My 71 sunroof deluxe and a question

[wendy]

As I am now the proud owner of a Californian import, '71 sunroof deluxe (and have been hiding here for a while reading pretty much every thread!) I thought I would say hi, post some pics and ask a question.
Firstly, here's Bernie while he was still at FBI where I got him from at the beginning of the month

And apart from getting rid of the minimal rust in the interior and starting to prime it and cleaning out and priming the engine bay I've not done much else yet
I also own Sid, a 73 pop top, but he made a one way trip to the welders My limited budget means that I can't afford to pay someone to fix the chassis for me and as I can't weld either Sid is now going to donate stuff, mostly engine and gear box, to my new bus. Breaks my heart but I'm sure someone will be able to fix him especially having seen what some of you clever people on here have achieved!!

Anyway, I apologise if this has been asked a billion times before but I'll ask anyway
The sunroof on Bernie has been bolted shut, probably for a very good reason and if it ever stops raining long enough up here then I'll be able to unbolt it and have a better look!! I know it is leaking as I can see daylight through the edge.
Are the parts for a sunroof mechanism rarer than rocking horse poo and just as expensive? And is it worth fixing or or should I do what my other half says and weld it shut and forget it was ever there (probably a hangable offence I imagine )
I really like the idea of having the sunroof, I've seen Mr Brightside's and it is gorgeous and something to aspire too! but I don't want an 'I told you so' from my other half when it costs a fortune to restore and then it still leaks etc

Thanks

Wendy

 

[RICH-I-AM]

Evning and welcome :mrgreen: .
Ive got a sunroof Deluxe aswell and id say keep it but could be easier said than done to a degree.
When i baught mine the sunroof, mechanism and headlining had been removed :? and a sheet of perspex screwed over the hole :? :? .
I needed a new sunroof panel as mine was rotten as a pair.
Mistake no 1.... I paid 300+ pounds for one id found for sale then within a couple of months 2 more turned up. One was 100 and the other was 150 pounds :? :? .
So im just saying that the sunroof panels are quite rare but they are about and should be at a reasonable (ish) price.

Right the problem with the sunroof busses is the sunroof drain holes block and the water sits in the roof leaking through and wrecking the headliner (hows your headliner?)

More to come but im cooking dinner at the mo so i have to go :mrgreen:
Take a look at my bus build in the gallery, there may be pix of the sunroof etc in there for you.

Il be back later :mrgreen:

Rich

 

[D@VEY]

Hi im in the middle of sorting my sunroof out!!!!!

Hope it will be worth it.
Here
vvvv
http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=20159" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Mr Brightside]

Looks cool bus

Dont Weld it shut !!!!!!!!!!!

As Hoosier says make sure the drain holes are free to let the water drain, they roofs were never fully sealed anyway, there may be (or should be) a felt seal around the sunroof aperture, but this is not to keep water out, but to minimise wind noise, the water will go in the gap between the sunroof & roof panel & then drain down the 6 drain holes which go down the side of the B & C pillars next to the jacking points & also the rear quarters, through the engine bay (a pipe in either side of the engine bay behind the wheel arch) down to the outside. It is imperative that these are checked & poked through etc.

Now the difficult part, the sunroof is operated by 2 cables which are driven from the crank handle at the front edge of the aperture & goes down either side of the sunroof in 2 plastic white/alloy channels then attached to the back edge of the upper sunroof panel (there is an outer & inner roof panel), some parts are available, some are not.

The drive gear is available as a reasonable reproduction (note not the same as a beetle)
The cables are available as repro, but to be honest they are total C**P, trust me, i have spent good money on these to be very disappointed.
The plastic cable tracks are not available anymore, anywhere, the only option is to find used ones, but if you see them, strike quickly as they will disappear. I have been talking to a US company that makes aluminium replacements for Type 3's & they have it on their list to do, but are just too busy at the minute.


What I would do is unbolt it & see just what parts you have missing. (the Bentley manual is a great help or just look at the links below)

Then the options you have as I see it are:

1. Clear out the drainholes & leave it "as is" until you can get the parts required
2. Fit a Westy roof (which uses the same aperture as Westfalia poptops used a basic style sunroof shell (without the drain tubes).
3. Weld it shut (Nah, its really NOT an option)

See below for a couple of posts on here

Here

And Here


Hope this Helps

Graham

 

[wendy]

Thanks Rich

I'm fairly sure the panel itself is sound, unless there's something nasty when I finally unbolt it!
I didn't know about the drain holes :shock: !! So I'll defs look at them. The headlining is wrecked and going to be replaced either way, not sure that there's water damage but it's torn and perished in places. That's a big chunk of money taken care of
Your bus is lush! Mine's going to be red one day too And the pics on there are a good reference point too.

