Factory VW "Postal" Hightop Teardown

[10degnorth]

Foreword:
The following is based what I have been able to find online on TheSamba and other sources as well as word of mouth from folks in the VW community. Due to the lack of information available I may engage in some speculation and conjecture. I am very open to input and correcting this information if you have input.

I had the opportunity to purchase the cut off roof of a Syncro 16 Finnish military ambulance and will be documenting my tear down of it to retrofit onto my tin top here, including the roll-bars, which will be discussed later.

The "Postal" or "Bundepost" hightop was the only hightop installed factory by VW, it even has a melted in VW logo on the under side as you can see below. They were used primarily by the German post office as well as on military vans.

What makes these tops particularly interesting is that VW cut out the roof from right behind the front seats all the way to the rear hatch. The roof's structure was maintained by adding two roll-bar structures where the normal roof ribs are. I was surprised to find that this van utilized a Westfalia roof pressing with the flat spots for hinges in the rear corners rather than a tin top. I am less familiar with the Westfalia roofs, does anyone know if that turned up edge around the rim is standard or not? It can be seen in most of the internal pictures.

The roll-bars are formed sheet metal that slide into a receiver on each side of the roof-hole. It currently appears that these receivers are installed in the roof by cutting holes, sliding them in, then welding them into place. The roll-bar is then slid into the receivers and bolted down in position before being welded in place as well.

There are then more metal ribs that are rivetted to the roll-bars. These appear to be non structural and I assume were used to support cabinets and/or interior panels. When I received the top it was insulated with fiberglass, some of which can still be seen in the photos.

There are a couple of areas on the inside of the top that have metal foil and what appears to be antenna leads coming off of them. The notable ones are in the rear as seen in the next picture, and the "shelf" at the front. Maybe these were used for radio communications? The PO told me that when he got the van this top came off of it still had the lights and sirens as well as more antennas that he removed.

The paint job is pretty neat, I have found a couple examples of Finnish military vans painted with this same scheme so it appears to be something they did over a stock-green van. The original paint color can be seen on the inside.

I am a fan of this top due to its low height compared to some other options. It provides about 6'2" standing height without floor or interior insulation/ sheathing. As a 5'8" guy that's perfect for me. I also appreciate the roll-bar situation since it means I can raise my bed up to create more storage low down. I especially like the way this next van is setup.

I will update more as I continue the tear down. I'll try to answer any questions you've got!
_________________
1984 Wolfsburg Vanagon (Current Project): https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=773912&highlight=

1988 Microsquirted, Wolfsburg Vanagon (Sold): https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=708000&highlight=

Microsquirt Conversion Guide (Work now Discontinued): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1laXykNPbRYS8MT...2imqd2pnx7

[10degnorth]

The fiberglass appears to be held on primarily with adhesive, the rain gutters are basically full of it. It doesn't seem like the roll bars are glued to the top, but I need to take a closer look up there to be sure.

I would love some input on how to strip that away.


The rear of the top has a "tongue" that comes down and is riveted to the area above the rear hatch.

You can see where the OP covered up the holes for the original ambulance lights with sealant. I will be scraping that off and doing a real fiberglass repair.
_________________
1984 Wolfsburg Vanagon (Current Project): https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=773912&highlight=

1988 Microsquirted, Wolfsburg Vanagon (Sold): https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=708000&highlight=

Microsquirt Conversion Guide (Work now Discontinued): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1laXykNPbRYS8MT...2imqd2pnx7

[hdenter]

Every picture I've seen of a postal T25 showed a taller sliding door that matches the higher roof...

Hans
_________________
'79 triple white convertible bug
'84 sunroof vanagon
'85 weekender

[syncrodoka]

[ALIKA T3]

[syncrodoka]

Good to see someone building this top up, i am jealous. I was considering going up to snatch it but i don't have room to store it at the moment.

[ZsZ]

OE hightops have a metal lip that holds the GRP skin in place. Then was the gunk added.

https://tk-carparts.de/reparaturbleche-satz-regenrinne-hochdach-westfalia-255817399
_________________
Zoltan
1.9 MTdi 2wd Multivan (ex Caravelle)
Van since 2006, engine since 2008

[Schnippzle]

I have just bought the same type of high top to put on our van
_________________
1988 Caravelle - FB25B - Syncro converted
2016 MB E63 AMG S - The daily driver
2019 Harley Davidson FXFBS Fat Bob - The leisure

[joetiger]

I love how stout-looking those tops are. One of the most meticulously restored vans I've ever seen had that top, seen here at Solstice several years back. I can't remember if he's a Samba member or not, but it might be worthwhile to find out. I think he's a Syncro Fest guy too:

_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[DirtDog]

I remember that van that year. It was super cool. Awesome to see someone doing this!

[michaelasnider]

[10degnorth]

[10degnorth]

The top is off!!!

What I ended up doing was bending the extra rail up the whole way around the top, then found a spot where there was already some separation between the fiberglass and metal roof. I was able to use a mix of a small pry bar, a rubber mallet, and a bit of cutting wire to separate the top and the roof.

Bent up drip rail.

Pry bar and mallet.

First light.

Edge of separated top.

Whoever took off the ambulance lights and siren left quite the mess of sealant.

I went ahead and scraped off the sealant and then wallowed out the holes to provide more surface area for fiberglass filler to bond to.

Then came the filler itself.

Lots of sanding, and a second coat of filler for the high spots.

Currently waiting on some filler to cure before doing a bit more sanding.

The camo paint job had sharp edges everywhere that the color changed so I am going through and evening out the transitions so that those hard edges don't show through when it gets painted.

Last night I did a quick test fit of the top, mostly to keep myself inspired by the project. It doesn't sit quite right yet since I didn't take off the rear hatch to fit the top's "tongue" against the body.

_________________
1984 Wolfsburg Vanagon (Current Project): https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=773912&highlight=

1988 Microsquirted, Wolfsburg Vanagon (Sold): https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=708000&highlight=

Microsquirt Conversion Guide (Work now Discontinued): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1laXykNPbRYS8MT...2imqd2pnx7

[Schnippzle]

This might be a stupid question, but once the new roof is on will there be space in the rear part for extra bed space or is the roof not tall enough?
_________________
1988 Caravelle - FB25B - Syncro converted
2016 MB E63 AMG S - The daily driver
2019 Harley Davidson FXFBS Fat Bob - The leisure

[jimf909]

_________________
- Jim

[10degnorth]

[Schnippzle]

[ZsZ]

From the camo paint, and holes the donor for the roof was a finnish military ambulance van.
It was a factory hightop option, hightop with standard height door.
An other option was a hightop with raised height door.
Both are referred as "postal" hightops as german (and austrian) post used these. Most of the postal vans were with tall doors, but they had some standard ones too. But as I said both were an order option, although never saw a tall door hightop kombi (9 seater) by factory.
If the donor is yellow and the door was tall then it is definitively a former Deutsche Post van.

As I read somewhere the roofs were put on in the Westfalia factory beside the VW plant in Hannover just like the westy hightops.
_________________
Zoltan
1.9 MTdi 2wd Multivan (ex Caravelle)
Van since 2006, engine since 2008

[MarkWard]

Always impressed by these types of mega projects. Thanks for taking the time to document. Comment on the larger hole repairs. I’d have used at least one layer of 3/4 oz fiberglass mat for initial covering. Short of that, Duraglass filler has fibers for strengthening. Regular filler isn’t that strong and might lift or crack in use. Thanks again.
_________________
☮️

[DuncanS]