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UZI
Platinum FUBU
Joined: February 08, 2002
Posts: 13335
Location: phila-DELFT-ia
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 Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:53 pm Post subject: Sunroof cover replacement tutorial |
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i decided to replace the sunroof cover on my 57 deluxe. the cover that was on there, tho original to the bus was no longer functional. when i had the bus in CA, it did nothing but leak, didn't close properly. to boot, the last day i drove it there, the santa ana winds tore it apart.
the following is a photo series of the work in progress, thru the not quite (at the time of the photos) finished project.
first thing i did was look in one of my factory manuals to see how they said to replace it. there are two screws that hold the header bow to the front guiderail where the latch mechanism is. those need to come out.
as do the screws that hold the sunroof cover to the guiderails.
careful, these little machine screws are tiny. i spent probably and extra half hour crawling around with my nose to my driveway looking for the screws i dropped.
peeling back the sunroof cover reveals the rear strap. here is a shot of the rear strap that holds the sunroof cover down. there are these countersunk machine screws what will need plenty of PB blaster and love to get loose. i had to drill out and tap 2 that got destroyed in the removal process. wolfsburg west sells the replacements if you need some.
here is the old tensioning side strip that was still present. i was careful to save this to use as a pattern later on.
i found this old heavy nylon/cotton strap in my warehouse. it looked like it would work so i laid the old strap over top and marked it up where the holes were plus the outline of the outer shape.
fit in place, nice and tidy.
attached at the front and trimmed to the shape of the old one.
top cover dry fit into place.
i went with the vinyl cover from WW. it matched the original nicely. arguably, it may not last as long as sunbrella, but the old one lasted 51 years. in 51 years, i'll be 96. i doubt i'll care.
that picture was a "dry fit" the white dots marking the hole positions that WW put on there were about an inch off. i had the cover on and off 3 times to get it in the right place. once i got it in the right spot and all the screws in place, i waited til a nice warm and sunny day to do the final fit. i left it so the latch just hooked into the roof. once the sun was on it a couple of hours, i closed the roof. with a little muscle, i got it closed. not that it's stretched and broken in slightly, it closes nicely.
i'll get some shots of the finished product later. overall, i'm pretty happy with the results. there is still some tweaking and fine tuning to do.
more photos will follow...
feel free to ad photos and suggestions from your own installation experiences.
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Kelly
Samba Member
Joined: November 25, 2003
Posts: 2437
Location: Olympia, WA
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| Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:58 pm Post subject: Re: sunroof cover replacement tutorial |
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| UZI wrote: |
attached at the front and trimmed to the shape of the old one.
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I know for me this pic is the holy grail...I've been wondering how these actually look installed. Bentley doesn't cover these real well. My only question is with the screw installed like this are you planning on not going through the sunroof like in the Bentley?
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Geetloaf
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Joined: November 20, 2006
Posts: 52
Location: Green Bay
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| Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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| i too had to sacrifice some of the screws that hold down the rear strap. are the replacement screws that WW sells listed on their website or do you have to request them? i apologize if they are on there and i'm just not seeing them. |
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UZI
Platinum FUBU
Joined: February 08, 2002
Posts: 13335
Location: phila-DELFT-ia
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| Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 2:56 am Post subject: |
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jacs, that picture was for positioning. i did go thru the sunroof, but it was one of the last things i did once the roof was all stretched into position. i'll show that in some pics later of the finished roof. i also slit the cover from below so those tabs installed properly.
geet, i asked for the screws and they had them. i was kinda surprised. they also sell popout window screws (and tons of other hardware, i'm sure).
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velvetgreen
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Joined: August 17, 2004
Posts: 2927
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:19 am Post subject: |
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grat pics! i have to do the sunroof on mine to do so mucho appreciated- extra kudos for using Hazet screwdrivers for the pics!
Anyone know if a 60 sunroof kombi would have had a cotton sunroof headliner?? If so who makes the best headliner for the deal? I am in the frozen north so Lenny Copp and crew are not an option... |
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UZI
Platinum FUBU
Joined: February 08, 2002
Posts: 13335
Location: phila-DELFT-ia
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| Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 6:28 pm Post subject: |
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here are some shots of the finished project.
rear strap detail:
you can see the holes where i went thru trying to fit the roof early on. oh well. a dab of black caulk and it will be watertight.
blurry screw detail to answer jacs question:
front/header bow detail:
you can see here that the edges don't quite lay flush. WW tech dept suggested using contact adhesive to hold the cover to the header bow, which i did and it certainly worked. i could have done a better job aligning things. i think the cover may have pulled back some as you can see the front edge is lipped up some. i'm cool with it.
wide open and ready for the summer:
yes, the factory bus manuals/bentley don't tell you much which is why i decided it would be a good idea to create this step by step progress report. the manual was enough to get me off to a good start. the job is far from perfect and that bus probably deserves better. i'm happy i was able to do it myself and be able to pass the info on. 
