T3 Westfalia Hightop Conversion - Hochdach

[ghoney]

Hey there, been following your work and love the can-do attitude! Some of your pictures have helped me work out how the hi-tops are attached, and where to add sealer to stop water leaks!
The reason for this post is that my hi-top Westie, along with all the others I've looked at, have a drain slot at the front corner of each gutter so that rain will drain down the windscreen pillars. Without this slot, rain will pool in the gutters if you're parked facing downhill.

All the best, Geoff

[SyncroGhia]

[SyncroGhia]

This weekend has been forecast as hot and sunny and I happen to have some time to get the roof fitted properly.

I would have started first thing Friday morning but the windscreen (toughened) in my Tristar shattered on the way home at 22:30 doing more than 70mph. Thankfully I had a spare screen meant for another project so the morning was spent cleaning up lots of little bits of glass and sealing the replacement (laminated) into a rather rusty windscreen frame.

Once done, I got the roof jacked up a bit and started chipping off the old glue from the roof.

So I end up with fresh fibreglass for the glue to stick to.

I spent most of the day and the next morning checking the fit of the roof, removing small amounts of metal, fibreglass etc until I could get the roof to sit as flat as possible for the best seal.

The inner frame also need the final bolt down and rivets fitting.

This is really only possible with the roof up out of the way. Access is possible (just) from above but you can't align the frame with the brackets from there.

Once all of the bolts were in, I checked the alignment of the rivet holes before tightening everything up.

I fitted the fixed rear board in place just to check that everything lined up before riveting the frame onto the van permanently.

At this point I realised that the wiring that runs up to the roof lighting and interior lighting needing sorting as this was the last opportunity to fit it.

I dug out the wiring that I'd labeled up when I removed it from the original hightop roof (or I would've had no idea what went where!).

This along with the photos that I took (which are a few pages back in this thread) showed where I needed to drill holes and where the wiring runs.

With all of the wiring fitted ready to power the lights and a few small additions added for future ideas, it was time to get on with the Sikaflex.

The rear panel that joins the roof to the van was first. Glued into place whilst I prepared the rest of the roof and van.

Applying the Sikaflex as per instruction, I applied absolutely as much of the 252 as I could possibly get in.

The black paint is the Sikaflex primer.

Dropped down onto the glue.

I didn't realise just how sticky this stuff really was. I dropped the back down first to get the rear panels to match up without the glue going walk about, then I went to pull the roof forwards and could barely move it!

Eventually I managed to get the roof pulled forwards enough for the front to sit where I wanted it.

Once in place, I got the straps on again along with some blocks of wood to pull the sides tight up against the inner ridge of the roof.

Then I moved to the back and riveted the rear panel to the back of the van and refitted the tailgate.

It feels very good to finally have the roof fitted. I have tomorrow to fit clean up the excess glue, put the 521 on (UV resistant) top of the 252 and seal the roof lights up so it's properly sealed before the rain comes again on Monday.

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[dobryan]

_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 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

[syncropatrick]

Thats a lot of Sikaflex product.
How many tubes of primer, 252 and 521 are used?
I've got a fibreglass roof to glue down next month and am considering my glue order.

[SyncroGhia]

Hi Patrick,

I've used three tubes of 252 so far and 2/3 tube of 521. I have to put the top sealant layer of 521 over all of the 252 as it's not UV resistant.

I expect to use 4 to 5 tubes of 521 total.

Don't forget your 205, 206 & 209 as well.

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[syncropatrick]

Hey what! Really?
I'd better get reading catalogues. Sheesh, my order will be expensive.

[SyncroGhia]

I've been a little busy with other projects this week but took a few more photos the day after and also fitted and sealed the sky lights.

Not perfectly uniform but enough to know that it's sealed.

Lots inside to seal it up

I'm fairly please with how much has come up the sides and how uniform it is though.

Onto the sky lights.

Before

After some cleaning.

The sky lights themselves were extremely grubby. They've cleaned up ok but it looks like someone has had one of them too close to a grinder at some point as there are specs of metal in there which have gone rusty... I'm not sure how I will sort this long term.

Next are the wooden surrounds.

These are actually fixed in place to the fibreglass from above (under the sealant). There was the remains of an original screw still stuck into the fibreglass here.

In place.

These are just about the only part that connects the fibreglass roof to the metal frame.

