pop top material arrived today, ordered from Proud to pop, 4 days turnaround, pretty good.. probaly the most expensive piece of printed vynal I will ever purchase.. couldnt resist going for the hibiscus print since its a theme that appears throughout the van. I fitted the outer edge seal to the top and trial fitted the shell to see how it sat.. fairly happy with it, I changed from the late style devon top to a very early danbury, more for the aesthetic look than any practical reason, it was less angular and capped the roof from gutter to gutter. The thing that bugs me with all the fibreglass caps is that they are wavy wobbly layups with lumps n bumps where the handles and such like have been bonded in... Product of the era and made to a price so cant complain,,, probably looks worse under fluorescent light in the garage.. I'm being over critical here. more an observation! Does anyone have any experience of fitting the pop top material, It cant be to difficult but are there any pitfalls to watch out for , Ive got some 16mm upholstery tacks on order .. and the hidem banding to cover the join.. Its getting close ... New taillights arrived as well VW audi parts good quality and out of stock at most places got them from a company sugested on the forum .. great deal and quality parts..
No drama with the woodwork It was all fine I met him and collected it only thing missing was the tripod table leg, gave up chasing that in the end . I never had any issues with the fit either , there were small variations given that my van was based on a van conversion and the units including the top box were fashioned for a bus based van which scott told me was a possible problem. I went for it anyway and the differences were bearable and something I was able to work with. infact the gap that occurred was a bonus as it allowed the curtain rail and curtain on that side a place to go so the gap was filled .. I stored the units for a couple of years before I fitted them, as a result there was a wee bit of warpage, just minimal but enough to cause a problem opening the cupboard doors and drawers, I shaved a wee bit off them and its all good ... No complaints with Scots work.. If he sent the tripod I would be double delighted
Don't think that will happen any time soon..... pretty sure he's packed up shop. Workmanship in terms of woodwork we found to be great. Customer service...... a different matter. We had a similar experience with the the table leg etc.....
disappointing, He must have had plenty work, maybe took early retirement ? He wasn't the cheapest.. Im sure he is still operating, I seem to recall recent adds for knock down basic units ...? Couple of pics to fill some gaps ... Ignore the battery and the big orange cable, they will both be stored in the engine compartment soon.. Thats
windows , they were a slog in themself.. One still not fitted as I hoped to fit the original vent window after mods but no matter what I did to it it wouldnt sit in the new hole so its just gonna be solid glass. I have the glass cut just havent got around to fitting it, its kinda handy to have access through that hole ..
Managed to get the top back on just before Christmas, still have to trim back the vinyl and fix it to the roof and make some new roof stays as it looks like the originals have been trimmed to different lengths, probably to accommodate the shrinking of the original material through time, but you get the general idea and look of the thing.
Fitting the vinyl was a chore took a few hours bent a fair few tacks and done plenty swearing, but its OK. Hidem banding ended up a wee bit out of alignment but notthing that will spoil a holiday, well it might, since my eye will always be drawn to it, but I have a cunning plan... My wonderful wife is on holiday next week and is primed for making some curtains ...
many thanks for your comments you know Ive been on this a while and how long these things take, there is some glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel now, but a wee bit lack of enthusiasm and a large chunk of real life responsibility has slowed things down again. The wife has started to make the curtains though. She gets the drift and has took great care to make sure that the check on the heavy wool mix material, matches all the way around the van. Its a bit sad and something I never considered when I choose the material.. oops.. Its gonna look sweet though.. bad stuff in no order, costing a mint still, last month I bit the bullet to move things along, the stuff I meeded to get the jobs done added up to just a touch under £2k, £60 here £30 there, the more you do, the more you need to do, cost soon mounts up Then had a slot for a Jaw op so went in to have my lower jaw surgically split and moved around a bit, a big step forward , had lifetime problems they started working on when I was 10, now, 42 years later, things look better, this has been 7 years of restorative dental treatment. Unfortunately just before Christmas, so no Christmas dinner Then my old dear who has Vascular Dementia took another bad turn, my old fella wasnt able to look after her anymore so, after a few falls, she had to be taken into a care centre. Luckily she got a place in a brand spanking new local facility, unfortunately 3 days after going in she fell again but this time broke her hip. That resulted in her requiring a full hip replacement. At 80 and with her dementia it was a risky op but she did well, but her meds got a bit muddled and her demetia symptoms peaked a bit and she had yet another fall.... meantime my old fella ( 80 ) was now wrung out with worry, wracked with guilt having to see his wife in care, and exhausted having tried to take care of stuff for a few years before things got to much. ( they are old school and ask for nothing, despite both having worked full time there entire working life) So been busy with that family type stuff, Then got some sodding cold virus that kicked my butt. My old dear has it ( not from me) and she is pretty poorly and now my old fella called to say he feels like Marmite , sounds like he has it now as well.. The way he is, it looks like I will have to keep a close eye on him for the next few days ... Roll on 2017, things will hopefully even out for a bit ............. hope to get my old mum back on her feet and walking again, sort out her meds and general welfare, get my old fella more settled, organised and educated on the ins and outs of dementia, digging his heals in isnt helpful.... Getting the van done, so I can get the pair of them out for away days now and again. shifting this bloody cold virus and regaining some feeling in my face after the op.. Full days ahead ............
Seemed innapropraite to hit the "like" button but i feel your pain. Difficult being the "sandwich" generation i guess.
I would have known what you meant dude.. Thanks for your thoughts Just mentioned the life stuff as sometimes when folk embark on a spendy resto, they forget that real life things have a habit of tripping you up and shoving you around a little. Things will pan out fine, given a wee bit of time. Spose it should gee me up to get the van done
Reached another milestone last night, Had all the electrics working, no dramas, miraculously didn't blow any fuses just brake lights to test and thats the wireing complete. most of the other wee jobs are done just a few odds and ends to button up.. even the curtains are fitted... Plan to raise the tail a notch and fine tune the adjuster, Its just a tad low at the minute with engine and camper interior in it now. Next milestone will be starting it up ... and getting it to run.. 1641 mild cam twin carbs .. set it up as best as but will most likely need fine tuning. might even get it finished this year ...
you think your nearly there, then the alternator throws you a wobbler... hopefully its only the regulator otherwise its an engine out job and another step back ( no charging light when the ignition is switched on ... lamp works when earthed out though.. Thankfully the alternator is the type with the big cover on the top so the regulator is easy to replace ... Fingers crossed .. I was bemoaning the cost of screws for tail light covers.. £6 each... x 6 .... still digging my heels in, but just placed another order for what I hope are the last remaining bits that are required, including a new regulator. Another £208... pointed out to JK that I've got receipts for 5 figures for parts from them, a bit cheeky, but asked if they would add the screws as a gesture of good will ..... probably get a packet of haribo and a bugger off, but it didn't hurt to ask... lol...
Fast approaching the culmination of an epic journey of determination, faith and resilience. I can't wait to see it in the flesh this summer.
Was hoping to fire it up before the end of Feb.. You would think it got easier, in fact it gets harder .. The transformation from Rust to solid van is the satisfying bit as it happens in big chunks. The transformation fro restored shell to useable van is soul destroying... and more expensive than anticipated. PM me a link to your facebook stuff and I will see if I can get access for a catch up
