Hi all,

I thought I'd put out there that I spent the day today removing the windows
from my '87 Westy in preparation for getting the van painted. I'm feeling
pretty good about this, but thought you all could benefit from my
experience.

If you're going to do this, you want to find somebody that's a window
"mechanic" and not just somebody who replaces broken windshields as a
result of insurance claims. My mechanic told me that, since I was going to
replace all the window seals, I could remove the windows myself, AFTER
ensuring that I could get all the replacement seals, in my case, from Bus
Depot, by cutting the existing rubber and pulling the windows.

This process went very well, with the exception of the windshield. The
windshield seems to be made of different material and is highly susceptible
to breakage. This was my experience as well. Fortunately, I had planned on
getting the windshield replaced anyway, as it had been cracked by a rock
thrown up on the highway.

All of the other windows came out easily after I pulled the "chrome" strips
and cut the rubber seals.

Now I just need to remove the canvas and remove the poptop and have the van
shipped off to the painter. There are some rusty areas under the seals that
were leaking and I'll have the body shop fix those prior to painting.

For what it's worth, I'm having the color of my van changed, from the
original bronze color to a beautiful blue, comparable to the Jetta blue. I
am not having the engine compartment painted the new color, however.

Feel free to ask me about the details. I am so excited about this process
and am looking forward to having all the rust removed and new paint on my
van!

Marc, in Va.