1979 Pop top refurb w/ "solid" headliner install

[Our79Westy]

Thanks DaleNW, Too right!

I heard about that issue during my seal corner edge searches. I've been reading a lot of the threads and am considering consolidating them within this thread as maybe a one stop refurb shop as there are many ways to do it.

You're in here already, so there's only like 2 more to go right? lol. We'll see when I make said compilation.

anyone feel free to beat me to it?

Thanks again DaleNW and to everyone who has or will contribute to this thread.
_________________
1979 Westfalia DELUXE 2.0 FI manual
Mexican beigeutiful and mostly original.

See the most up to date status of Constance on YouTube
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCvO1ZedS22IepvvRYaTxiPQ

My 1979 Westfalia Campmobile's sundry Tales of Constance
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620965

1990 Vanagon, Red, Driven 70,000 miles till sold.

[Bala]

Dale is right, get the bulb! At low speeds the non-bulb seal will be fine, but get on the highway and you'll get some noise. And I think it's nearly impossible to get the bulb seal in without removing the rack.

Also, while you have the luggage rack off glue some window screen on the underside of the drain holes. Anything you can do to keep debris out from under the rack is good.

_________________
1976 Westy

1966 Beetle

[PITApan]

I'm for leaving it off and putting a cargo basket in its place. That's a lot of plastic for not a lot of storage and baskets don't collect leaves.

[Our79Westy]

Hello again and thank you for following along in the refurbishment of my 1979 Campmobile's Pop-top.

Special Thanks to the contributors both past, present and future.

Hoody, I’m not sure why you deleted your post and welcome your perspective and knowledge.

Bala, I saw (but cannot seem to find again) another “Sambanite?” glue garden hose screens in the holes of the luggage rack. These appeared to work great because said screens are tapered like a cone and have a rubber seal at the base to “glue” in place on the underside. I thought it looked neat how the little cones stuck out of the holes and then though of the things that I will eventually place in said rack. Any hard luggage like wood, cooler, etc. would appear to push or crush the screens and maybe dislodge them causing me to have to remove said luggage carrier rack in order to repair…not likely as the custom headliners and nonesuch may not yield to another entry…gracefully…i.e. without damage.

I like what you have done but have the same hesitation…because I camp and live in a wilderness my luggage rack and underneath collected the tree detritus shown here. My tree’s shed sticks, acorns, pinecones and stuff that may also poke through a screen mounted as such and cause the same dreaded fix.

Soo, it would appear the garden hose screens or equivalent sillycorned (reads as Silicone) into the drain holes from the TOP side would appear to be the best? Option? This way any future repair may be effected from “above” the vehicle with said luggage rack still installed. This is what I will research at the local hardware store…hmm I think I remember seeing stainless washing machine hose screens when I installed leaksafe hoses on the washer.

DaleNW et al., I am torn on the bulbed seal as many others have posted elsewhere. I don’t want to reuse the 36 year old original seal as it is cracked and rusty. I read someone using a piece of folded rubber roof gasket slipped into the front seam and someone else using self-adhesive half inch weather-strip. I will look into this further as I am considering using something decorative like a chrome plated plastic strip or something…LED’s in clear tubing…hmmmm.

I understand the importance of allowing the water to drain, abatement of wind noise, etc. And am hoping there is enough adjustment to allow the luggage rack to seat tight against the roof. Worst case is I may have to elongate or redrill the holes in the mounting brackets? Honestly, I’m not sure and don’t want to have to buy another seal if it can be helped, I figured my supplier would(should) have known my needs for what was available at the time of my order.

[khalimadeath]

I wonder if there is any point in doing this on an early bay pop top?

[Our79Westy]

Depends, (they're not just absorbitant undergarments... lol)

I guess, it's a matter of what you want to do to your bus, how much do you want to do yourself and how much can you afford to have someone else do it.(their way based on your directions and guidance).

As stated in the beginning of this thread, I have a gentleman's agreement at an accredited restoration facility to ONLY RESTORE the outer surface of the fiberglass for $3000.00. I would have to deliver it to the autobody restoration establishment devoid of hardware and canvas and afterwards still have to deal with the INSIDE fiberglass as well as the flaking flocking.

