A Corona Pop..........top

The Tardis factor (interiors, awnings, roofs etc)

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sarran1955
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A Corona Pop..........top

Post by sarran1955 »

Hello,

All was going to plan, my bus was in the workshop, stripped out as a transporter.

Plan A was to use the bus as a workhorse, hauling the necessary to carry out another big project on my very old house, then this Autum
to prepare it as a camper to pass the VASP certificate.

Then came Covid, where I returned from Argentina 2 weeks before lockdown....

So onto  Plan B..

Last year I acquired a damaged Reimo 'mushroom' pop top from Titus, (thanks Paul), in Germany.

So, as the pop top needed extensive fibreglass repairs and the lifting mechanism was mangled, I decided to rebuild it to my specifications. I wanted a better look inside, as the original Reimo had ugly rubber interior pull straps, a flimsy ceiling and a very clumsy method of attaching the tent with a vinyl strip and a million staples.

I also wanted an extractor fan (required for the VASP), a second solar panel, lighting, heat insulation and a neat finish with the tent tucked neatly away with the roof down. Also a reinforced roof liner for an eventual stowage or shower project.

So firstly the roof cut,

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As I wanted a good sill between the cut and the roof frame, I went undersize on the cut. There was a good plywood roof liner which I kept to provide a good 'chunky' look for the roof edge.

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The worst part was the removal of the old roof lining, a sort of heavy ribbed furry wallpaper, glued with neoprene adhesive.

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With my Lidl vibro cutter,I was able to get the worst off, and then had to go over it with acetone to dissolve the glue.

Then to fill the gap between the liner and the steel roof, I used electrical conduit glued and riveted in place...

Thats it for tonight, I can't access the bottom of the page!!
Cordialement,

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Jim San
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Re: A Corona Pop..........top

Post by Jim San »

Following this as I want the same roof.  good work , good luck
1991 (LHD) Syncro kombi 1.9MTDi 1Z (Landy fuel pump) 215/70/16
Life's to short to drink s@@t beer.
'Roads? We don't need roads where we're going'

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sarran1955
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Re: A Corona Pop..........top

Post by sarran1955 »

Hello,

Are you sitting comfortably... then we shall continue.. :)

The next step was to recondition the upper roof and lower van frames. these were somewhat rotten and very out of square

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So these have to be clamped square on the big bench, pinned and glued:

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Although the lower frame could be persuaded to fit the roof line, the upper had bowed out of shape. I was faced either with making a new (ash) frame, or over-coming the eventual gap down the sides. As I wanted more stowage room for the tent, I decided to replace the clip-on black trim,(damaged), with a trim with a much larger lip

www.sealsdirect.co.uk     Part nr: ETS1395  6 metres.

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The rotted old wood was cut out and some new blended in, sealed with epoxy resin and filler,and all unecessary holes filled.



The next step was to sort the damage to the glass fibre roof, being extensively split at the rear.

I used a West brand yacht repair kit about 50€, which was sufficient..

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I ground out a 1cm slot, leaving enough to retain the shape..

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Then I used offcuts of wood trim hot melt glued onto the top face to keep the dimensions. Use wood not ply as you will have to sand everything off afterwards..

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I allowed plenty of margin to make cutting back to shape easier, using the vibro cutter and semi-circular blade..


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Then an initial sanding to remove the wood strips and get near to the final finish.
I did not want to use polyester filler, as I have seen delamination and splitting before, so the final fill was done with resin with plenty
of filler, the consistency of mayonnaise...


Thats all for now folks...

Cordialement,

:ok
 
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sarran1955
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Re: A Corona Pop..........top

Post by sarran1955 »

Hello,

I've just been mopeding around the village, lots of activity and stary tourists in anticipation of the passage of the Tour de France tomorrow..pics to follow.. :)

So back to the pop top...

Having bolted and bonded the lower frame to the van roof, the poystyrene insulation was installed and then bond and rivet the PVC conduit into shape on the roof.

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We had quite a heat-wave, but thanks to Ralf 85 and my cool cellar, dehydration was avoided....

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41 degrees outside..

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Next a reinforcing panel as I wanted to use the roof lining for a future project, and improve the security of the interior pull down handles..

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The grey squares have nuts welded to the underside..

Then the matching holes for the air extractor....

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now the roof can have a first assembly, with a panel of reflective insulation, the pic is of pieces for the van interior, but you'll
get the idea....very lightly glued in place before fitting..

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Then with some helping hands the roof carpet and pop top carpets were glued in.

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I used water pipe insulating foam tubes to give a nice finish and to avoid scraping my bald pate when I forget to duck... :roll:

I've got a school bus round to do now..... :wink:

Cordialement,

:ok
 
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JonB
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Re: A Corona Pop..........top

Post by JonB »

:ok
Viking Caravelle JX - Cheshire

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Jim San
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Re: A Corona Pop..........top

Post by Jim San »

:ok :ok
1991 (LHD) Syncro kombi 1.9MTDi 1Z (Landy fuel pump) 215/70/16
Life's to short to drink s@@t beer.
'Roads? We don't need roads where we're going'

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sarran1955
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Re: A Corona Pop..........top

Post by sarran1955 »

Hello,

Another sunny day here, when we have a 'mixed' Summer we often have an'Indian Summer' with calm sunny weather until November.

