Older fiberglass top on van, windows are broken.

[dentedvw]

I found a tall white fiberglass top that I might buy in a local junkyard, but it's on an older van. I am going to tear into it a bit more tomorrow to determine whether it will work for me or not. It would need a few things right away though. It has some small slider windows on the side that are in very bad condition one has broken glass. Seals are shot, etc. Does anyone know where I could locate some replacement windows? Not just the glass, I would like to replace the whole thing. Maybe even just use fixed glass, but that remains to be seen.

The other thing is the fiberglass top has a seal, or some kind of bumper thing on the bottom, and that's also pretty dried up. I would be looking for that pretty much right away too.

But the worst problem is that it might not be as long as my van. I haven't confirmed it, but I will tomorrow. They were closing, and just let me run back, look around real quick, and I stood up in in, then bolted. So, if I do choose it, it might need to be lengthened. I have seen some people do some fiberglass fabrication, but I haven't done any myself. How could I learn, if I were going to take this on?

It's cheap, like a tank of gas cheap, so it might just be worth it. I can stand up in the van it is in now, so that's pretty much what we are looking for.

CCV tops are a few grand, and I am not sure our van is worth a few grand in fiberglass at this advanced age and level of damage.

I've been looking in junkyards for about a year, and this might be the closest fit, and not to mention the price. But, it still might not be worth it. I will make a determination tomorrow.

 

[JPutnam]

fiberglass isnt hard to work with. I started messing around with it trying to make parts. its alot of sanding. easy, just follow the instructions on the bottle. watch a bunch of youtube videos. it will get expensive very fast though.

Also after playing with the stuff for a few years I took a composites course at a technical college. I dont know where you are from but in utah there is a good one at the D.A.T.C. it took me about 6 months to complete. but it was well worth it.

as for lengthening the top it will be alot of work. you need to make a mold of the area you want to add. wax it or pva it. then lay up the fiberglass. lay it thick. then pop it from the mold. attach it to the cut up parts of the roof. then apply more glass to adhere it. then you need to sand for a billion hours and do all the finish work.

assuming you use the fiberglass resin from homedepot or lowes you will need a bunch of it. at $34 bucks a container it adds up real fast. i would say making a 1/8 inch think 1ft by 5ft piece will take 1 or 2 of them. you would want it alot thicker than 1/8th in. i would do 1/4 inch at very least.

all im saying is it will cost alot more than you plan on and bealot more work. its kinda fun work in my opinion. but some people dont like it. this is all assuning you need to add a bunch of material to lengthen it. if youre just needing like 1 or 2 inches then I would just tape poster board under the area you need to fill in and then layup over it. if that makes sense.

 

[dentedvw]

I will find out in a few hours, I doubt it will be only a few inches, probably more like feet. I will find out though.
Thanks for the info! I am based out of Bountiful, and spend a part of every week in the Tooele area for work.

 

[dentedvw]

I bit. It was only three and a half inches shorter than the optimal length of my van roof. So, I will scoot it forward a bit, and it should clear the third brake light. If not, I will work something out.
The worst bit is that it's actually not the same width as the E350, because the van tapers towards the back, and the top I bought is straight. No worries, I can overcome this with cutting, and epoxy, and wood, and beer, and friends.
It was only attached the old GMC with rivets and some really fantastic silicone based adhesive. Once I tore out the orange carpet that was wrapping the transition, I was able to slice and hammer the top loose. It's fairly thin, so it was easily moved by three people, and probably could be handled by two, if you could manage the weight swinging around.
I will get started with it's rehab today.
One strange thing that happened though, is that I was hacking away at the van, tossing out bits of junk I didn't need, and suddenly, a llama. A llama was standing outside the van, looking at me questioningly.

 

[JPutnam]

lol. post up some pictures. I found a top off an old chevy that I thought about grabbing for my e250.

 

[dentedvw]

Here it is, as I found it. Ragged, but intact.

No holes, must be alright.

Llama stops by to investigate.

 

[JPutnam]

lol nice. i want that porthole window. if it were intact.