Sliding ragtop?

I've been thinking of replacing the current sunroof in the driver area with a small sliding ragtop, and adding a second sliding rag to the cargo area of my 64 GMC no window. It seems like a pretty straight forward Idea and I like the look of the ragtop VW bus. any one running a ragtop. I'd sure like to hear some words of wisdom before I go cutting a 55" long hole in the roof. comments? ideas?


Thanks guys

I googled the term and found there are lots of sources. Here is one:

http://www.slidingragtops.com/?gclid=CODEqKSI_aICFRNFgwodiTtVlA

Might be nice to have access to the moon and stars on a clear summer evening while relaxing in the back of your van.

I WOULD THINK YOU HAVE SOME RESUPPORTING OF THE ROOF TO DO ??? SOME THING TO WATCH

Yeah, my van currently has a HUGE hole in the roof too. It used to have a Travelwagon roof conversion which fell off...!!!! Anyway, the edge of the hole is reinforced with angle iron. It feels nice and sturdy still, but without this it would be a bit too flimsy i reckon. I am planning on fitting one of those ragtops eventually....
Sy

Ya, looking at the slider kits they have a frame that sandwiches the sheetmetal roof. to add stiffness if i could tie that into the factory roof crossbars i should be good to go.

Planning that on mine forever. Took the old aluminum/wood camper top that was on there. Saved up some money for the ragtop but I haven't ordered it yet. Researched and slidingragtops.com seems to be the best bet. On my 66 Chevy sportvan where the hole is on both ends there's a little bit of ribbed roof that will not be so ideal for installing the framing of the sliding ragtop and the unfolding and laying of the top when its open. The hole is so huge anyways that I have donor roof pieces from another 1st generation that I'm going to weld to the ribbed sections to create the flat pieces I want to lay the frame and ragtop on. A lot of fabrication on my plan. I don't have welding skills. I was going to try learning but I want it right so I just need to find a good fabricator that can weld my pieces in and install the ragtop. I'ts going to happen with me I just want to save enough money to get a fabricator to do it. I'm lucky, I don't have the dilemma of the difficult decision of cutting up my roof. I already had a hole in the roof, so I have something to play with. If you're in a good sunshining state I say why not, unless that van is so original you don't want to mess with it. Most forums that talk about the ragtops say they are pretty good when it comes to leaking, they just advise not to spray it sideways when car/van washing...water does seep in that way. Hey anybody with a ragtop on their vans post pics.







I took the camper top sheet metal to cover the hole in the meantime.