Tintop AC location

[DuncanS]

Hi--My name is Duncan and I thought I'd post this topic and see what ideas others have had which could help me figure out an AC issue.

I've had a number of T3's, both with and without AC. One of there things that has always bugged me is the way the plastic evap unit hangs down and obscures the view from the rear view mirror. To say nothing of robbing headroom and interior volume for camping and crud. This was recently discussed in a topic
Salvaging Stock AC in a Hightop. A couple of years ago I had an unscheduled off road experience and the plastic failed at the welded steel body mounts and the whole shebang came crashing down. After removing everything except for the evaporator unit and hoses, I strapped it up agains the side window to get it supported and under control until a repair could be made.

I got tired of it banging against the glass and reminding me something had to be done so I bolted a piece of ply under the steel mounts and stuck the evaporations unit on top. Had to remove the felted insulation over it to fit. Then put a piece of front trim back on until the working solution happens. In the process, I gained a couple of inches on the view impingement issue and began to wonder. What if a fella were to cut the roof and raise it a couple of inches? Or how about a fiberglass fairing added to cover a hole in the roof which could allow it to go up some?

Another unrelated dream is to add a sunroof. I bought a new '87 in Germany under the tourist delivery program VW had at the time. It had factory sliding sunroof and I loved it. Cut the top off when it ended it's life due to rust after very few years in Vermont due to salt and no undercoating. But never got around to doing anything with it and after a couple of other T3's in between, my wife said it had to go.

Except this time I wanted glass. Looked into making one with plexiglass, but expansion with temp changes is 1/8" per foot and at 4 feet square, a half inch expansion wouldn't allow for decent water seals. Thought of a curved piece of tempered salvaged from a Greyhound wrecked bus, but........... Because of the roof curve, a flat piece of laminated glass would have to stick way up.

After a recent camping expedition, i happened upon a Samba topic discussing Reimo small pop tops and my visual ears picked up. In a midnight brainstorm, I wondered if the solution might be combining both the AC mount and a sunroof which could have a temp Reimo type unit which could be slapped on quickly before going camping. As you can see from the pic with the boatyard boxes and tools in the back, my daily driver is a utility vehicle, not a dedicated camper. Then in a late night brainstorm, I thought maybe the answer to both dreams is a single solution. So the next day, I grabbed a chunk 'o pine and whacked out:

The next step is to splash on some Interlux Flag Blue and see where I am.

Thoughts?