2003 7.3 cargo van build

[BenJJ]

After a couple passes on both sides we actually surprised ourselves with how well it fit. the biggest gap is on the back right where it appears part of the top broke off.

[BenJJ]

It fits inside the gutters with about 1/4"-1/2" slop on both sides which should be filled in by the silicone gasket.

After that the top came off the van and I started sanding. Mostly did it with an orbital sander and then manually in the spots that the sander couldn't reach.

Cleaned up pretty well. The side by side with the dirty section gives you an idea of how bad it was.

[BenJJ]

And that's as far as I got. Just need to fill the holes and and then paint it. Still working on acquiring a canvas. We did take some measurements in comparison to Clifford's pop top. My gutters are about 1" longer and my wider "U" bar for the scissor lift is 4" narrower. So we are going to chop the "U" bars and extend them 4" to match that width. Then dimensionally it should be similar to the current version pop top and a standard replacement canvas should fit right?

[bemerritt]

the quest for the cheapest poptop continues! A father will be proven wrong and the wife will be happy she can stand up in the van!

[boywonder]

...assuming that you guys carefully measured the hole in the donor van roof and took lots of notes and photos.....

[bemerritt]

Well, we didn't haha. However, in my mind it's irrelevant. The side channel placement is going to be dictated by resting on the b pillar in the front. The width is going to be the same as the current Smb tops after we widen the u bars. The channels the u bars rest in in the top on this model were removable, so those will be mounted to accommodate where the u bars need them to be.

[BenJJ]

Originally Posted by boywonder

...assuming that you guys carefully measured the hole in the donor van roof and took lots of notes and photos.....

ummm yeah something like that... But considering that we plan on extending the width of the U bars the hole size in the donor would no longer apply.

What's that old saying, measure once cut twice?

[rallypanam]

How hard could it be?

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by bemerritt

The width is going to be the same as the current Smb tops after we widen the u bars.

Consider just bending new crossbars........out of cro-mo......readily available at Industrial Metal Supply in Irvine.

Less work. looks better, way stronger...

[BenJJ]

Originally Posted by boywonder

Consider just bending new crossbars........out of cro-mo......readily available at Industrial Metal Supply in Irvine.

Less work. looks better, way stronger...

That's a good point. Good excuse for bemerritt to buy a tube bender too...

Worst case scenario if this whole thing doesn't work I end up with a giant hole in my roof that has to get covered with a CCV top and then my wife kicks me out of the house for going way over budget on the pop top but I at least have a nice place to sleep.