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Old 09-25-2018, 09:21 AM   #11
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Garage
Awesome, well done.

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Old 09-28-2018, 12:24 AM   #12
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Cutting the hole went well over all. I should've measured the tracks better while they were on the Sportsmobile. I cut my hole the same width that SMB did and of course it is too wide. It resulted in having about an eighth of an inch too much gap which I can happily live with. Long ways is spot on perfect. Overall the tracks are perfectly square and only 1/32 of an inch from being perfectly centered which again, I can happily live with.

I started by finding my centre line on the van. I wasn't incredibly precise about this. Since the van has an even number of rib/ body line/ ridges on the roof I just marked the middle of the two centre ones and figured it was good enough. Knowing that the forward cut would be right behind the "b pillar" roof brace/ rib I drilled a hole from underneath to mark the rear of the rib and using the ridges I marked my first front cut. I then proceeded to mark out the side cuts by using the centre line as my reference point. Then I measured out the length on both end and joined the corners.

Next I drilled a starting hole and used a jig sax with a fine tooth metal cutting blade to start cutting out the hold. There's not much to explain in regards to the usage of the jig saw. The reason I used the jigsaw is because it is incredibly precise, low heat, and won't tear up the metal like the chainsaw SMB seemed to use did.

As I worked my way around the cut I would add pieces of duct tape (Gorilla tape, the wide one) every 4 inches or so in an attempt to hold the roof up. Ultimately in my case that ended up being total overkill. I had a real fear of the roof falling in as I was making the final edge and it kinking the sheet metal or inner ribs. Once the cut was fully made I went around and started removing some of the tape. I got down to one piece in each corner and then went inside to hold the roof while my father removed the final 4 pieces. The roof still didn't fall through, however I was able to push it up and then set it on the ground to the side of the van.

My reasoning for why the roof didn't fall though is because of what I've got on the inside of the van. The walls, ceiling, and floor of the van was all coated in 3-4 coats of truck bed liner, then 2-3 coats of exterior latex paint with glass 'micro-spheres/micro-ballons' mixed in (cheap Lizard Skin alternative), as well as being covered in Peel & Seal (cheap Dynomat alternative). Also before all that was applied I caulked all the braces and ribs with Liquid Nails. I think all that stuff together coupled with the very thin cut of the jig saw blade it had enough friction to hold.
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Old 09-28-2018, 12:54 AM   #13
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Once the cut was made and the cut out removed I payed the tracks in place and marked out the side cut outs for the pivoting cross bar to sit in. I cut it out with the jig saw blade as well. A tip I would recommend for this is to give yourself an extra 1/16th of an inch or so on either side. The one bar rubbed a little once installed and I had to trim it a little more.

Next I sprayed all the but edges with some white rust paint. After it was dried I stared installing the corner brackets/ braces that I saw 'boywonder' do on his install. I didn't do the epoxy though as I just didn't think it to be necessary and I didn't want to have to wait the dry time. I did use rivets thought. I used 8 brackets, one in each corner of the big cut out and one in each corner of the side cut out. I had to drill a new hole in the side cut out brackets since the overhang was one of the holes. I then trimmed the overhang off with the jig saw again.

After the corner brackets were installed I started mocking up the rear brace and tracks. This is where I could've spent more time with the tape measure and had it perfectly centered instead of being 1/32 off. I started with the rear brace and rear corners of the tracks then measured the distance between them and made the front the same. Next I just worked my way across the track drilling holes and installing the hardware. I got new grade 8 bolts and nylon insert lock washers.The track has 1/4 inch nylon spacers (same as the ones on the pivoting cross bar) between the van roof and tracks in some spots to help compensate for the curvature of the van. I picked up more of those as well.
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Old 09-28-2018, 01:07 AM   #14
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The centre hole on the rear brace goes through top and bottom of the brace so I put the nylon spacers on on the bolt running between top and bottom. This did two things, it prevented the brace from being crushed as well as giving a lot more clamping force to the roof skin. I used a one inch size spacer and one eighth inch spacer to fill the distance. I then proceeded to install all the bolts along the tracks. Amusingly I ended up putting bolts through all four outer corner brackets.

I also added some more bolts than SMB did just to give it as much strength and rigidity as possible. One thing I didn't do that I've seen a few people do was riveting the roof skin to the rib. I didn't feel this to be necessary since the skin and rib didn't separate due to all the Liquid Nails and stuff, and the fact that at least one bolt went through each rib while attaching the tracks.

I changed the way the hold down plates of the rear helper springs attach. on the Sportsmobile they were attached to the track with self tapping screws. I used the same bolts that I used to attach the track to the roof. The nylon spacers were also the perfect size to use between the plate and track as well. I simply drilled out the self taper screw holes and attached the bolts through the track and roof skin.

