[Build] Rebuilding a fiberglass high top

[DAV!D]

A month or so ago I asked if anyone had ever modified a fiberglass high top for their van. I've searched all over the internet and it just seems no one has really documented doing it if they have ever done it.

Long story short, I'm building a new camper van, I didn't want to pay $3k for a new hightop to put on a $2k van, so I'm taking a $70 junk yard high top, cutting it up and rebuilding it, to fit my van & making it taller to allow me stand up inside. I can do a basic build thread of what and how I'm doing it if there is any interest, but be warning it's not being done in a fancy shop with thousands of dollars of cool tools, just backyard jigsaws and leaning fiberglass as I go..

Just to give an idea of what I'm doing this is a picture of me test fitting the top after I shortened it.. At this point I still needed to glass it back together and I'm also making it about 6 inches taller.

If there is interest, I'll post more pictures of what I've done and as I get more done. I plan to have the top finished by next weekend, possibly even installed.

 

[zuke]

I have no vested interest in it, I don't plan on doing anything like this, Nonetheless, I would follow along and learn if you documented it!

 

[Huffy]

I think by documanting you might open up a world of possibilities to those who have not previously considered this as an option. I respect your drive and willingness to dive into a new unknown area. Too bad more folks dont have the pair to do so.

 

[JasonRedwood]

interested for sure. I may go down this path.

 

[boardrider247]

Definitely interested.

I would have loved to do something like this but ended up buying a new top. Lack of time blah blah blah, I think I'm just getting lazy.....

 

[Stitebunny]

Please show us your progress. I'm sure lots of people will gain some insight and some may have ideas for you as you go.

 

[Bbasso]

I watch your progress if you post...

 

[Oldcarnut]

I'm interested. Wondering what it would take to add some tall rear doors to an existing high top that did not come with them...

 

[DAV!D]

Ok, since there is interest I'll show what I started with and where I am now. Keep in mind, I'm not a fiberglass "expert" just sort of figuring out things as I go. Possibly much easier ways to do things and I'm gonna have a lot of finish sanding work at the end..

This is what I started with. A nice Aero high top with a relatively flat roof line (hard to find something like this). Not one of those conversion van tops with lots of "style" added. The problem is it's about 6" too short to stand inside, it was from an extended van and it had the side cut out for a wheelchair lift. It was $70 at a LKQ and took about 3 hours to pull off the van.

This is the passenger's side

From the front.

I decided to shorten the top at the cut out section to make the area I have to replace smaller. I didn't get too crazy with exact measurements. I cut the roof as straight as I could with a jigsaw. I then put it on the van and slide the front section under the rear simply using a pencil to mark where it needed to be cut.

After cutting the excess off, I used a few 2x4's and screwed them into place to hold the two pieces together to re-test the fit. This is the same picture as in the OP. I was actually pretty amazed that the curves matched up almost perfectly.

I used a combo of 2x4's and some roofing tin to hold everything in place while I fiber-glassed the inside to put the roof back together.

Very low tech approach.. lol

I then used some of the section I cut out as filler panels for the side opening. I'll come in later after I make it taller and rebuild the lower bevel around the bottom.

This is how I glassed it together on the inside. For such a small amount of fiber-glassing, it's already very sturdy again.

Here the top is with the middle glassed back together on the outside.

This is a picture of the side section glassed in.

That's how the top looks today. It still looks a bit rough, but the overall shape is looking good. The side panel looks a little sketchy in the pictures but it actually matches the contour of the top very well. Once I get the final shape where I want it after making it taller, I'll be doing lots of sanding to get it ready to paint.


I'm planning to cut around the entire bottom of the roof (tomorrow) and add my extra height there by glassing the two sections back together with the added height in the middle. A bit hard to explain but I'll soon have pictures.

 

[Bbasso]

Nice progress

 

[Raul]

Interested.
I have similar idea in the back of my head for long time. My concern is the structural integrity of the living space. These vans are not that strong to begin with when they are upside down. I was looking at ambulances as they have to have a frame under the fiberglass top.

 

[Johny5]

I like.
Go ahead and get in there with a grinder and grind the gel coat down to the fiber glass and below the top level of the fiberglass .
This will help the resin bond to the fiberglass structure instead of the top of the gel coat.
This will make it stronger and you will be able to re gel coat with out the thing looking pregnant with the raised seam.

 

[DAV!D]

Well, I didn't get much progress today. I removed the stickers and scraped off the left over sealer from it's previous install. Then I sort of got stuck trying to figure out how I'll add 6" in somewhere.. It's much easier to say add 6 inches than to figure out where to put it, I can tell you that.. lol

Anyway here is a picture our two with the top a little more cleaned up, but not too much..

As a side note, I may not do the full 6 inches.. When measuring from my van floor to the top of the drip rail (where the top will mount) It's 51". The top it's self is 17" which gives me a height of 5'8" to the bare fiberglass. I expect to lose an inch from insulation and what ever I use for the headliner so that gives me a working space of roughly 5'7" as the top sits now. I'm 5'10" tall so in theory I only need to add roughly 4" because I'm measuring at the outer side of the top not in the center which will likely give me an extra 1-1.5 inches. Meaning adding 4"-4.5" would probably get me almost to 6ft at the center of the van which is more than enough.

Even 4 inches is a lot to add, so I'm giving it another day to think about how I'll do it, before I go crazy with the cut off tool.. :sombrero:

 

[DAV!D]

edit, double post

 

[nonhog]

Fun to watch.