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Date:         Mon, 3 Oct 1994 09:55:30 -0700 (PDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Thom Fitzpatrick" <thom@tim.com>
Subject:      '56 Kombi Progress Update

Ok,

Last Thursday I picked up the sunroof cover for my bus. I got it from Wolfsburg West thru a store here because I wanted it right away. I paid a little more ($20) than I would have thru RMMV, but I got it a lot faster.

It was $89, plus tax.

I was disappointed because there were absolutely NO instructions on how to put this sucker in. If anyone has any experience with this, please jump right in.

I think I've figure out how to do it, but one thing doesn't look right, and that is on the edges it looks like its not going to sit real close to the body, and the edge of the material will have about 1/4" or so of airspace under it where the bows are. This might not be the case once I get it set up and stretched, etc.

And as far as material, the vinyl is good quality with a nice backing (I got mine in white and it comes with a black backing), the don't give you much on the tail end side to hold it down with. It looks like when I stretch it, it will barely make it! They have a set up blue dots which I assume is where you would put the screws, but I don't trust their placement yet.

On the sides, you attach the cover to the bows by poking a small hole in the cover and putting a screw thru it, with a trim washer. I got some nice stainless steel screws to use, with nickel-plated washers.

Anopther questing is how to attach the cover to the bows on the middle of the top so it will fold up properly when you open it. I'm talking about the springy part.

Since I'm not putting a headliner in now, this makes for an interesting problem.

On the old top, the headliner was sewn to the top, and the top sewn to the bows. I think I'll use a piece of this canvas, and glue it to the cover over the bow (the spring part) This should hold it if I use enough fabrich to go about 3" past the bow on either side.

Another small problem solved was what to do about the rubber ends on the bows. They had little rubber ends on them, but they are toast now, so I dipped them in Plasti-Dip, did three coats, and they look real nice, but I think I'll do another coat just to get more build up.

I also cleaned up the surface rust on all of the compomnents, and re-painted everything with black rustoleum.

One last question is how to attach the front piece to the front latch/bow. The cover has a pocket for it, which fts nicely, but the old one was riveted in the inside. Well, riveting is out of the question 'cause A) I don't have a riverter, and B) I would have to take the front bow apart, which looks like it could be a real pain. I'm thinking of putting small carriage bolts in in place of the rivets. Anyone?

In other news, I put 19 guage wire in the seams of the seats like someone had recommended. The new covers came with string in them, and the old seats had wire. The instructions said to tie the string to the seat frame, so I don't hink they intended me to put wire in instead. Took me about half an hour to get the wire run thru.

Until next time (next task is to actually install the top, and then get back to why this baby won't start!)

Thom -- >> Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else. ............................................................................ : Thom Fitzpatrick Transamerica Info Mgmnt : : Systems Administrator 1860 Howe Ave : : tfitzpatrick@tim.com Sacramento, CA 95825 : : fax (916) 921-6781 (916) 565-3346 : ............................................................................


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