Club 80-90 Forums

What a ball ache.
As the vans being sprayed soon I thought I had better remove the high top as there is some rustabove the wind screen going under the high top.
The high top is a nice one and the same sold by Bernd Jager, only 60cm high and really well insulated. I spent 8 hours today and didn't even get one side done lwt alone the front and back. looks like whoever fitted it went for overkill. The gap between the high top and the van roof has been almost totall filled with an acrylic sealant. Even though I had been at it for 5 hours I was getting into a good rythm, then I camer to the over cab section. Three hours to do about six inches.
Before

Midway

How deep it is.

Three feet of whats come out

Sadly I think it's time for the angle grinder. I cant waste another day on it.

Have you seen the technique that whoever it was on genral chat with the endoscope used. a long flat bar from the rear between high top and gutter then BFH on the end of it

That looks like hard work.

Can you not use a piece bicycle brake cable as a cheese cutter? you would need two people.

Hacksawbob wrote:Have you seen the technique that whoever it was on genral chat with the endoscope used. a long flat bar from the rear between high top and gutter then BFH on the end of it

That would be me. My high top is double skinned and the inside is assembled before the high top is added, so you can't get to the fixings to remove the interior to access the inside of the high top fibreglass so the cheese wire is out, hence the 'tw@t it' method. My hightop sealant had gone like rock and there was loads of it too.

oops

I did see your post Bren Thanks to Hacksaw Bob, but I havn't even broke the seal yet, this is just the "pooh" they put in to fil the gap.

I may look into the sharpened bar and BFH approach as it is a lovely roof.
It would be great for storage and the little one, although (hope Kev and Ian arn't looking) she did say she would never sleep in the van with that ugly roof on, I told her she would be much warmer and she could take more stuff.
Her reply was I would rather freeze to death.
Young uns aye, too fashion concious.

lhd wrote:I havn't even broke the seal yet, this is just the "pooh" they put in to fil the gap.

I may look into the sharpened bar and BFH approach as it is a lovely roof.

My sealant was not just where the high top sits on the van, but about an inch up the side from the van too which is why the 'L' shaped sharpened rod is whacked in twice with the 'L' turned through 90 degrees so it breaks the side seal as well. If you do use this method, make sure you a) take it slowly and stop every couple of inches to make sure you're not damaging the high top and b) you drill a hole in the other end of the rod so you can poke a screwdriver or similar through and hit that to get the rod out again as you'll never get it out by hand once it's gone in more than a few inches. The high top will 'bulge' a bit as the rod makes it's way along.