Technical 55 Chevy H/T roof

I am going to be doing a roof repair on a 55 Chevy Hardtop. At this point I am not positive which way I'm going to go about it. At first I was going to replace the entire roof cutting A pillars and sail pillar area. The right side drip rail is damaged bad. I'm not positive about the roof brace on the right side yet. I am seeing replacement roof panels on evilbay for about $700.00. (Golden Star) brand. Does anyone have any hands on experience with these aftermarket skins? I think I know where I can get a used drip rail.

 

.. not the answer that you seek, but call L&L. South of you, by 8 hours .. but may have what you need. Huge, old tin yard.

Old metal is better than Chinese metal. Read that in a fortune cookie .. me thinks.

Pontiac or Olds, same year work ?

@belair @Old wolf

P.S. --> Post pictures.

EDIT : (DAMN, DAMN, DAMN !!! ) Forgot the link .. but how cool are the answers after this ?? >>>

Ha !! The tri-5 guys are dope AF here !! As if !!

Anyhoo : http://m.llclassicauto.com/?url=http://www.llclassicauto.com/#3091

Dunno' if this one is open >> https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/blogs/salvage-yard-ron/bs-auto-wrecking-gives-oregon-wants-trucks

 

55-57 Chevy and Pontiac hardtops are the same if looking for old metal to cut up.

 

Yes there is a joint at each corner, its near the base of windshield posts and then near the top of rear window opening. It would basically mean though you would need to cut the entire top off with all the posts.

 

As was said, a Pontiac will fit the Chevy.

 

Thank you for the info. L&L was one of the first ones I tried. $1,000.00. I was hoping for a little less then that. And I do agree about the Chinese metal. Especially on a roof. That could be a nightmare. I still have about a month before I will need the roof so hopefully something will turn up by then. And will keep L&L in mind if not.

 

Got my crushed 55 home and also picked up a 55 Pontiac for a doner roof. My question is going to be has any of you restorers had any hands on replacing one of these tops? The rear window area is pretty much a no brainier. Looks like drill the spot welds at the package tray area. It's the front upper A pillar area I am looking for the easiest graft. I see Real Deal Steel sells the complete roof with out any A pillar but you can buy the windshield A pillar area separate. I do see about 6 spot welds on each side near the sun visor area and I think there is a leaded seam on the outer upper near drip rail. I assume there are other spot welds in this area as well. So my question is some advise on weather to do the graft at the drip rail area or near the dash area? The area near the dash does look a little tight. I do have hands on experience chopping tops and painting cars but have always did my cuts in windshield pillar area. This Chevy being no chop I'm just looking for the easiest solution from the experienced doing shoe box Chevies.

 

Nice 55. Tree fall on it?

I'd strip down the Chevy's stainless, glass, etc. then go to work pulling the skin. Learn as you go. Make your discoveries and mistakes and dick up the old skin. Then when it comes time to pull the Poncho skin, you'll know what steps to make.

As popular as Tri-fives are, I'd imagine you can find a tutorial of a roof skin swap somewhere online.

 

I am kinda thinking that way also. It sure would make it easier if it was just a skin replacement but I'm sure the roof frame is bent also. I think the hardest part is figuring out where all the spot welds are. Although the upper A pillar to door gap looks decent. I have tried looking all over the internet to find u tube or anything on this operation and no luck. I agree as many tri 5's are out there there has to be something.

 

I'm seeing a bit of miscommunication here. Some are advocating a whole roof (inner and outer,plus posts). it seems the O/P is looking at a skin and related parts. Here's how we did a 62 4dr H.T.:

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/that-far-and-no-chop-62-impala.956403/#post-10760001

For what I recall of a 55 H.T. it might be even easier. I'm just tossing it out there to consider. Small pillars, easy inside reinforcements, a lot "covered" with OEM stainless...

 

I also am figuring on inner and outer roof replacement as I figuring framework is probably bent also. I am also considering as suggested earlier to trim off the roof sheet metal to expose obstacles and spot welds. I also was initially considering cutting windshield pillars somewhere in center as theHIGHLANDER did. I'm looking for all constructive feed back from the folks that have been down this road before. And all advise is appreciated. As for the question about the damage we had bad snow here in 2007-08 and a building collapsed on the car. The car was last licensed in 74 and the previous owner died in about 2003 so I guess you can say it is a barn find.

 

@MP&C has a thread on a 1955 wagon that has some pictures missing. Page 4 has some roof dissection.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/55-210-wagon-progress.788490/page-4#post-9468941

Seems like I remember a roof replacement on here for a tri-5. Actually, I know someone did one. Maybe @Squablow ?

Anyone remember the 1960 roof put onto a 1957 Chrevrolet thread ?

The TriFive forum has a post regarding 1955 4 door top replacement but you'll have to join to see it.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/#/topics/217460

 

It might be worth the time to push out the old top and see if you can get everything lined up. Then evaluate what the best option is from there.

 

As my body men buddies do, push the top, glass openings back in place, this will put the posts etc back to normal. Then do your roof replacement.

