Bay Window Bus Dormobile Top on a Split Window Bus

[brucebay21]

Has anyone put a Bay Window Bus Dormobile Top on a Split Window Bus? Does it fit properly?

[JLT]

@brucebay21 wrote:

Has anyone put a Bay Window Bus Dormobile Top on a Split Window Bus? Does it fit properly?

Well, I’ve sort of done the reverse … I scavenged a Westfalia pop-up roof off a splitface VW (1965 or so, IIRC) and installed it on a 1970 bay window bus. The curvature of the roof seemed to be the same. Of course, the old Westfalia top was a bit smaller than the Dormobile.

I remember positioning a piece of wood (like a two-by-six) on the roof of the “donor” bus at both the front and back extent of the pop-up.
Taking a four-inch ruler with a pencil on the top, I dragged the ruler across the wood to transcribe the arc of the roof, making sure I kept the ruler perfectly vertical. I did the same thing with the “donee” bus, positioning the wood on the same places on the roof. The curves matched at each station, so I felt satisfied that the transplant would work. I expect that the same system would work for you, with the exception that you’d have to use metric equivalents for the dimensions!

–JLT

Sacramento CA USA

[JLT]

Although this thread may be dead as a doornail, I’m obliged to point out one more thing. It’s occurred to me that in the conversion I described above, there was no need for me to tamper with the roof structural member that’s located at the rear of the sliding door, as the cutout I needed to make was between that and the forward roof srtuctural support. This may not be the case with some Westfalia tops, which require you to remove that rear structural member. My Dormobile top also required the removal of that member. So you may lose some structural integrity.

[lester]

This is just what i have been looking for. I could be the new owner of a splitty which did have a pop top, i would think it was a dormobile roof. I was wondering the same thing would a bay top fit a splitty, although the splitty roof is narrower than the bay i would think that the pop top was the same size. Lets see if anyone has done he conversion.
cheers lester

[JLT]

At the risk of reviving a thread that’s as old as the Roman Empire, I might add that I came across somebody who did exactly what you proposed. If you PM me with your contact information, I’ll relay it to him.

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