So, back to the pop top:

With the aid of my 2 tall assistants, we made a first fit of the roof..

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Not without problems, painting the rails with Rustoleum was not a good idea, as it did not adhere well to the zinc plated lift mechanism

So off it comes and while the repainted mechanism is drying, I can fit the 2nd 100 watts solar panel, glued directly to the roof with
2 securing bolts at the front, outside the perimeter of the frame...

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Then the roof was turned over and the interior re-fitted..

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I decided to reverse the lifting arms, as there will be a load at the rear, I might put a folding table leg at the front to increase rigidity.

With the pop top back on and the lift mechanism squared up it was time to look at the canvas tent.

I think this pop top had been mounted at least twice before and so the edges of the fabric had suffered, due to wear and tear and
the extravagant use of staples. I think the canvas is attached to the top part when new, leaving you to attach the bottom with the vinyl strip, also fitting the internal hold down straps through the fabric.

I had decided earlier to have external Stainless Steel and rubber pull down straps,(from RS spares) and keep the interior of the tent unencumbered. To this end I decided to use Velcro throughout, so that the tent can be removed when necessary.

So this required quite a bit of modification and re-trimming. I asked around for a price on the machine sewing, and decided to
do it myself.

So I bought a Veritas machine, together with needles, threaders, and fabric clips from Monsieur Bezos..

Once delivered, I spent a Saturday using YouTube demo videos and the instruction book learning to zig zag and cable stitch..

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Frankly not as difficult as I thought, a threader is a must, go slowly and sew the very edge  of the velcro... :wink:

Then a first fit..

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The tent will come off again,(with ease), as I want to waterproof it. However I was able to check the proper locking down of the roof,
the larger lip of the roof seal being sufficient to give a good all round seal..

The tent canvas tucks nicely out of sight, and my LED lighting strip (230v ac from Lidl, 12 volt transfo cut off and wired into the extractor fan feed), provides ambiance.

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So then for the first time since the Winter, the van was driven out of the workshop..4th turn of the key, no oil drips in 6 months.

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I could not resist a night time shot of my new rear lights... :roll:

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We are up to date now, this morning I have been painting the van roof using Rust-oleum 7509.1 gloss tint base, tinted to
RAL beige 1001, diluted @5% with 633.1 thinners.

Air-Cooled Bliss... 8)

Cordialement,

:ok





 
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sarran1955
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Re: A Corona Pop..........top

Post by sarran1955 »

Hello,

Well it has been a long time, 6 weeks passes so quickly.... :roll:

I have now installed a new computer, as my faithful Fujitsu laptop just could no longer cope, being only a single core processor..
So now I am back with lightning speed and 2 screens.. 8)

So we had got to painting the steel roof and wooden frames..

After a certain amount of trial and error, I have found the best system for me is to use the paint thinned as above, applied with a furry roller, long and short handle, with a long handled and ordinary size fine paint brush for the fiddly bits.

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I applied 2 coats, same mix with 2 days dry in between with a 'de-nib' in hot weather..
The Rustoleum went on very well, on all the surfaces including the PU sealer...
I made up 200 grams at a time so it fitted in the little pot that the rollers come in, placed in a bigger tray with a poly liner..no mess on
disposal... :wink:

I used 1 1/2 litres of paint for the roof and pop top, the remainder will be used later... :wink:


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While this was all drying, I then tackled the sealing of the tent.

I decided to use Nikwax solarproof spray, as it does waterproof and UV is strong here in Summer.

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Once the tent was thoroughly wetted out, it was then put in a plastic bag for an hour to let the product cure. There is a smell of vinegar and a rubbery overspray, so there is some silicone and latex in the mix.

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While the tent was still a bit damp, I velcroed(?) it back into place to finish drying.

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Once dried and all the masking tape removed, there was the moment of truth... :shock: :shock:

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The roof shuts nicely, with the silicone greased mechanism easy to use. there is still a little tweek on the rear lifter to do as it rubs on the bottom metal frame and I should have remade the triangular wooden gussets in the top frame rear, as there is a gap where the tent has shrunk..
However as the tent is Velcroed, it will be a simple fix..

I am pleased with the tent interior, as it tucks away nicely

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So no straps, metal, or dangly bits inside... :)

The mood is enhanced with my Lidl LED strip, was mains but all the German stuff is mains with a 220 to 12 v transformer, snip and fit..

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The LED bar over the kitchen is great, standing and cooking will be very different..

So that is about it for the Corona pop top story...

Next is overhauling the night heater and re-routing the inlet and exhaust.

Then on towards the VASP certificate, I have received my VW homologation certificate, so some more body work and then I can
book my appointment.

Cordialement,

:ok

 
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JonB
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Re: A Corona Pop..........top

Post by JonB »

Great thread and cracking work getting that fettled and installed.
Viking Caravelle JX - Cheshire

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Jim San
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Re: A Corona Pop..........top

Post by Jim San »

One of these 'popped'up in the classifieds recently.
Looked a really nice example from the pics.

Gutted, I was first loser in the race to buy it.
1991 (LHD) Syncro kombi 1.9MTDi 1Z (Landy fuel pump) 215/70/16
Life's to short to drink s@@t beer.
'Roads? We don't need roads where we're going'

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