Thanks for replying
and enjoy your dinner

 

[wendy]

Wow D@vey, that looks like a big job!! I have the utmost respect (and I'm a teensy bit jealous of) for anyone who can cut rusty bits off and then replace them and make it look like no one ever touched it!! And good pics of the roof too thanks

Mr Brightside, thank you for giving me written proof that welding it shut is NOT the way forward
And also for a concise description of what I'm looking for when I finally get those bolts off big help, thanks!

thank you for taking the time to reply

W

 

[Mr Brightside]

Wow D@vey, that looks like a big job!! I have the utmost respect (and I'm a teensy bit jealous of) for anyone who can cut rusty bits off and then replace them and make it look like no one ever touched it!! And good pics of the roof too thanks

Mr Brightside, thank you for giving me written proof that welding it shut is NOT the way forward
And also for a concise description of what I'm looking for when I finally get those bolts off big help, thanks!

thank you for taking the time to reply

W

No problem Wendy, they are mostly a friendly bunch on here, the only rules are that we insist on pictures of everything that you do to the bus !

 

[robins]

dont weld it shut get the bits to open it nice.
i was lucky mine was all working when got it just had to put the plastic tubes back on at the top of the drain holes
you can get the cabales from waggons west in the usa or kleft & klok i think

 

[gninnam]

Very nice bus 8)

Follow the advice of the sunroof boys as they talk the talk :msn4:

 

[Graham L]

Hi Wendy

Having taken a sunroof to bits last week, freed it all off and got it working on a bus we have sold then I would say stick with it and definitely keep the sunroof. It took 2 of us the best part of 5 hours but it was wort it. The mechanism is not rocket science and most parts are now available new, certainly the cables, handles, seal etc are all available at a cost but they also come up secondhand on places like the samba, just keep your eyes out and build up the parts over a period of time. You may find some parts are already there and its very common that they seize up due to poor maintenance and nothing else.

Once you have seen a bus with the sunroof slid back and sat inside it with the amount of light it provides you will definitely want to keep it. If you need any help or guidance please don't hesitate to ask,

 

[wendy]

Wow Thanks everyone, helped me decide to give it a damn good go to get it working !!
And I'll post some pics of what I've done but can you take into account that I'm completely new at this
I'm loving every minute of it tho

 

[RICH-I-AM]

Evning again.
Looks like pretty much everythings been coverd :mrgreen:
Glad your gonna try and keep the sunroof.
I think (Though i could be wrong) that only the Deluxe model had the slider sunroof so its worth keeping for that reason if nothing else.
When the big day comes and you try to open the roof take it nice and slow and gently.
As said some of these parts are either crap aftermarket or hard to find so the less damage the better.
Anymore questions, just ask.

Rich

P.S Dinner was luvly :lol:

 

[wendy]

So, I took the retaining bolt thingys off and.......nowt.
I have a sneaky suspicion that it may have been sealed on the top, but I've never seen a bus with a sunroof to compare it to but it has something that looks awfully like silicon sprayed with primer on it!

The winder handle is missing along with any kind of mechanism in the hole where it should be

And then at the back end of it, it has these spring loaded clip things, they move but I don't know what they're sposed to do. Apologies if I'm being a complete numpty, I know the panel has to lower to slide into the roof space but that's about it!

I did find one of the drain hole tubes tho The plastic tube wasn't connected and I took it off and it was stuffed full of dirt and spider carcasses so I assume the other ones are too. And there is a kind of rubbery brown 'thing' stuck to the roof at the front end of it too.

If I'm getting the headlining replaced would it be ok to cut out what is there so I can see the roof? Again I'm sorry if it's a stoopid question but I'm new at this and I don't want to mess up!!

Needless to say the sunroof remains firmly (where it touches) shut, I got on with cleaning up my gearbox

Thanks for reading

W

 

[Graham L]

Hi Wendy

Yes some one has definitely sealed it shut, it should not have that raised edge around the roof, (looks like a sealer of some sort) it should be flush with the rest of the roof.

The 2 clips that are shown on the last 2 pictures are meant to run in a track above the headling not clamped to the side like they are, there should be another 2 similar clips at the front, these are the guides and height adjustment for the roof. If you undo those clips it might free your roof. The clip with the spring on is where the cable attaches to on each side and by the fact I can see the Grey metal piece its been snapped off the cable.

You don't need to remove the headlining unless you need to get to the drain tubes as the sunroof mech is all housed within the sunroof hole itself, nothing is hiding under the main headlining, apart from the 4 drain tubes around the roof itself, the other 2 drain tubes are at the back of the sliding roof slot and are visible in the air vent at the back and a lot harder to clean out!!

Out of interest Wendy whereabouts are you as more than happy to pop along and have a look,

 

[wendy]

Thanks for your reply Graham

I've not got much further with the roof apart from pricing up the parts from K&K totaling an eye watering £500 :shock: However I haven't given up on the idea of keeping it a sunroof either. I'm in Durham which I know, even with my dodgy geography, is miles away from Solihull! But thanks for the offer, don't spose you know anyone up here who might be able to look at it? I want to get it painted but can't until I've got the sealer off it and then sorted the roof so it's at least in the right position.

Anyway, I've got Camperjam to look forward to this weekend, you never know, someone might be chucking a complete sunroof mechanism out......

 

[Graham L]

Hi Wendy

Come and say hello at Camperjam as we are trading there, unfortunately without a sunroof bus,