I have not had a chance to work on the van floor this week, but I had an opportunity to install the top this afternoon as I had help available. After cleaning thoroughly (with acetone) the van gutter and remaining roof:
First order of business: get the top on the van with only 2 guys. We decided to use the auto lift, but it was not going to lift the top high enough so we built a quick jig out of 2 1/2" pvc conduit that I had in stock.
next put the top on the jig and lift it up.
Then drive under the top (I love hydraulics!)
Lift the top from inside the van in order to get the jig off the car lift. Then rest the top on the pvc pipes across the van roof.
Check alignment and fit. Blue tape is to keep excess silicone off the van.
Now I Yadda-Yadda over the best part. It was way too exciting to take pictures after dispensing 14 tubes of rtv silicone sealant in the roof gutter. SORRY. Time to focus on the task at hand. 80- 90 self tapping sheet metal screws through the aluminum band, through the fiberglass top and into the old sheet metal roof. Some foul language.
Then clean about 2-3 tubes worth of silicone out of the gutters (that squishes out when you screw the top to the van). more foul language.
Its a lot of cleaning. We used paint thinner and nearly 2 boxes of paper shop towels. Lastly, the vinyl c-shaped strip presses into the aluminum band and voila (more cleaning).
Notice the old van top to the left. (For sale
) I should note that the van with new top looks much better from the front than this photo. Strange.
I am stoked!
I'm sure I will think of more info to share later.