I forgot to take a photo with the glue on before screwing the sky lights down into position but I had a bead of glue (521) that was probably 15mm wide in the middle of the shadow of where the frame has sat previously.

And a larger shot which includes my neighbour's 911SC powered Bay Westy.

The last job I did before leaving it for the week was to put 521 over the top at the front. This is just about the only area I can get to until I take straps off.

By now, I should be able to take the straps off and hope that it's all dry in side

We'll see tomorrow.

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

So the straps are off and today I started putting the top sealant layer on.

Ok, I spent ages cleaning off as much crap from the original sealant as possible before applying new

I had to remove some of the excess 252. Some I could cut off with a stanly knife, the rest had to trimmed by other means!

Gets messy when you use a grinder!

Some time later...

Much later...

I've now just got the right hand side to do and I've finished the outside... apart from painting the roof that is!

Then I can start with wind out awnings, roof rack frames, inner linings...

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

Onto the other side.

Masking tape at the ready...

Primer on and drying...

One large (probably too much but hey!) bead of glue.

With it smoothed down and left to dry, I removed the masking tape and forgot to take a photo
So I'll take one tomorrow.

So the roof is now officially glued on and I have the rest of the refit to do.

I've been pondering on how to make my roof rack to work to fit and be neat. As I'm going to using some 25mm aluminium tubing, I've been looking for nice feet to fix that to the roof.

I don't really want it to look like something that you could buy at B&Q.

I found that hand rails, in particular boat hand rails are a good place to start.

So, with that in mind I ordered this little lot...

They're polished stainless steel. I would've chosen a brushed finish but this was the only option.

You fix them on from underneath as they come drilled and tapped for M8 bolts.

Then the aluminium 25mm tube slots in and is held in place with grub screws.

I might be tempted to sand down the polished finish to match the aluminium but I can do that another time.

We've booked a weeks holiday starting on 17th so the pressure is on to get this finished!

As I want to fit the boards inside and the roof rack fittings have to be bolted on from the inside, these need to go on first!

I've used the factory roof rack points on the top along with a third per side to spread the load.

The 60o units are for the front.

I've then drilled holes through the roof inline with the frame in the centre so that they have a good solid base to fit to.

I've used more Sikaflex in the same way as the skylights so that everything is sealed and won't leak.

I'll trim the excess glue off once it's dry.

Up front, I'll put the 2 x vertical fittings on so that they pick up on the frame and the very front ones will have bars coming down inside which will bolt to the metal roof of Limey.

More on this later.

Insulation...

I wanted to replace the insulation (rockwool) with a more up to date version that was easier to work with (so that I don't itch for the next month!!!) and that will work just as well.

The local B&Q does a recycled plastic version of rockwool. At just £16 per 8 meters, I figured it was worth a try.

I bought 2 rolls and got busy.

First lot went in at the back followed by the rear board.

The right rear upright which the board slides into only has rivets on one edge where as the rest are on both edges. I can only presume this is so that you can remove it without having to bend it too much.

So, the right rear corner strip was rivetted in and I got on with insulating the left hand side of the van.

I've now used up one roll of insulation! I've only done one small section in the right rear 1/4 (downstairs) , the rear and left up in the roof. I think I'm going to need another couple of rolls of this stuff.

The good news is that even after fitting this lot, I'm not breathing heavily or itching like made

I need to look at some roof lights now before putting the top boards in.

I think it's time to update the lighting in the van.

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[cptgreenvalley]

Very nice!

Are you able to hook me up with a list of the different types of sikaflekx and sealers you have been using and how many of each?
That stuff is so expensive and hard to come by in Norway so I need to pick it up while in the UK in July.

I´m doing a similar project like yours however Im only cutting the car between the b and c pillar. Keep up the good work !

Your thread is what made me start my project

Highroof:

Sanding & Rustoleum painting...

Painting, preparing and mounting the high roof..... coming soon
_________________
1979 T2 Camper 2.0FI - Sportsman Conversion ( US import)

1987 T3 Syncro Vanagon 1.9TD ( Decoupler, Double Diffs, Westfalia conversion)

1991 Golf MK2 Country Syncro 1.8

2010 BMW 330xd & 320xd

[SyncroGhia]

Great project

I have some tubes of 252 (which is what I glued the fibreglass roof to the van with) left over and one tube of 521 (which is what I put on top to seal on top of the 252 and sealed the skylights in with) left over.