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Kelly
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Joined: November 25, 2003
Posts: 2437
Location: Olympia, WA
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| Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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looks good man, now you just need the two little metal tabs on the back of the sunroof, one on each side to keep the last fold (or first, however) from exposing the bow. they have them at WW.
with mine I can see the bows pretty well when it's closed, so I'm hoping the tensioner strap will lay 'em flat a little better.
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UZI
Platinum FUBU
Joined: February 08, 2002
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Location: phila-DELFT-ia
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 3:15 am Post subject: |
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those tabs are there. i guess i put them under the cover by mistake.
so they go on the outside?
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gatorwyatt
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Joined: April 24, 2002
Posts: 1890
Location: Clearwater Fl.
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:20 am Post subject: |
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gibbs...yes the little tabs with the bend on the end go on the outside of the cover and if you didnt spray glue already the front header bow to the cover you could also stand to try and get the cover lip a little closer to the body to prevent rain from forcing itself in the frt while driving.
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ronnie
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Joined: May 01, 2002
Posts: 1053
Location: lost somewhere between the earth and my home.
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:41 am Post subject: |
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Sweet, I've been looking at that bus for several years wishing the lazy f*ck who owned it would replace the sunroof cover! It's good to see it getting the proper respect.
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UZI
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Joined: February 08, 2002
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Location: phila-DELFT-ia
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 9:27 am Post subject: |
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at some point i'll get into some furthur fine tuning on the cover, like the leading edge.
glad to be giving that bus the respect. i don't have a whole lot to sweat about what the previous owner did or didn't do to this bus. 
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Long-roofs
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Joined: March 20, 2002
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Location: Millwood, Wa
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:42 am Post subject: |
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| UZI wrote: |
those tabs are there. i guess i put them under the cover by mistake.
so they go on the outside? |
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Major Woody
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Joined: December 04, 2002
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Location: Portland, OR
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:48 am Post subject: |
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| Looking at that front seam, it looks like the flap from the seam is flopped over under the front bow rather than lying on top of the bow. That would probably make the seam lay funny on one side but not on the other. |
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UZI
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| Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 12:37 pm Post subject: |
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i'll look into that major&woody, thanks for the suggestion. i'll probably drool some solvent like naptha down there one day and yank for cover off the header bow to get it to lay down on there properly. also, thanks long-roofs for the nice detail photo.
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2Pack
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Joined: September 20, 2005
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Location: Virginia
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 8:06 am Post subject: |
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| UZI wrote: |
here are some shots of the finished project.
rear strap detail:
you can see the holes where i went thru trying to fit the roof early on. oh well. a dab of black caulk and it will be watertight.
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UZI- Thanks for starting this thread. Any tips on how to avoid this extra hole poking issue? I'm starting mine this weekend and was worried about this happening.
Also, how are your tensioning bow ends? I found some rubber tubing that makes a good replacement if you need some. |
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Kelly
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Joined: November 25, 2003
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Location: Olympia, WA
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 6:38 pm Post subject: |
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I used large electrical heat shrink for the ends of my bows, looks like it could be factory that way.
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UZI
Platinum FUBU
Joined: February 08, 2002
Posts: 13335
Location: phila-DELFT-ia
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 6:59 pm Post subject: |
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| 2Pack wrote: |
| UZI wrote: |
here are some shots of the finished project.
rear strap detail:
you can see the holes where i went thru trying to fit the roof early on. oh well. a dab of black caulk and it will be watertight.
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UZI- Thanks for starting this thread. Any tips on how to avoid this extra hole poking issue? I'm starting mine this weekend and was worried about this happening.
Also, how are your tensioning bow ends? I found some rubber tubing that makes a good replacement if you need some. |
as far as not poking extra holes, i dunno. i went by WWs holes figuring they would be perty close. i'm not worried. you can't see it walking around the bus. you could probably take a few carpenters hand clamps and hold the strap and cover in position while you finagle the front.
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Braukuche
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Joined: September 03, 2004
Posts: 11236
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| Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:23 am Post subject: |
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I'm installing my cover right now and noticed a few problems. One, I used the seal WolfsburgWest includes with the cover kit. The seal glues around the lead edge and sides of the header bow. I then glued the cover over the seal and header bow. This causes the cover seams to not line up with the edge of the header bow on the sides. This in turn causes quite a gap between the header bow and the first bow.
The other issue is the seal, which is pretty thick, prevent the lead edge of the bow to lie flush with the top. It sits a good 3/4 inch above the roof. Is this normal?
If anyone else here has installed a cover and can offer a few tips on how to address these issues I would appreciate it.
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Kelly
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Joined: November 25, 2003
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Location: Olympia, WA
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| Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Long-roofs wrote: |
| UZI wrote: |
those tabs are there. i guess i put them under the cover by mistake.
so they go on the outside? |
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After finally finding where I put the original tabs, I decided to make my own out of whatever I could find laying around. The only thing that was close enough to the thickness was a 1970's TV antenna mount:
Question though, what length is the screw supposed to be back there? It can't be the same length as the others that are along the back row since they're countersunk and this one is a finished one..
Also, the bend goes to the front and not down to the side?
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EverettB 
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