http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=446984&highlight=poptop+canvas
That's my 2 cents,
Dave in Fort Collins
--- On Sun, 4/24/11, James Felder <jim.felder@gmail.com> wrote:
> Excellent writeup, which I saved.
> Can't wait for the next installment.
>
> On Apr 23, 2011, at 9:56 PM, David Vickery <david_vickery@YAHOO.COM>
> wrote:
>
> > Another gratifying project. I starting replacing
> my poptop canvas at about 4:00 today and stopped when it got
> dark out. Probably another hour tomorrow unless
> something goes wrong. I decided on the most expensive
> version BusDepot sells after getting feedback from different
> people. The picture on their website doesn't do
> justice to the higher end version that they sell and I
> waited until I saw one in person to buy it. They had
> it on sale for $399 and the discount brought it down a bit
> more. These are a little bit of a PITA to put on, so
> there is a nice feelig of accomplishment to do it.
> >
> > My tips for anyone doing this: Start with the
> right tools. A small battery powered screw gun.
> A big drill is too bulky and will tire out yor arm and won't
> reach into some of the places. You also need a small
> screwdriver for the corners. A magnetic tip to help
> hold the screws is essential.
> >
> > It works better to remove the bottom tack strip first
> (tack strip is only on 86+ vans I think) and then you can
> lay on the bunk and unscrew the top tack strip by lifting up
> the canvas.
> >
> > When you take off the old one, it helps to leave it in
> place laying on the upper bunk and laying out the new one in
> its place. If you don't you might install the canvas
> upside down or even worse inside out.
> >
> > I almost made a mistake and started attaching the top
> canvas tack strip from the inside. That would have
> ripped the front top corners which is what you probably the
> biggest risk of the whole project. I am glad I remembered
> how the orginal was on there.
> >
> > The expensive version fits great and I can see how
> much harder this job would be with a lousy fitting one.
> >
> > The way I did it, I put the middle screw through the
> top front, then the screws close to the corners. I
> kept referring to the old one to see where the corners were
> in relation to the seams, but everything lined up perfectly.
> You have to cut notches out of the bottom corner bead, just
> the bead thing that sits under the tack strip in order to
> make the turn. That is how the original one was.
> Then I did the top back and the hardest part of the whole
> thing was the top rear corners. Laying on your back,
> your arms get tired trying to get everything lined up and
> stretched fairly taught. This is where you will be
> wishing you had a magnetic tip screw gun if you don't.
> >
> > After getting the corners tacked down, I filled in the
> rest of the upper screws all around. Then I put the
> lower front tack strip on. The tip here is watch out
> for the botton front corner screws. The fabric gets in
> the way and wants to get caught under those screws. It
> did it on both sides, and I saw it befoe it did damage to
> one side, and it tore the other corner just a little
> bit. Bummer.
> >
> > I only put a few screws in the top front, in case I
> needed to adjust it, which it looks like I need to do.
> I stretched the fabric a little too much and have to back it
> off a bit to get the corners to look perfect. So the
> tip is for this particular top, don't stretch it too much,
> just get it nice and tight. Look at how the seams
> lined up with the corners on the original one.
> >
> > Wahoo, a new 3 window poptop!
>