I wish money were no option, but unfortunately i am not in the position to shell out the cash to have these things done by others...yet.

Further, most of the "professionals" that would even consider working on a 36 year old vehicle are hours away. (anyone please feel free to correct me on this) and will charge whatever is appropriate for the services rendered. Here in Virginia a "regular" mechanic charges $95 USD an hour. I've read threads discussing mechanic charges and agree that the experience and tools required to work on our busses is expensive. This being a vintage vehicle, I've had some mechanics say they wont touch it. "It's just a looker".

So it's a matter of choices, personal preferences and fundage.

I appreciate that thesamba provides perusers with options and guidance for a direction and plethera solutions to the real life problems experienced by our aging vehicles.

Thanks for the comment and I look forward to hopefully see how you ultimately solve your dilemma.

Best regards and best of luck.
_________________
1979 Westfalia DELUXE 2.0 FI manual
Mexican beigeutiful and mostly original.

See the most up to date status of Constance on YouTube
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCvO1ZedS22IepvvRYaTxiPQ

My 1979 Westfalia Campmobile's sundry Tales of Constance
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620965

1990 Vanagon, Red, Driven 70,000 miles till sold.

[khalimadeath]

[Ernie Punkin]

Great thread guys!

Getting back to different ideas for the solid surface to put new headliner material on, is this product an option? I see that it comes in 65" width.

http://www.perfectfit.com/15347/154532/Chipboard-Car-Panelboard/Kraft-Tan-Waterproof-Panelboard.html

Please do share? How wide are those flat panels that you guys have been installing?

I selected ivory color mohair cloth headliner material like this:

http://www.jbugs.com/category/vw-mohair-headliner-material.html

Not cheap, but it's a once-in-many years splurge. It has a nice vintage VW look, in addition to being "fuzzy".

But it's only 54" wide. I hope that's wide enough, otherwise .....
_________________
1977 Westfalia "Happy"
Bye Bye 1979 Westfalia ERNIE the REI Bus
-----
Ion Pod Trailer

[Our79Westy]

KALI, Thanks for the clarification and I wish I had an answer for you. I'm sure someone is willing to share their knowledge on your specific issue and I hope this thread can help as many Baysters as possible so please bring on the questions.

Earnie P, Thanks for the kind words and material selection options. I am assuming you want the size of the solid substrate glued to the poptop itself?

As for the panels, MY poptop inside measurement, from the corner where the wood embedded in the fiberglass poptop meets the roof itself was 96 (ninety six) inches long and 47.5 (forty seven and a half) inches wide...but remember (see pictures above) I didn't run it all the way to the front because of the mounting hardware clearance issues.

All the other "panels" are original bus parts that desperately needed headlining and starting from front to back are the:
driver compartment was 52.5 in. wide by 42 in. Long.
Hinged bed was 45.5 in. Wide and 24.5 in. Long.
fixed bed was 45.5 in. wide and 46 in. Long.
Rear hanging cabinet was 36 in. wide and 23 in. Long.
All 4 upper valences "plywood roof trim" (covering bus metal between the ceiling and wood grained curtain valences) are 44 5/8 in. Long and 4 inches wide with the 2 rear most panels expanding to 4.5 inches immediately approaching the rear of the bus.

Your solid substrate option looks great for some things/panels, however, minimum order is 4 panels ($46 USD) plus shipping. Further the maximum panel size is 39 by 65, therefor you would have a seam or seams somewhere that will show through your ultimate headliner material after install.

lesson learned, fill any imperfections, joints, seams and gaps before installing your headliner.

The fabric would look nice 4 sure and is definitely wide enough for the poptop itself. Another lesson learned. ..IF you are reheadlining your bus with a material that has a pattern, make sure the pattern runs in the right direction.

I rererereread section 1 of my Bently last night and unfortunately it doesn't cover Campmobiles 1974 and later (see section one, page 30, item 7. Campmobile equipment). Beyond stating to use new self locking nuts and not to squeeze the rubber spacers too hard I can't find a mention of sealing substances.

