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Westfalia Canvas Replacement

Westfalia Canvas Replacement

You Will Need Some Patience and a Couple of Friends to Replace the Pop-Top Tent of a Bay-Window Westfalia!
March, 2009
By Stephan Szantai
1977 Volkswagen Westy Original Canvas View
01. Here is how the original... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Original Canvas View
01. Here is how the original canvas looked, before starting to work on it. Yuck!
1977 Volkswagen Westy Moldings
02. Left: The canvas is clamped... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Moldings
02. Left: The canvas is clamped between the roof and aluminum moldings - two on the sides, one in front, one in back. We first started by removing the side moldings, fitted to the body with a series of screws. Take careful notice of exactly how the tent is fastened to the body. Wolfsburg West even recommends using a digital camera, which will help if you get lost reinstalling the canvas.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Front Rear Moldings
03.The front and rear moldings... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Front Rear Moldings
03.The front and rear moldings came next.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Original Canvas View
04. We were then able to remove... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Original Canvas View
04. We were then able to remove what was left of the canvas. It didn't take much energy... The old material was so brittle, it literally fell apart.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Roof View
05. It seems that the roof... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Roof View
05. It seems that the roof hasn't been cleaned for ages. It looked much nicer after a nice wash!
1977 Volkswagen Westy Tent View
06. As Wolfsburg West states... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Tent View
06. As Wolfsburg West states in its instruction sheet: "It is your responsibility to insure that the tent is right before you try to install it! Double and triple check all dimensions and edges." At this point, we decided to take some measurements on the Type II and compare them to the new tent.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Tack Strip
07. All Bay Window tents are... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Tack Strip
07. All Bay Window tents are attached to the pop-top with tack strips and staples. You can easily remove the tack strips with a screwdriver for example. As a side note, had the old tent still been in decent shape (i.e., if we hadn't taken it off earlier), we could have removed the tack strips while the top was upside down, as seen in picture number 14. Then we could have laid out the old tent on the ground, and laid the new tent on top to make sure the new tent was the correct type and size.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Tack Strip
08. Even though new tack strips... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Tack Strip
08. Even though new tack strips and nails are available from Wolfsburg West, we chose to reuse the original tack strips that were still in decent shape. We removed the staples by laying each tack strip on the floor, and pushing it down like this...
1977 Volkswagen Westy Reinforcement Bar
09. Remove the reinforcement... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Reinforcement Bar
09. Remove the reinforcement bar, held with three bolts, in the front of the pop-top. [With the smell that old campers' canvas tops can make, it is no wonder they left up the Christmas Tree air freshener until the very last minute!--Ed.]
1977 Volkswagen Westy Lifting Gear Bolt
10. To remove the complete... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Lifting Gear Bolt
10. To remove the complete pop-top unit, you first need to unbolt the lifting gear (located in the front of the top on 1974-'79 models). On each side, there is one bolt on the flank, and another on top.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Lifting Gear
11. It helps to have long... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Lifting Gear
11. It helps to have long wires to tie the lifting gear, so they do not expand when you lift the top off of the vehicle.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Open Top
12. Since the lifting gear... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Open Top
12. Since the lifting gear is folded and wired, you need to hold the top partially open with a piece of wood so you can still access the hinges. This 2x4 found unexpectedly in the shop came in handy.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Hinges
13. Now remove the top from... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Hinges
13. Now remove the top from the hinges. Each hinge is held with three nuts to the top.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Pop Top Unit
14. You can now remove the... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Pop Top Unit
14. You can now remove the whole pop-top unit from the vehicle. Place it upside down on a pair of sawhorses.
0404Vwt Westy15 Z
15. After Bill (right) and... 
   
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0404Vwt Westy15 Z
15. After Bill (right) and friend Darrell (left) have marked the center of each side of the tent...
1977 Volkswagen Westy Top Markings
16. ...then they mark the... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Top Markings
16. ...then they mark the center of the top's front, rear and sides.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Top Installation
17. The next step will be... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Top Installation
17. The next step will be to line up those marks and install the tent to the top at those points first. Get your staple gun out, so as to put a staple (size 17/32, 13mm in our case) at the center of each side. You will then work your way to each corner.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Stapling
18. You don't need to put... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Stapling
18. You don't need to put too many staples at this point. One staple every four or six inches will work fine. A few staples in each corner might be required. As you can see, the corners aren't very easy to access. Take your time.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Tack Strip
19. From there, put the tack... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Tack Strip
19. From there, put the tack strip over the areas you have already stapled. You will need quite a few staples to tackle the job! Put the staples at about the same interval as on the original tack strip, as seen in pictures numbered seven and eight.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Tent
20. We wanted to make sure... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Tent
20. We wanted to make sure the tent wouldn't be in our way, when turning the top upside. One way to achieve this is to clamp the material with some clothespins.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Top
21. With plenty of help, put... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Top
21. With plenty of help, put the top back onto the vehicle.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Hinge Bolting
22. Start by bolting the top... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Hinge Bolting
22. Start by bolting the top to the hinges.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Lifting Gear
23. In order to reinstall... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Lifting Gear
23. In order to reinstall the lifting gear to the top, you will first need to carefully drill through the canvas and the tack strip.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Pop Top Lifting Gear
24. Secure the lifting gear... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Pop Top Lifting Gear
24. Secure the lifting gear to the pop-top with the four bolts. Remember, on each side, there is one on the flank and another on top.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Reinforcement Bar
25. Install the reinforcement... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Reinforcement Bar
25. Install the reinforcement bar, held with three bolts, in the front of the pop-top.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Canvas Installation
26. Time to install the canvas... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Canvas Installation
26. Time to install the canvas to the body. As seen earlier in our installation, the canvas is clamped between the roof and four aluminum moldings. Start with the shortest molding, located on the lifting gear side. Make sure the center point of the roof is aligned with the center of the canvas before securing this molding to the roof. We found it easier to slide the long side moldings, as seen here, afterwards.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Side Molding
27. For the two side moldings... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Side Molding
27. For the two side moldings and the other short molding (on the hinged side), you also need to install the tent to the body at the center point of each run first, and then work towards the corners. Putting the screws back on is rather time consuming, but we found it easier to access the area near the hinges by removing the mattress - you can see the latter in Picture Number Two.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Corner Installation
28. Finish the installation... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Corner Installation
28. Finish the installation with the corners.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Plastic Welting
29. You will need to notch... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Plastic Welting
29. You will need to notch the plastic welting in the corners in order to make the turn. It may also be necessary to take-up extra material in the corners. A little wrinkling in the corners is acceptable. They will straighten out over time.
1977 Volkswagen Westy Canvas View
30. Here is the final product!... 
   
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1977 Volkswagen Westy Canvas View
30. Here is the final product! Don't worry too much about the wrinkles. This is a textile product and some stretching is to be expected.
Wolfsburg West
2850 Palisades Dr.
Corona
CA  92880
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