to the 13MM, what do you think? Is the tubing in this link more in line with what I should be getting?

http://www.metricexpress.com/productbrowser.aspx?S...l=Aluminum

Wed May 23, 2012 6:13 pm

When I rebuilt my last rack, I found some 1/2" tubing from a TV antenna which worked perfectly. 1/2" is ~12.7mm so it is pretty darn close.

Tue Jun 19, 2012 1:56 pm

Thank you for the input..I finished my roof rack last night....just in time for a trip to Shanendoah National Forest! We plan to hit Skyline drive in the early am on Thursday. I'll post some pix of the rack when I can.

Fri Jun 29, 2012 7:38 am

jeremy57ride wrote: Thank you for the input..I finished my roof rack last night....just in time for a trip to Shenandoah National Forest! We plan to hit Skyline drive in the early am on Thursday. I'll post some pix of the rack when I can.

Thanks again everyone!