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Reimo Roof Installation build thread

6.2K views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  mrshells  
#1 ·
Right here goes my secong build thread.
but instead of a full build thread Im going to try to concentrate on more detailed information on specific parts of the build
as opposed to the thread for my last van which was general to all aspects of the build
so here Im kicking off with the installation of the roof

Im sure its not a definative guide and pro builders may tell me Im doing it wrong or there are easier ways

Its a LWB Reimo
so the first box opened was the reinforcing frames

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in the box there are two frames and 2 reinforcing plates
a bag of rivets,clinch nuts bolts and screws

of the two frames the smaller single U shaped frame fits in the rear of the van immediatley inside the back door
once the roof lining panels have been removed you need to remove the rear most cross member so the smaller frame can be bolted in to the roof of the van into holes allready in the body work from the factory
the cross member can be removed with an agngle grinder or /and a spot weld drill,drilling out the spot welds
if you only remove the crossmember by the spot welds you will need to cut back the part it it welded to at a later stage


left hand side before cutting

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and after cutting

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right hand side was part cut and parted drilled spot wleds as it was too close to the wiring loom to get in with the grinder

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the the cross member can be pulled away

on this van the mastic holding it in place was still soft it came away easily
previously it has been compleyely set and was shall we say Not so easy

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the the rear frame can be bolted into place with 2 6mm bolts supplied


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#4 · (Edited)
here Im starting on the front
as I don't actually have the roof here yet I can only start fitting the support brackets
at the front you need to remove the headlining and B post trims
on the passenger side there is a support bracket fitted from the factory for the grab handle to fix to
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using a drill remove the 2 top rivets and pull the bracket down to give you access to fit to 6mm crinch nuts

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then line up the supplied reinforcing plate and the original plate and bolt together with 6mm bolts supplied

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The Drivers side is exactly the same with the only difference being some vans do don't have the factory reinforced bracket for the grab handle as they don't have a grab handle,however if you have a sunglasses holder you will have the same factory fitted bracket

I will be removing the remainder of the cross members this week before cutting the roof off although you can cut the roof skin and the cross members at the same time
Roof is getting colour coded next weekend so I won't be able to fit it until Wednesday and Thursday next week
 
#7 ·
Had chance to do a little more today
removed the interior crossmember that I could get out at this time

left side all cut through

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and the right side

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I was very surprised after cutting the with a 1mm slitting disc that they just started to fall out on there own
previously Ive had to cut the mastic holding that bonds them to the outer skin.
Maybe as the van is only a year old it hasn't set yet :)

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then a final image of them all removed with the exception of the last one that will be removed when i cut the pouter skin off next week


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#8 ·
Im slowly catching up with my own thread
Ive been very busy on the van and nor hd time for the forum (much)
but here continues

when ready to cut out the pouter skin off the roof drill a couple of holes as far back as the reinforcing frame will allow
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then cut across the back of the roof to the outer edge of the ridge line ,the out line on each side
the measurement to the front of the van depends on the length of the van SWB or LWB


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at this point the weather turned wet so we had a slight change of direction instead of removing the skin and fitting the reinforcing frames we opted to fit the roof and call it a day as it only looked like the rain would get worse
so all the Crinch nuts were fitted as per the instructions for the hinges and the rams

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once both side were on we dropped the roof on and bolted it into place

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with the rood on we called it a day as the weather was too wet to continue
I would like to take this opportunity to anyone contemplating there own fit ,Get several mates round as it much easier than with 2
4 is probably the ideal number as the roof needs to be held up in the open position so the rear hinges can be bolted in to place
once the rear is bolted the rams can be clipped into place.
on a LWB make sure the roof is as far back as possible,the hinges have slots where it bolt to the fibreglass and to the van roof otherwise it will be a struggle to actually get the front spoiler fitted,Im not sure how much there is to play with on a SWB as Ive never fitted one.
these slots are also used to line the roof up central with the sides of the van.The front needs to sit central on the roof of the van,I know this may appear obvious to most .
Even with the roof pushed back on both hinges and the hinges slid back on the van the roof wasn't central,It sat about 20mm of to the passenger side.
once adjust it looked like this
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this is the roof closed with no straps attached to hold it down
I have seen other roofs recently that don't fit this good when fully strapped into place and professionally fitted by the Manufacturer
There a good reason I will only fit a Riemo to my vans