[VAC] Top sides

["Nick Novia" <nnovia@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

This past weekend I picked up my "new" 1968 Safari, and towed it to the local
AS dealer for an inspection of the wheels and brakes.

I was fortunate, as all went well with the 90 mile tow.  The lights worked well,
and it required no new wiring to my '00 GMC tow packaged plug. There was no
evidence of swaying, amnd I had no anti-sway device.  I am investigating all
my tow/hitch  alternatives this week, and decide by the weekend.

I will be bringing it home soon and undergoing the CT State Motor Vehicle Inspection.


I have already removed all the upholstery and cleaned the coverings. It MUST
be clean! There was some discussion here about sanitizing the foam.  I called
a few places today and discussed the same, and the best advice I got was to
just air them out, or replace them.  I am airing them out, and I will add a
beating to loosen any....whatcha'ma'callits!  Not until I spend a night sleeping
on them, will I know if it's time for replacement.

The next thing on my agenda is to make this old rig leak free!  I already have
my vulkem, and some experience caulking skins of aircraft.  I heartily agree
with the masking tape method of keeping clean lines of caulk.

I will plastic scraper off the old "whatever" is on there, it looks like gobs
and gobs of silicone, clean it good, mask off the area and draw the bead.  I
will go over it with a tongue depressor, smooth it out, then remove the tape..immediately.


I will start on the top, which brings me to my question.  I have not seen this
discussed here at all.  I am wondering how I am going to work on top of this
thing.

I guess I will put a ladder to the side, and protect the skins with a cushion
of some sort.  I am hoping to be able to reach everything on top.  I want to
do the vents, exhausts, and maybe even the fillet overlap of the skins. Then
all the windows and doors, working my way down.

Does anyone out there have a better, more accepted way of working on top?  I
would guess that I could step on the frames and not dent it, but I won't risk
it until I hear from someone who has been up there!  Surely sombody has come
up with an ingenious way of making a scaffold, without having to make a scaffold!
<g>

Nick
'68 Safari