Technical Model A Roof Question

I am building a 29 Tudor Sedan that I bought from a guy who was in the middle of his build when he gave up.

He had sheet metaled over the roof opening and had filled the channel for the leather/vinyl top.

I want to put a top on the car, so Ive dug out all of his filler on the sides and back. I have revealed the undamaged channel on three sides of the car but I cannot figure out how or where the fabric top would attach to the front of the roof, above the windshield.

I have attached pictures as it sits right now. I need to know I need to buy a replacement panel or make something. Thank you,

 

The channel that youve cleaned out on 3 sides continues on around the front and is part of the visor . your frame has been altered , must have took some one a while .

 

I don't see any remnants of a 4th channel, so I'm guessing it was cut off before he filled the roof. Is there a replacement piece that I could order and have that channel again? I've looked through Macs and Synders but don't think I have found the right one.

 

Call the man at snyders allways had good doings with them , dad used them all the time .now I do . Tell him your problem and Im sure he can fix you up , nice guy

 

Is this maybe the part?

http://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_m...mepage_Featured_Category_Body+and+Sheet+Metal

 

Post above is correct- that is the panel over the windshield that covers the front of the header.
The wooden header piece runs across the front between the cowl posts. A steel "cap" goes on the front ( above post) , and the visor gets tacked across the top. The roof ends on the tack strip of the visor.
These are pics of a coupe ( and not so great)- the set up is the same on both body styles.

 

I know there different but heres a 30 coupe , kinda give you an idea . got 2 "29"s burried ...if the suns out tomorrow maybe I can get some piks ..1 truck and 1 cowl with windshield ,, been along time since I ve been in that building should be fun

 

yep MACS has it

 

Thanks for the pics and info so far. I'd really like to see looking down into it what it's supposed to look like. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to order that panel.

 

From your last picture, it looks to me that you have the header cover and the small "brow" piece on your car already.
On a car we put together the past spring, the trimmer came up with a good idea for the leading edge of the top. He laid the top material inside out over the front and then riveted an aluminum strip across the front, added the padding, then folded the material back and pulled it tight to the rear, fastened the rear and then both sides, trimmed it and added hid-em on the three edges. It made for nice smooth leading edge on the top. Here is a picture of the top, you can maybe just see the edge above the visor and "brow".

 

Rich B, you wouldn't happen to have better pictures of that would you?

 

Couple more, maybe better shows what I was trying to describe, the foam padding is not shown.

 

That ^^^ looks great...

 

That's the easiest solution yet. I like it and I like that it would save alot of cutting and rewelding. Thanks Rich B

 

You don't need to cut that top out. Simply cover like Rich B did. In a '28 I did, I actually put a steel skin down before covering it. It gave a much nicer shape than trying to cover the original chicken wire.

 

I don't want to cut it. That would be a ton of unnecessary work. Did you lay any foam over your sheet metal? I think I would have to in order to smith out the transition from the aluminum strip to the roof skin under the vinyl.

 

From an upholstery standpoint, the way RichB did it is superior. A folded blind tacked edge is stronger than the the piece laid flat and tacked from the top.
Something you want on a leading edge in the wind.

Be sure it is nicely stretched side to side on the leading edge when is tacked down. You'll have no adjustment afterward.

 

Rich B did it right ! Great job!

 

The leading edge deal was our buddy the trimmer's idea. This worked really well and sure is a good option for the forward edge of a Model A soft top.There was foam glued down over the roof membrane, I would do the same over your steel roof.

 

Out of curiosity what kind of foam does a guy use for that?

 

Looks like headliner foam to me.

 

The sedan above looks great to me. I like that better than the way Henry did it. Looks like that piece that covers the front of the header has been welded to the top insert. You will at least have to put some holes in it to be able to tack the front. Here is a pic of my '29 coupe. Sorry its not the best shot. The first is with the header cover piece and the second shows it before I installed it. After it gets tacked on there is a trim piece that covers the edge and tacks. Some people use hide em instead of the painted trim piece. Hope this helps.

 

Pretty much what we did. We rolled 1" tube for the roof ribs and added a strip of metal to transition between the edge of the original "brow" piece and the first tube.