The rib on the sports mobile towards the rear where the sliding bar bolts goes was cut further way back from the edge of the sheet metal and at first I didn't understand why, then I realized it was because the bolt would hit it. I didn't bother cutting it back since its so far back and barely in the way and I was skeptical if it would hit. Well it did so I took my grinder with a regular grinding wheel and just ground it back until it was clear of the track. I only had to grind it back the width of the disk itself. Basically the very end of the rib and a little bit of the fender washers.

I had some rubbing on the pivoting cross bar and the track so I used a set of linesman pliers to gently roll the side of the track inward slightly and it worked perfectly. like everything it requires a little bit of fine tuning to make it work smoothly. Installing the bars would be easier with someone to help although I was able to manage alone. Once I was done adjusting everything the bars raise and lowered very smoothly without any issues. Hopefully it'll be the same once the top goes on.

Once it was all done I tied the bar in the lifted position and just stared at it. As far I was concerned the big part was over. The hole was cut, the tracks were installed, and the mechanism set up. I was very pleased with how it all turned out.
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Old 09-28-2018, 04:05 PM   #15
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Well my van now has a hat! We lifted the top onto my van today. It went relatively painless. The top seems to weigh less than I always imagined it would. I would say it weighs around 300 pounds. I started to bolt the lift pads onto to the roof and realized I am out of the new nylon lock nuts so I will have to get some more. They're currently held on by the few threads before the nylon on the old nuts.

The top is about an eighth of an inch to far back. it sits in the drip rail at the back which is fine but it means it has a slight rearward lean and it bugs me. I believe I'll be able to fix it by simply "ovaling" the holes on the top or simply plugging them entirely and drill new ones, That's something I will sort out when I remove the headliner and inspect the condition of the inner wooden ribs. The bolts have that unmistakable 'crunchy' feeling when I push them through the top. Now that could be just the deteriorated headliner panelling creating that feeling although I suspect otherwise. Regardless of what repairs are needed, I'm not concerned about it, I can handle it!

Man it sure make my van ugly though. A big part of that is the fact that the top is old faded grey and the van is white. I will be changing that very soon though, I just want to get the top fully installed and working before I start any type of modifications/ improvements. I know to make sure I don't 'bite off more than I can chew'. Baby steps, one thing at a time, and that way it'll actually get done and not become and overwhelming money pit right away. More gradually over time where you don't notice it...

As of right now I believe I have somewhere around $60cad into the swap. That's just in the cost of the new hardware and a can of paint. Overall I'd say that's relatively minimal. Now of course we could factor in the cost of the Sportsmobile itself, but it will be resold and then the value of all the use my father did get out of it has to be factored in as well.

Quick list of plans:
Finish installing the interior trim.
Remove the headliner and attach the canvas with furring strips like others have.
Repair any rot in the tops wood, and reposition the holes for the bar mounts.
Get some butyl rubber (haven't found any local) and seal the canvas to the van.
Make new headliner panels. The final plan for the headliner is rather wild so I will likely do it in stages.
Look into buying or making a better nut and bolt system for holing the top to the rails. I don't like the way it is and want something less prone to leaks.
Seal and paint the top. I'm not sure if I want to go the truck bed liner route or not.
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Old 09-30-2018, 01:02 PM   #16
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The roof swap is done!

Well, kinda. Yesterday I got the springs hooked up so now the top is raising and lowering as it should, and it latches down securely like it should and my van is fully drivable again. Reattaching the springs was no easy feat. I managed to do it by myself which was for the best since it was a slow process. I was actually able to push the roof up over my head, but only twice. I said it weighed around 300 pounds before, I was certainly wrong. I would say its closer to 500 pounds. Ultimately I ended up hooking a strap to the chain then to one of the holes on the channel, then I would push the roof up a little at a time while tightening the straps. I had one of those multi-fold 3 jointed ladders that I folded out in the van that I used to go up a little bit higher each time. Then once it was up I just used a way overkill ratcheting chain come-along to stretch the springs so I could hook the chain to them.

As you can see, the canvas isn't attached to the van yet. There's a few reasons for that. First and main reason is because I can't find a source for butyl rubber tape locally to me and to pay import duties to ship it to where I am in Toronto is ridiculous considering I'll be back to Nashville very shortly.

The second reason is that I want to remove the headliner and cut new boards for it. That also means the canvas sides will fall down since they're held up by the same screws holding the headliner up. I will be changing that to the furring strips like many have already. I think it would be a lot easier to reattach the sides to the top while the sides are loose and not connected to the van than when they're tight. I will also recover the lifting blocks at the same time.
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