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Fri Oct 11, 2024 3:42 pm

Chan3421 wrote: Hi! first time posting but I've used this platform a lot so i figured i should contribute. in february of 2024, I purchased an 87 syncro tin top vanagon with the interest of living in it. Ive done a lot of work to it but the biggest accomplishment has to be installing a NAHT that I picked up when I bought the van. I figured some current pictures of its install process might help others looking to do the project DIY.
I always admire a well documented post. Great job on both the work done to the van, as well as photos and documentation. This will for sure help others in the same endeavor. BRAVO ZULU!

Sat Oct 12, 2024 5:30 pm

I'm glad the NAHT is still around! I got one installed, and I have a future Westy to do another on.

I had so much room when I Van Life'd in it for 7yrs.

Thanks for still continuing the molds/builds!

J Charlton wrote: Yes - Indeed North American Hightops is still alive. Similarly to just about everyone else the effects of 2+ years of pandemic and the ensuing economic slowdown have had a significant impact on our activities. For example, there are a a few tops that were shipped to the PNW 18 months ago still available. Inflation and rising interest rates and general economic uncertainty have affected us all and lots of folks are being very careful with their discretionary spending. The last production run that we did was plagued with supply chain issues that made scheduling really problematic. Given all of the above, we decided to - like many other Northern hemisphere species - go into hibernation until things "warmed up" bit, or at least started to show signs of a return to "normal" or "new normal" predictability.

There are still a few NAHT hightops and window sets available for installation or pickup for DIY installation in the PNW at Bend Oregon, Fife Washington and Kennewick Washington. We have been discussing and thinking about future production runs, design modifications and potential distribution - and, for us, that is the beginning of the process.

A couple of features of the NAHT production will remain constants however. Because we have the skill, expertise and talent of our fabricator, Terry, available, we will continue to produce hand laid tops. Hand laid tops are lighter, stronger and because they do not need lateral ridges or directional changes to increase strength, will have accommodation for good sized windows placed at a height so that a good view of the outside, at standing height inside and lots of great ventilation are a feature.

One of our installers, Kevin, in Bend Oregon, has, over the years, developed a solar energy "package" and expertise that is customized for the NAHT hightop and available for other vans, westies and tintops as well. It is a well thought out and designed system that maximizes solar capture, storage and distribution. Some pictures of earlier versions of panels installed on a van can be seen on page 58 of this Samba thread. Kevin has also developed an on board hot water storage system capturing excess engine heat that is very interesting and practical. He can be contacted at [email protected] Kevin is currently putting together a group order of custom panels.

Page 58 https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...start=1140 is also a great reference for folks contemplating a DIY installation. Many of the steps have been documented with pics and commentary. Also, several folks who have installed NAHT tops have shared their experiences anecdotally
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The email addy on the NAHT website is no longer active and I've not had the patience to revise the site (change of OS and publishing software). I'm sure that I'll get to it sometime (maybe) In the meantime, I can be contacted either through Samba messaging or the email [email protected]
JC

Thu Feb 06, 2025 9:04 pm

Hello, saw some rust appearing on the meeting of the adhesive and raw metal.
Should I be concerned? How do I go about stopping/preventing this?

Thu Feb 06, 2025 9:52 pm

Chan3421 wrote: Hello, saw some rust appearing on the meeting of the adhesive and raw metal.
Should I be concerned? How do I go about stopping/preventing this?

You're getting rust from condensation.
It probably wasn't necessary to remove all the paint before you applied the adhesive.
Chan3421 wrote: ............then to the van Prep! i used a rotational vibrating sander to remove the paint down to a shiny metal along the edges of the van roof. sides, front and back where the top would lay.

...................
I would be concerned. Unfortunately at this point you can only hope to slow down the corrosion. A product like Fluid Film might be your best bet, it's very thin and will creep into the crevasses.
It won't fix the rust that's already there but it will make it harder to spread and provide protection.
There will be some smell but it's not too unpleasant and will fade fairly quickly.

The only sure fix would be to remove the top and redo, but yikes!

Fri Feb 07, 2025 7:56 am

MsTaboo wrote:
It probably wasn't necessary to remove all the paint before you applied the adhesive.

If you do not remove the paint to bare metal the only thing holding the top on is the paint to metal bond. That is not structurally a good idea at all. You use the world's best adhesive and the weak link is the paint bond.

MsTaboo wrote:
Unfortunately at this point you can only hope to slow down the corrosion. A product like Fluid Film might be your best bet, it's very thin and will creep into the crevasses.
It won't fix the rust that's already there but it will make it harder to spread and provide protection.
There will be some smell but it's not too unpleasant and will fade fairly quickly.

If that were mine I'd brush on some rust converter paint and then seal it with some Cosmoline or Fluid Film as mentioned.

MsTaboo wrote:
The only sure fix would be to remove the top and redo, but yikes!

IMO no need to remove the top. That is just surface rust and should be fine to treat as is.

Fri Feb 07, 2025 9:39 am

dobryan wrote: If you do not remove the paint to bare metal the only thing holding the top on is the paint to metal bond. That is not structurally a good idea at all. You use the world's best adhesive and the weak link is the paint bond.

If everyone just added some spoilers they could increase their downforce and not need adhesive at all! :lol:

I tried my best for DeepAI to make this but apparently it thinks all vanagons are pop tops. Hightops don't exist for AI.

:lol: