TheSamba.com :: View topic - 66 21 window bus roof repair. Much help needed

Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:58 am

Sooooooo, where to begin... I've been restoring my dream bus with my son for a few years now I guess. I've restored and owned a lot of busses over the last 15-20 years but this was by far the biggest project I've taken on. I didn't even know where to start on this one so I figured I'd start at the bottom and work my way up. Wellll now I'm finally up to the roof and it's in baddd shape.. I didn't realize until recently how bad the inside of the gutters are, I ordered my parts 4-5 years ago and I know I'm gonna need some more stuff. Anyways I was hoping someone could refer me to a good thread on how to go about fixing this. I definitely need some advice from somebody who's done this before. I'm gonna post a few pictures of where I'm at so far, the parts I have for roof, and course the roof. I'm reaching out to the experts now lol. Please help, thanks Dean

Fri Dec 08, 2017 12:12 pm

To fix the gutters correctly and look the best, is to remove the entire roof skin, then replace entire gutter sections then put roof back. On the plus side of all that rust in the roof, the roof should come off pretty easy.. :wink:

Fri Dec 08, 2017 3:56 pm

Nowadays you can buy new roof parts:

https://www.bbt4vw.com/en/catalogue/1-exterior/4-b...nel-front/

https://www.bbt4vw.com/en/catalogue/1-exterior/4-b...anel-rear/

Fri Dec 08, 2017 4:24 pm

EeVeeWee wrote: Nowadays you can buy new roof parts:

https://www.bbt4vw.com/en/catalogue/1-exterior/4-b...nel-front/

https://www.bbt4vw.com/en/catalogue/1-exterior/4-b...anel-rear/

But does the box w/ the X thru it mean NO SHIPPING ?? That would not help Bus Buds in the U.S.......

Fri Dec 08, 2017 4:57 pm

Heres one
http://monkeynutvw.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=20584

Try doing a search for "roof replacement" in the split bus form. You 'll have to weed thru the topics but there are several. I recall a guy in Sweden or Finland did a very through one but cant find it right now. But there are others to guide you. Good luck

Sat Dec 09, 2017 2:31 am

crukab wrote: EeVeeWee wrote: Nowadays you can buy new roof parts:

https://www.bbt4vw.com/en/catalogue/1-exterior/4-b...nel-front/

https://www.bbt4vw.com/en/catalogue/1-exterior/4-b...anel-rear/

But does the box w/ the X thru it mean NO SHIPPING ?? That would not help Bus Buds in the U.S.......

Oops I didn't realise that, I will ask them.
Edit: Unfortunately they do not ship indeed. :(

Sat Dec 09, 2017 4:45 am

The roof section at rear hatch would easier to replace as a whole. Your looks very crusty at hinges.

Sat Dec 09, 2017 10:52 am

You can now buy a brand new compete roof in the US. It does not have the sunroof or skylight sections.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2115343

Sat Dec 09, 2017 11:29 am

If you are in USA, ask directly to grumpy's metal.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1476437
I think he has a very big experience in sunroof convertion and I'm sure he could supply you a complete roof.

Sat Dec 09, 2017 12:19 pm

Take look at my thread-
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...;start=140
For a peek at what to expect. It's not impossible. But it won't be easy. Get ready for it to get worse as you go along. Eventually you will stop cutting off rusty stuff and start welding back on shiny stuff. Good luck!

Sat Dec 09, 2017 1:09 pm

Top of your roof looks good. I would start by trying to fix it around the edges first and see how that goes. Nothing to loose by trying to repair what you have. Looks like you have most of the roof steel needed for repairs anyway.

Think I would start at a rear corner and remove the roof steel so your corner patch panel will fit. That may give you plenty of access to fix the inner frame where bad and replace the hinge rib. Then just work around the roof until done. :)

Many ways to accomplish this. Hard to tell until you get some rust removed what the best way will be for you.

Mon Dec 11, 2017 5:18 am

Thanks to everyone who has responded, all the links and info has helped a lot, also sorry for the dark pictures, I'm not a big cell phone guy.. I'm gonna start cleaning it all up this week and seeing how bad the rust is and hopefully I'll have a plan by then. Thanks for the info and encouragement, keep it coming.

Mon Dec 11, 2017 9:38 am

Sooo, I started diving into it and removing the headliner and I'm definetly gonna have to replace a few feet of the rain gutter.. I noticed KF and WW have the gutter sections available but WW has an inner strength panel as well. Where's the inner strength panel go?

Mon Dec 11, 2017 9:59 am

Maybe this link could help you:
http://www.autocrafteng.co.uk/shop/split-screen-van_60/panels-and-body-parts_1/roof-sections_5/
Regards
Adriano

Mon Dec 11, 2017 1:08 pm

Here are some pics from my 21window rain gutter repair to give you an idea...

Wed Dec 13, 2017 7:05 am

Yup, unfortunately those pics say it all. Looks like I'm taking me roof off. Thanks for all the info everyone

Wed Dec 13, 2017 3:25 pm

My roof was almost that bad.
I have replaced it with a donor roof.
https://boxerville.se/forum/viewtopic.php?id=39806&p=2