model A roof inserts/fill in...steel roofs WHAT fits?

Hooligan, I see you were going to buy that mini shrink disc on another thread to use on your roof.

When my roof donor metal warped, it was because the weld seams shrunk.

When ALL the outer edges shrink like that, then the donor metal panel gets more crowned up. So, i had to shrink the entire donor panel because I could not hammer/dolly the weld line to stretch the welded seam back out. That's because all my welds were right over 1/2" tubing.

So maybe yours will come out good because your roof and panel is just a butt joint that you can stretch with hammer/dolly as you weld or after you grind the bead down.

I've used the same welder for over 30 years and I never messed up this bad before.

 

i filled the roof on a 30 coupe i had with the door off of a old philco refridgerator a few years ago. just the section that was cloth but good luck finding one in these days and times. also they have pretty good curved edges if ya need them.

 

hah yup your keepin an eye on me! i can see your realy upset about it. ill be honest. im not realy all that great with hammer welding and such, usualy if i mess up. im not affraid to cut something out and make a new area or something.

i think i get what your saying, i dont plan on welding the filler roof to any framework untill i have it welded in the car. cause i dont have any inner frame work, andi think i can do it this way.

do you mean you welded it to some frame work and when your seams changed size it kind of kinked cause it was held down in the middle?

i wanted the shirnker cause the bank panel i made isnt to straight were the new roof will meet it, i think it will look all 'ripply' but i was thinking of making relief cuts to compentsate. you can see them in my pics of when i did my chop. i dont now if im making sense

 

I could be wrong but I think all maverick roofs are the same. The skin I used was pulled by a friend and I couldn't tell you what the exact year was. It went on a '30/'31 and another friend put one on a '28/'29 that turned out just as nice. Make sure you cut it big and move it around on the car till the fit seems right. Then mark from underneath and cut. Also, tack in place then weld 1/2 to an inch at a time and stretch as you go or it will shrink on you and get weird (oil canning). I did this by tapping up from underneath with a body hammer and a wood block for a dolly, there is some skill involved and a few different ways of going about it. The front of the roof may also need support from underneath when you're done, as it has no real crown to keep its shape.

 

Not the greatest picture, but heres what the roof looks like.

 

okay, i plan on cutting the maverick at its posts so ill have the whole roof to play with.

how do i go about the shrinking? i understand welding sheet metal, im decent at it. i know how to not kink it,but i thought about using those welding 'T's, you know they clamp sheet metal together for welding,if i cut my inner ledges out of the side roof parts i can use the little t clamps, i know it will need support for the crown after its all fitted. that makes sense.

what if i just cut my ledges out(so its just nice metal to clamp to) and just get the roof fitted and tacked in, would it shrink if i just weld it up realy slow? i mean i dont care if its fully welded in a day or a month, as long as its on the car i feel i can just keep tacking, and tacking untill its welded in eventualy.




i know ill have some issues with the rear getting oil can like but i can relief cut it,since the rear has no ledge the rear roof section is a little flimsey, si i figure more t clamps and relief cuts

 

thats perfect! love the tri power by the way

 

It will shrink no matter how you go about welding it but the more heat you put into it the worse it will get. If it does get funky, it will be easier to work out later if you've removed the flanges and but jointed everything. Welding in small spurts then stretching as you go while it's still hot is the easiest way.

 

the roof from a 1984 camero works well on 30 31 ford coupes. maybe it would fit on a 29 ford coupe.

 

84 camaro? realy..wow i wouldnt even think that would be close, this is what i was asking for, tips on what you folks have used. all options are considered.

if the maverick is still there i will snag its top but if not ill look into other cars, iv looked at the other 'fill in' thread on this and realy there wasnt much info at all. everyone saying either to buy a repro or something of the sort, but some of us dont have that cash or a english wheel to use.

thanks for the tip sport fury

 

^this is a big help, man thanks for this advice. i realy apreaciate it. okay so i will cut those flanges on the roof sides out and but joint it with T clamps. so i will weld it very carefully, and i plan on tacking it first, then welding over the course of time. when you say you shrinked it when it was hot, you just hit it from the underside right after you welded it?

