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the_benjamin_effect
Samba Member
Joined: May 31, 2010
Posts: 325
Location: Gateway to the North Cascades, Washington State
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 Posted: Fri Oct 11, 2024 3:42 pm Post subject: Re: New Hightop Option |
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| 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!
_________________
-1967 Sundial Camper 1914cc "Sunny"
-1978 Deluxe Westfalia Jake Raby built PowerStroke 2109cc "Westy"
-1987 SYNCRO Westfalia GoWesty 2400cc "Ruby"
-2000 Subaru Impreza Sport EJ22 ΒΌ million miles "Trusty"
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. I.A.M. 751
International Brotherhood of Naval Flight Engineers. I.B.N.F.E. LOCAL 8251
U.S. NAVY Retired; Senior Chief Flight Engineer, P-3 Orion and EP-3E Aries II
U.S.S. Carl Vinson, VFA-22, VQ-2, VQ-1, VP-30 |
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rotaecho
Samba Member
Joined: October 14, 2012
Posts: 531
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| Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2024 5:30 pm Post subject: Re: New Hightop Option |
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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
'
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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-Will
1982 Westfalia mTDI (50deg) aka Betsy Bertha
http://www.tdivanagons.com |
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Chan3421
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2024
Posts: 5
Location: CA
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| Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2025 9:04 pm Post subject: Re: New Hightop Option |
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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?
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MsTaboo 
Samba Member
Joined: June 02, 2006
Posts: 4549
Location: East Kootenay, British Columbia
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| Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2025 9:52 pm Post subject: Re: New Hightop Option |
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| 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?
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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.
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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!
_________________
Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec
The information age has morphed into the age of disinformation and willful ignorance. Agnotology!
All that's needed for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing.
Resist Kleptocratic Oligarchy (and Idiocracy)! |
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dobryan
Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 17143
Location: Brookeville, MD
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| Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2025 7:56 am Post subject: Re: New Hightop Option |
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| MsTaboo wrote: |
It probably wasn't necessary to remove all the paint before you applied the adhesive.
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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.
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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!
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IMO no need to remove the top. That is just surface rust and should be fine to treat as is.
_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2010 Subaru EJ25 (Vanaru) and Peloquin TBD
"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson
MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646
Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371
The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794 |
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4Gears4Tires
Samba Member
Joined: October 08, 2018
Posts: 4183
Location: MD
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| Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2025 9:39 am Post subject: Re: New Hightop Option |
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| 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! 
I tried my best for DeepAI to make this but apparently it thinks all vanagons are pop tops. Hightops don't exist for AI.
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'87 Syncro Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition
'85 Westy Sciuridae Domus Edition |
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