Roof flew off van! And died! Help!!

Tonight my van wouldnt start, whole other problem, and had to get it towed. It started up and then died pretty short afterward. It made a shuddering feel and died then wouldn't start again. I had it jumped and started right up, ran ok for a sec. Then when I put it in gear and it died. So I had it towed.

Well he towed it backward, which where the rust is and roof isn't really connected. AAAAaaand it flew off. Apparently. Because we didn't notice until we went to offload it.
Later he went back and found my roof. But I don't even know if I should bother with the original. Because the rust was so complete around the roof it peeled off pretty completely. And it's kind of a clean break. So should I just get a steel or aluminum sheet metal roof welded on?

I can't afford much work, sorta working on a shoestring budget. So I may end up just trying to sell it if I can't find a solution for the roof.

Also I gotta get it running! So I got 2 problems! Ugh, and I was making good progress.

It sounds like you mave have gotten in a little deep here... But don't despair....You have a lot of great help here and can get you back on the right track. As for van roof...we need pics so we can see what you're up against and those that have done the roof replacement will be better to help you. As for engine quitting and starting sounds like it could be a fuel issue. plugged fuel line, filter, float problem, crap in the fuel tank...again need more info. What has been done to the fuel system prior to purchasing this van. When did the past owners park it and when did it last run. If this van has had no upkeep for 20 years, you can't just fired it up and go cruising around, certain rules of antique vehicle repair need to be done before it can be your daily driver. How good are the breaks and when were they last serviced or checked. ALL IS FIXABLE and can be done with the knowledge here.

well I sent you my phone number yesterday,,,,,

Holy crap! Can you imagine that thing flying at you on a motorcycle??? Glad no one was hurt.

don't get too discouraged man,i like to thjink that this stuff happens to all of us sometimes .
just have to ceep a cool head and it will work out!
I remember one time I was delivering a panel van back to a friend and he wanted me to put the extra motor in the back and it had a slideing up door with a bad latch[didn't know about the latch] so when I pulled out at the mouth of the holler ,onto the main road, I hit a bump in the road and and felt the van move a little but didn't think much of it till I got to wher I was going and the motor wasn't there.went back and there it was in the middle of the road with a police man standing there scratching his head !?
It was reall funny at the time but I thought I was in deep ,cop said he was trying to figure out where the rest of the car was!   

First off find the fuel filter and replace,look at all the rubber lines for rot and brittleness.
Dumb question Does it have gas in the tank?Don't trust the gas gauge till you get to know the van.

 

Well it has been driven everyday for 15 years so I'm told. But the PO died in august and its sat since then. It has an electric fuel pump wired up but dont know if it works. I hear it running but I disconnected it and it ran fine for 4 days. So I don't know why the PO bypassed the mechanical pump.

I took the alternator off today and have been trying to figure out the not starting problem. It'll run off a jump, but then dies; which leads me to the alternator. The alternator tested bad and the voltage regulator was disconnected; no idea why, been running a weeks without it disconnected. So I'm hoping just the alternator is bad and it'll run.

But as for the roof...well I don't know. I took pics but can't post them for 7 days because of some rule here.

Ok, Not to worry on the pics. When you can, post them and then that can get sorted out. As for not starting, the more knowledgeable members will have to chime in and I'm sure they can get you back up and running.

So here's a trick, post your pics on photobucket, and then copy and paste the IMG link it provides and you can then show us the carnage. Sorry about the roof!

Also, where are you in SD?

I tried that. It won't work either, I get this message.

The following errors were found
New members are not allowed to post external links or emails for 7 days. Please contact the forum administrator for more information.

And I'm on the Navy Base on 32nd.

The entire roof flew off?? Never heard of anything like that. Holy moly!!!

Do they still have the outdoor auto bays for squids to use across the street? That was a nice facility back in the day. You could check out any tool you needed free of charge.

ThomastheTankVan wrote:I tried that. It won't work either, I get this message.

The following errors were found
New members are not allowed to post external links or emails for 7 days. Please contact the forum administrator for more information.

try imgur.com, it works for this dinosaur lol   

Sounds like stock fuel pump is weak, and PO put an electric one on to help it out. I've seen that quite a few times.

As far as the roof..... well, this is something I've kicked around but never did because I didn't want to hack up a good roof.... Convertible top! Something like a tonneau cover for a pickup that slides in rails along the sides....

Could I just replace the stock fuel pump? And I've notice the electric fuel pump has a direct line to the carb with a regulator inline. It has it's own fuel line don't know why. It ran with the pump off for 4 days. On the interstate too.

many put a elect pump on when a mechanical pump cant be found or expensive. The electric pumps are pusher pumps- must be mounted near tank!!

I would try to get a replacement stock fuel pump first. Unless you have some monster engine that needs a billion GPH or something, there's just no need for an 'auxiliary' fuel pump.

The engine may have been having issues with fuel boiling out of the float bowl when sitting on a hot day, making for a hard restart, or perhaps vapor lock- both things I have seen band-aided with electric pumps. I've also seen electric pumps used when the cam lobe for the fuel pump is worn and the fuel pump won't supply enough volume for highway speeds. I doubt this is your case since you say you've been on the freeway with it.

Just because someone was driving it for 20 years doesn't mean it's road ready. I see some real crap on the roads in Detroit, stuff that should have been scrapped years ago.

This may not be what you want to hear, but what I would do is start inspecting and rebuilding as necessary all the systems in the van, fuel, brakes, electrical. They are probably way overdue, or been half-assed together.

So here is his new "sun roof". Fully peeled... Notice he does have a Battery box lid though.

   the v.w.s came with that option for a few more bucks

I measured a friend's Vanagon a while back. I'm pretty sure you could get the westfalia top from one, and get it on there with a remod of the part that is the luggage rack. I think it would need some beefy reinforcement though...

I really don't know what to do. Because it ripped the top off the windshield too, like there is just glass on the top. So if anyone is interested in my van im selling it, just PM me. I'd rather him go to someone he could put him to proper use. MAke me an offer

So... Is the tow company going to give you some cash? Seems they are liable for damage while it was in their hands. Maybe you can get enough out of them to cver any losses, and then we can all help you find a replacement that is a little more usable.

I called AAA and they should get back to me soon.

Fixed the motor trouble. The problem was the HAND BUILT voltage regulator. Just had to wire in a new one, of course I has to pay $120 for a shop to tell me the volt reg was bad and match the proper one to my non-factory GM alternator.

What a nightmare. Now I've noticed my valve cover seems noisier than I remember. While it was out of commision I changed the valve cover gasket and spark plug boot gaskets too. Anyway that effected something? I also ripped the so called "Water Injection System" of it. It was Tee'd into the vacuum tube between the valve cover and the carb.

Any thoughts?