Give me a call while you're in the UK and I'll do you a deal

You'll need:

252 sealant - does the proper job of gluing the fibreglass roof to the metal frame of the van

521 sealant - UV resistant, meant as the top coat to seal in the gutters, on top of the 252 and for sealing skylights in etc.

205 activate 250ml - this is the final cleaning solution before applying the primer

206 primer 250ml - Fibreglass primer

209N primer 250ml - Painted metal primer

I used 3 x sausages (yes sausages!, 600ml per sausage) of 252, 2 x sausages of 521 and probably half of the 205, 206 and 209N.

It's not cheap but you really don't want to be doing this twice!

You can buy the 252 and 521 in smaller 300ml tubes that fit into a normal skeleton gun but the 252 is so thick that the normal cheap guns aren't strong enough to actually push the stuff out. I'm using a proper sausage or bulk gun and my hands were hurting with the proper gun. The 521 is softer but still not easy.

Oh last tip... this stuff has a sell by date before it goes off in the tube!! Beware of people selling it off cheap... it's probably out of date.

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

Having spent half a day on trying to work out lighting, we eventually went some very simply but effective strips that I'll fix up into the roof.

I had thought about circular LED lights but this means cutting large holes in the roof boards and if the lights go wrong, it's not like you can pop down to the local store and pick up a replacement roof board!

These screw in place so if it all goes wrong, I'll have just 2 small holes per light for the screws and one small hole for the wires.

View from the upstairs window...

Rear left insulation in followed by the board.

This is followed by the strip which fits between the rear board and front. I added another rivet in the centre as it was bowing out a little.

My outer roof is fitted ever so slightly further back (in relation to the inner frame) than it should be. It's just the way it happened and there was no chance that it was going any further forwards. As a result, the front boards were hard up against the roof and there was no room for the seal which pushes on between the board edges and the roof. As a result I had to trim 2-3mm of board off to get it all to fit perfectly. You wouldn't know to look at it now though.

Insulation and board fitted up front followed by the support brackets for hte rear bed running tract board.

The main board at the back needs to be out for the boards to be fitted but you can't get it back in if you fit all 4 L-shaped support brackets!

Now the upper bed base board goes in with 3 x M5 screws at the back and 6 x self tapping screws down (3 per side) the sides.

Once the base board is in, the hinged board can go in.

The side guide boards can go in before or after the hinged board.

Cushions in and it's starting to look like a van!

This is a view I've never seen before in Limey!

I spent a lot of time last night fitting, removing, refitting, removing, checking etc the order of parts, aligning parts up etc and working out the order of things to go in again.

As I've got the glue the pillar linings in for the left hand side, the light support bars will have to come out again for that along with all of the units.

The front cupboard had me guessing as to how to get it to fit.

First off, you can't fit it if you have the end stops for the side guide boards or light support bars in place. The biggest issue was getting the front corners in the right place.

When I removed the cupboard, I released the 4 screws at the back and it dropped like a stone onto the seats. I didn't get to see how it fitted up front.

It turns out that the front corners fit on top of the metal frame of the van! Once I'd figured this out, it went in without issue.

Tomorrow I need to pull the cupboard down again, work out where the front roof rack brackets are going, fit and glue them in, glue in the insulation and refit the cupboard along with the rest of the upper interior parts.

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[cptgreenvalley]

Thanks for the shopping list

I´ll only be in the UK for a day, doing some exams at Gatwick so I need to drop by a hardware store just before catching the flight back. I´ve previously picket up 4 rolls of that silver bubble insulation, so will check the inventory of the same store.

Thanks again
Magnus
_________________
1979 T2 Camper 2.0FI - Sportsman Conversion ( US import)

1987 T3 Syncro Vanagon 1.9TD ( Decoupler, Double Diffs, Westfalia conversion)

1991 Golf MK2 Country Syncro 1.8

2010 BMW 330xd & 320xd

[SyncroGhia]

Ok,

You'll need to find a Sikaflex outlet that stocks the right stuff.

I had to shop around as most outlets didn't keep all of the products that I needed.

Oh, I phoned Sikaflex and spoke to their technical department (several times ) explaining exactly what I was doing before ordering anything.

I may still have my stock by then but I'm looking to start selling it off soon

MG.

P.S. Your colour scheme is almost as good as mine
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[cptgreenvalley]

Will have to do a bit of research on sikaflex suppliers in the gatwick area.