 

I would square it up as much as possible, and cut it off at the A and C pillars. Make an insert about 4 inches long for both the front and rear. You will need some reference measurements so you have the window heights correct. When you weld it back together, plug weld the inserts, as well as the seam. We do this all the time in late model collision repair, and it has been the accepted, recommended, standard practice for well over 35 years. You can go to all of the trouble to drill spot welds and replace components, but this sectioning method is much, much faster. With all of the stainless those cars have, you wont need to do much finish work either.

 

Thanks s55mercury66. ...That was my first thought in the beginning. That method is what I use in doing quarter panels myself. I just happened to see roof skins and roof frames and got me thinking of other options that may be a little easier..I do know that locating and drilling spot welds is a real pain. In the past I have used the Blair tool or a spot weld drill bit.

 

I started work @ the ATL Lakewood Fisher Body plant in '58 on the '59 Chevy, so I can't say for sure on a '55, but on the '59 and on up as long as I was there a "seam welder" was used all the way down the trough of the drip rail on both sides for a continuous weld to the side frame piece that would be a nightmare to clean out that trough from the old roof being welded in and no way in hell could you separate the roof skin off the donor car without damaging it.
Tried to call an old friend that actually was working there when the tri 5s were being made but got no answer. Figured he would probably remember if the seam welder was used then.
Another friend who is a hotrodder and a good body man plus a fellow member of the Sock Fuckers Car Club and who owns a '55 Chevy just agreed with me over the phone that the best way is cutting the posts.

 

I would do the whole roof. Back in my younger days I would have just picked a spot where it was the thinnest and cut the pillars after a couple of measurements. Today I would drill out spot welds after the same measurements. As you drill out spot welds you will probably notice holes or notches in the parts that are supposed to line up before you weld. The factory does not spend tome measuring, they use those marks for close enough.

 

Oh yes I do agree there is no way to remove the skin on the doner with out destroying the flange that goes in the drip rail and around the upper wind shield back glass area. as from what I can see it is spot welded.

 

I forgot to say that the cuts at the posts should staggered also, so the weld seam is not all in the same plane. What you want to end up with is an insert length that covers a minimum of 2 inches on either side of the cut. These techniques will actually result in a structure that is stronger than it originally was, as long as the welds are good. The recommended hole size for the plug welds is 5/16", which a lot of people will say is overkill, with the factory spot welds being 1/4" or a little less, but the process is somewhat over-engineered, for safety reasons. Do be aware that a lot of tops get chopped without the inserts, and there are collision pics out there showing breaks in some of those.

 

You're on the right track. Not knowing the level of damage as you do I can only offer our gig to swap a rusty roof. Still, if as suggested you can push in the 'X' and 'Y' direction to get it where it needs to be then brace it like we did you're more than 1/2 way home. Well, that's assuming you have a decent donor roof ready to go. The other thing is you can make some glass gauges to establish your hgt in the front and back. 3 places will be good since the glass gaskets in like ours did. Oh yeah, this just in from the FWIW dept, we did a 64 Ford station wagon about 3-4 yrs prior to that H.T. gig. That was a lotta pillars...! Same deal, TX car with a rusty roof and clean body.

 

I replaced the roof skin on a 57 Shorty wagon that had been brazed together and had about 2 knuckles worth of bondo to fill in the warps. I went to Double Nickel in Athens, Ga and cut roof off a full size wagon . I cut the skin off at the drip rail and welded and tapered it to fit the shorter roof. It's a lot of work but I had never done one before. Take your time and you will be fine.

 

The friend I mentioned as working in the Fisher Body ATL's body construction dept. called me back last night and turns out he actually spent most of the time the tri 5s were being built putting the roof in place on the framework below it!
Hr verified that the top was seam welded into place on both sides all the way from front to back of drip rail.
He is now in his 90s, but was a hotrodder for a lot of years, even had a '34 3wdw Ford coupe featured in HRM in the mid 60s that I helped a bit on construction.
He and I are in agreement that with your past experience with top chopping, etc, a cut at the best point in the posts is the best way to go. Removing the donor top at that welded seam would be difficult to do without damaging it.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress, please.

 

Will do..At this point I am probably going to cut somewhere in the wind shield pillar area. There is the inner pillar and the outer pillar and they are spot welded together. And as mentioned earlier I was thinking of staggering my cut by 2 plus inches on those 2 pieces then plug welding the flanges again. That way there will be uncut inner overlapping uncut outer & vise versa. I may even plug weld a inside backing behind the welds if possible. As soon as this white crap goes away I will be re positioning some cars so I can get started. 5 miles down the road there's not a trace of snow and I have about a foot and it's like a skating rink out there.

 

Missing pics should be fixed, if you still see the red X's you may have to clear history/cookies.

 

I would definitely make an insert for all four corners, or a backing, as you put it. It will nearly double the strength of the post. After seeing a few post-accident pics without the inserts, I would never consider doing this without the inserts. You can use scraps from the old posts, and make them fit pretty well, and when you weld the joint, you can weld to the insert also.