New Hightop Option

[dieseltdi]

Peter (Coast Mt. Hightops) sold the company to a guy in Everett, Washington. Don't know anything about Vivid Vans but who knows. I am still waiting for my new top to get shipped. Hayden
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Currently:
1982 Vanagon Westy TDI conversion
2022 ID.4 Pro S
2015 Golf Sportwagen S TDI
Way too many previously owned to list!

[bigdog69]

[Synergy Solutions]

Nudging this thread a bit….:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2575450

This top comes with a free van
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Im a Mobile Aircooled VW mechanic, and work on old and new cars alike. Specialty in Camper busses/Vans, TDI, and FI diagnosis and repair.

(206) 841 7324

[iamdonquixote]

is NAHT still a thing ?

[dobryan]

[J Charlton]

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
'
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
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NAHT hightop availability May 18 2023 -
Bend Oregon - for Oregon, California- (7 tot , 3 available), Kennewick Wa (6 tot, 1 available), Small Car Performance Fife Wa. (7 tot 4 avail ), Fairbanks Alaska (1 tot 0 avail)
Future availability TBD : Springfield Mass. Staunton Va, Florida, Colorado, Grand Junction Co., SLC probably late 2024

[jimf909]

[J Charlton]

Hi Jim - the NAHT top that you have is a hand laid top. All the NAHT tops that we have produced have been hand laid. When we. at one time, made a few tops from the AdventureWagen mold, we made one chopper gunned top. The weight of the chopper gunned top was enough to convince us to stick to the more time consuming labour intensive hand laying process. It yields a stronger, lighter product.
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NAHT hightop availability May 18 2023 -
Bend Oregon - for Oregon, California- (7 tot , 3 available), Kennewick Wa (6 tot, 1 available), Small Car Performance Fife Wa. (7 tot 4 avail ), Fairbanks Alaska (1 tot 0 avail)
Future availability TBD : Springfield Mass. Staunton Va, Florida, Colorado, Grand Junction Co., SLC probably late 2024

[jimf909]

Ah. I get it. I didn't track that very well. Thanks for clarifying that for me.
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- Jim