I hope someone can advise me with what they used as the sealant for the poptop penetrating hardware. Silly corn, Plumbers putty, rooftar?

Thanks again for your contributions, comments and advice.
_________________
1979 Westfalia DELUXE 2.0 FI manual
Mexican beigeutiful and mostly original.

See the most up to date status of Constance on YouTube
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCvO1ZedS22IepvvRYaTxiPQ

My 1979 Westfalia Campmobile's sundry Tales of Constance
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620965

1990 Vanagon, Red, Driven 70,000 miles till sold.

[Jjrady]

Our79Westy, curious what happened with your luggage rack seal situation? Did you use the bulb-less seal? Did it leak air at high speeds?

Gonna do a big ol refresh in a week or two so wanna make sure I have the right parts ready to go.

Thanks

Also, what did you use to top coat all that shiny hardware you so patiently polished?
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79' (CA) Mexican beige Delux Westy

[Our79Westy]

Sorry for the belated response.

Hey Jj, good luck on your refresh.

YES, bulbless and YES it leaks AIR at speed...but no noticible noise, merely canvas billowing inside, i.e. filling up with air. I don't drive in the rain...yet (needs wiper refresh) but I would expect water to follow the air.

I have a few fixes in mind that do NOT include changing the new seal, but HOT weather and other bus projects are keeping this particular problem/fix on hold. As a teaser I'm thinking LED lights in a clear tubing filling the gap between the rack and the roof and or redrilling the holes in the supports at a lower position than they were originally...thus "pulling" the luggage rack closer to the roof and eliminating the gap. I guess the ultimate fix has yet to be determined and posted.

As for the hardware I used the Attwoods Marine Polish pictured above as the final top coat on the aluminum. It's the same cleaner wax combo I used everywhere else on the bus (i.e. paint, chrome, etc.) as well. Seemed to work great and I am now just waiting for the test of time to see how it all holds up.

It's been 90 days and the parts are as shiny as the day I waxed them....except for a few spots that I just looked at as of this post and will comment on in a later post, might have just been dirty gloves, but I expect it to wipe off with the polish and be shiny again soon.

FYI I used "stainless" plumbers putty on all of the penetrations of the metal roof. I used it for ease of installation/removal, pliability, relative inertness and cleanliness.

Again, good luck and be patient with those screws that go in the corners of the canvas mounting strip as they are a bear to install. I had to leave my canvas installed and relaxing for 2 weeks before I could stretch it enough to finally get a screwdriver in there to seat the final front two corner screws.
_________________
1979 Westfalia DELUXE 2.0 FI manual
Mexican beigeutiful and mostly original.

See the most up to date status of Constance on YouTube
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCvO1ZedS22IepvvRYaTxiPQ

My 1979 Westfalia Campmobile's sundry Tales of Constance
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620965

1990 Vanagon, Red, Driven 70,000 miles till sold.

[Our79Westy]

3 year update...

been camping a few times now, with the longest being 1 continuos week. weathered several rain storms and beating hot hot beach sun of kitty hawk north carolina...still very happy with the results over all,

heated power seat from an audi...bolted right in...kinda...but sits too high...might be able to drop further with extensive seat/seat rail modification.

dingles are cool

I'm still very happy with the fabrics working together

when the sewing store Hancock's went out of business we bought almost all their foam and bolts of fabric...the master bed is now 3 inches thick while the guest bed is a luxurious 4inches...

seems the contact glue may have separated, so I am considering using 1 inch bamboo cut in half as horizontal tension supports.

and while parked during a torrential downpour I noticed a drip coming off the black pull-down handle...gonna have to reseal my bolts...

thanks for your comments and advice aaaand happy restomodding!
_________________
1979 Westfalia DELUXE 2.0 FI manual
Mexican beigeutiful and mostly original.

See the most up to date status of Constance on YouTube
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCvO1ZedS22IepvvRYaTxiPQ

My 1979 Westfalia Campmobile's sundry Tales of Constance
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620965

1990 Vanagon, Red, Driven 70,000 miles till sold.