Kevtherevagon

[jed the spread]

Are you doing the paint MM?

jed

[Plasticman]

It would appear that it is having a "freshning" up this way,
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have had other fun as im busy hup loading.....

[Plasticman]

Well,an interesting day in some ways, do a job and find another is the name of the day..
I had sort of put the gas gear away but as still unsure of a couple of bits and whilst looking to make the top fit better and not use the rubber seal things I decided to do things my own way.
this is the N/S rear corner, the hole was filled with strawberry jam,( ithink from the guys who fitted the roof) I ended up having a right good dig and


well it would be an unpleasnt job to do in a year ! and you cant leave stuff like this and hope it will go away.
cut a small bit to weld in

welded, the untidy bit in the middle was the jet getting a little blocked and blowing(oxidising flame) but not a problem here

quick run over with a disc

looking as it should

clean inside

thats the little corner done, next the rear under the roof
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[Plasticman]

Well on with the resar roof join,
this had been rivited a few times asnd was a right mess, the rubber seal/finnisher fitted to A/S's, can hide a multitude of sins, lift yours up and have a peek !
anyhow this was the O/S corner, most was hidden under the seal and roof,

the markings on the tape are for me to reference whats under the finnished leading so I know what im covering and so when I come to refit the roof I know where original metal is.
this is the same bit now leaded up, I had severely grit blasted it first.

cleaning off is done with a surform and my own scrapers made from ground files etc

I repeated the same across the rest of the rear,inc filling in all the rivit holes

same on the O/Side

the isnside of the new gutter piece is just a touch out of line inside so will take the die grinder to it

this is all now primed up, with luck it wont need any filler which is always a bonus


have sat the roof back on and the fit is much better, I have stuck tape on the side of the roof with the gaps noted so when I come to apply adhesive I know just how much to apply to fill any gaps

this is soon going to look a lot better and more importantly it will be secure and leakproof


this shows the tapering gap on the os rear

front now looks to fit ok, scrapping the rubber is a good move

this will take some filling but will be ok when done. paint is drying overnight so roof will be bonded in the morning.
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[kevtherev]

good grief, that cullender effect the roof fitters made is good.
Good riddance to the rubber
thanks mike

nice gutter repair BTW, I shall look at all this one day, photograph in one hand and try to visualise it

[Plasticman]

Well, this is just for interest of how the inner wood structure fits together, well it gives an idea anyway,
this is looking at the rear, the horizontal long bit of wood is screwed to the folded over/under bit of roof

the short bits that stick out the rear (the 2 bits) are screwed into from the otherside of the long bit, the end bits are part of a continuose long piece from front to rear.you can see the block with screws, this is also glued

this is also the OS rear the very left is the outside of the previouse picky

same part looking towards the front

ffurther along, the short stubs are screwed to the long front to rear part, these stubs are not themselves fixed to the body, they merely carry the other bits of timber and are carpeted over.

this shows the centre roof support, the outer skin has been removed and the inner bracing possibly boxed ? in

AS added a nice plaggy gommet for some cable. this is just behind the B post

same at the very front (os), from here a thin frame goes fwd and round the front, I will show this when I refit it.

hope it makes sense and helps somebody.
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[Mickyfin]

Mike, you certainly don't fail to impress me, and documenting your work with photos like you have is a real pleasure to watch/read.

Its really interesting to see the poor craftsmanship that some of these conversion companies hide under their work/pop tops. Quite an eye opener.

[mm289]

Very interesting. Makes me glad I didn't take the lid of Gunther

Thats seems one heck of a gap to fill where it tapers, will be interested to see how you deal with this.

A lot of the converters use the rubber seal approach, parents had it on a Bilbo, all it seemed to add was wind noise and a water/corossion trap!

MM

[Plasticman]

Thats seems one heck of a gap to fill where it tapers, will be interested to see how you deal with this.

Err, umm , well I was rather hoping from some input from your end
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[mm289]

Err, umm , well I was rather hoping from some input from your end
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How about bathroom sealant?









MM

[Plasticman]

well, marked up for bonding, and as there is no access to the inside along the sides it has to be done with a good bead of the right depth. this is one of the raised areas where the cross members fit, not a great issue but this roof is not the worlds greatest fit,

first of a double bead

the majority of the roof I have managed to get to sit very well and it only need a small bead

this is clamped down with just a touch spilling out, when its cured I will cut the excess with a stanley

this was the worst bit , the top just kicks up for the last 12"

instead of the old rubber seal and a ton of bath silicone its now got this

same bit, I have recessed the rivit hole and used them as opposed to just bonding as the roof was real thin and wavey here

dont think much water will get past this now, and it will be easy to finnish the edge for painting and hide the rivits


the pepperpot rear corner is now bonded for good I hope



this was the worst gap at the rear and should be ok now

and this was the worst bit at the front

I have removed the excess at the front and rear.
this is inside the rear , you can see the bead has taken well enough, I will check when its set as to wether to add more to the inside if needed


and this is all thats visible at the front .... minus bath sealant

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[mm289]

Looking good mike, is that a Sikaflex equivalent you used? I guess it has to be adhesive as well as sealing as it is, in effect gluing the roof on?

Will look a load cleaner at the front without the rubber, much nicer

MM

[Plasticman]

yup
http://www.olearymotorhomes.co.uk/olear ... 2-53-p.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
its good gear,
yes when done the front will be sanded and filled etc and I want to see a definate finnished edge to the roof then a bit of roof metal then a nice new screen rubber,
you could always lift the short board at the rear of yours and have a reassuring peek........
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[Aidan]

? Mike perhaps the van's been reversed into a garage or similar and the rear has taken a knock previously hence the upsweep and need to rivet

[Plasticman]

No aiden, I fyou were to sit the top on a flat concrete floor it would touch along most of the long sides but at the osf the last 12" would taper up about 3/8", the nsf about 3/16-1/4" and the rears about an 1/8 -1/4", no allowance made for the raised area where the roof stiffners go , and also the fact that the roof tapers in at the rear which in fairness could have been cut after manufacture,
basically a nice shape roof (imho) but not a lot of effort gone into the original mould. it would have been so simple at the time to have done it right and ensured a good tidy fit.
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