Need to fix a few bumps / holes in the fiberglass on the roof. Looks like a previous owner has backed into a low roof or something... After that the Smurf color will be changed to Golden color... can't wait
_________________
1979 T2 Camper 2.0FI - Sportsman Conversion ( US import)

1987 T3 Syncro Vanagon 1.9TD ( Decoupler, Double Diffs, Westfalia conversion)

1991 Golf MK2 Country Syncro 1.8

2010 BMW 330xd & 320xd

[SyncroGhia]

Photos of the front cupboard in place.

You can see the corners of the base board sitting on top of the metal frame corners.

With that removed, I got back to fitting the roof rack mounts over the cab and making up support brackets.

I managed to use the roof frame for the rear mounts.

Above the wooden strip, there is the metal lip of the frame so I drilled through up to 8.5mm and then just drilled through the wood with a 13mm drill so that the bolt head would be recessed out of the way.

In the end, these bolts ended up being too long so I used shorter allen bolts with the same size head diameter.

Now onto the brackets.

Ever since I knew I was fitting the hightop roof, I'd be a little unhappy about the idea of the roof being held on only by glue. Even VW had a metal lip folded over the lip of the fibreglass roof shell.

The roofrack has given me the opportunity to have something apart from glue holding it down and ensuring that even if the bodyshell twists, the roof will stay attached!

I had a strip of steel kicking around which has suddenly found a use.

With the bracket sorted, I drilled a hole through the front of the fibreglass roof (per side) and the metal roof skin and accessed the latter via the courtesy light aperture.

I realised that I didn't show how I'd been fitting the roofrack base mounts so here's a quick run down.

Bolt it on and scribe around it.

Roughen up the surface for the primer to have something to stick to.

Put just enough primer on, no need to go nuts.

Allow 30 minutes for it to go off before getting the 521 Sikaflex out.

Apply just enough so that it'll squeeze out so that you have a complete seal.

And bolt it on.

I'll remove the brackets again tomorrow to paint them as they're rusty but for tonight, I need everything on and sealed up as it's due to rain hard around 4am.

DO NOT spill primer everwhere including on your front skylight

This stuff stains plastic

On the up side, this is the skylight that has had small metal bits sitting in it so the surface has rusty spots which won't clean up.

I'll paint it at the same time as the roof.

The brackets will also give me a solid place to attach the fiamma awning to (when I find the brackets that I've lost!) and it'll attached to the roof frame further back as well.

Insulation in place

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

So... I figure that I'm just finishing off the thread.

Below the front cupboard, there is a finishing strip per side which are held in place by a metal retaining strip.

And then three screws with plastic caps.

Fitting the final roof covering panel along with insulation revealed just how far out I was with the roof in relation to the roof frame.

Thankfully there is enough 'give' in the system that it's not an issue.

The difference is just 5mm. Once it's been cleaned, you won't be able to tell.

Oh, a quick photo of it starting to go white

One last parting shot.

If you are considering fitting a Westfalia hightop roof, you'll need everything from that roof to make it work from the window frames up.

That includes the curtain/light housing lengths as they're different from the pop-top versions.

This isn't an easy conversion to do but when you have a van that you really want to keep and fit one to, it's worth it.

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[TequilaSunSet]

Nice work! I love reading threads with so much detail...
_________________
Don't harsh my mellow...
1985 Hightower Vanagon 1.8T- Gone
1972 Panel Bus- Gone
1967 Bug- Gone
1964 Euro Sunroof Bug- Gone
1969/72/63 Sunroof Bug- Gone
1975 Brazilian Bug in the Philippines 🇵🇭- New to me

[cptgreenvalley]

I picked up my f45 yesterday, brand new in box. Seller had bought a new RV and never got the fiamma mounted on his old rig. Just couldn't pass that 50% off deal

The size of the awning it self is perfect, but not sure about the brackets. There where two brackets in the box, and it seems pretty easy to get them fitted to the roof, but did you put any reinforcements inside the roof, behind the brackets?

Cheers
_________________
1979 T2 Camper 2.0FI - Sportsman Conversion ( US import)

1987 T3 Syncro Vanagon 1.9TD ( Decoupler, Double Diffs, Westfalia conversion)

1991 Golf MK2 Country Syncro 1.8

2010 BMW 330xd & 320xd