 

Pretty much except welding will shrink it, then you have to stretch it back out. If you were to run a hot bead all the way around, you might just see all the crown dissapear from the top eventually. When it's still hot, it just takes a light bump from underneath to draw it back out. You may even be able to see it curl on you with every short pass with the welder before you tap it out. I use the wood block as a backer to avoid dimpling the steel with the hammer, while supporting the surrounding metal on a low spot. I find it works better than a metal dolly with mig welding as it lets the bead sink into the wood, getting it pretty flat to start with. Then grind the welds down without putting too much more heat into it and finish with a metal dolly.

 

see, this seams a bit over me honestly,i have welded patch panels before and sections, but when you say it will shrink in and ill have to hit it up everytime, its a bit over me, most of my patch work ive never had to do that, in the past on a panel i would get it all fitted, then tack it far apart till it was solid, then i would tack it far apart letting it cool everytime. and i never warped anything. so i cant do that with the roof?

yeah i get the wood block, makes sense to me.

 

I do what works for me. You might do just fine with your methods as well. Its just that it's a way bigger expanse of steel than a cowl patch with more welding involved and could get a little wacky on ya.

 

oh i beleive you, i havnt done a peice that big, and you have so im all ears.

tomorow ill get the roof. i wanted to start a build thread but i work on it so few and far between folks would fall asleep!

 

All you got to do is copy and paste it on the header line of any HAMB page.

 

i tried that fifty

 

OK, then search using this title:

" 1929 Coupe Roof Filler Panel "


Merry Xmas.

 

Here's what I'm doing on my '28 Tudor sedan:

1. Measure the size of the roof's hole that you need to fill.
2. Make a template of the roof's crown (curvature) with cardboard or light plywood.
3. Go junkyard shopping to find a roof that's big enough (based on step 1) and has the right crown (based on step 2). An hour with the template and a sazall and you'll be set!

Hope this helps.

 

I used a 67 chevy 2dr hardtop roof for a 30 model a, fit perfect when cut down to size, had the perfect tumble looked great,=====miller 35

 

here is what we have use on model a:

astro van roof (big ribs) need fitting and not totaly right
vega wagon (small ribs) fits better than above
corvair 2dr or 4 dr great for a deuce little fitting for an a
mid 80's gm reagal/buick/monte carol
mid 60's big pylmouth wagon foor has way cool upside down ribs in center
mid 60's smail wagon mopar has twin recessed areas with cool reversed
ribs in it

my 2 cents

 

update** i went and grabbed the maverick roof today, it was a 1970. it fit PERFECT! just amazing,trimmed it down,sat it on top, trimmed it some more, sate it back on, my buddy took a cutting disc from inside the car while i held teh roof down on top, got it to fit, used those little welding T clamps to hold it all together tacked it on side by side, then added the factory roof brace from the maverick. looks amazing. its only tacked in, but so far it has the perfect curves and is a perfect fit. i couldnt be more happy with it. was 102$ for the roof at our picknpull. a little much for what it was but after its all together it was well worth it

 

That's great.. I'm glad it fit so well.. Now on to the next part of the build.........

 

yes! im VERY happy with the fit, i cant believe how well it went it, its not fully welded but man does it feel cool sitting inside with a roof on it. when its not so dark ill try to get a pic of how the roof skin

 

Still plan on putting up pics?

 

Great news! A friend and I cut the roof skin out of a '70s Buick wagon, trimmed to fit, perfect convex curve.

So glad you resisted the 'grooved panel' that so many 'glass body mfrs use these days...

This Maverick application will save the day for Coupes to come! Bravo!

 

I found an '86 Toyota minivan roof fits my '28 Tudor roof perfectly. And none of those pesky ribs either- so after it's welded in, I'll cover it with black long-grain vinyl and it'll look stock.

Pictures to follow shortly.

 

waiting for some pics hooligan.....i wanna see how the Mav roof fit, because I just cut out the bondo/fiberglass/aluminum POS insert out of my 31 coupe roof and need a replacement....we all want to see how your new roof looks....

outlaw

 

ithe roof of a 2 door 85-86 s-10 blazer fits perfect, same curve, and it looks right.