Steel roof insert in a Model A Coupe....????

Help me work this out all you technical guys............ I want to fill the roof of my 30 A coupe with a steel insert. OK, there are plenty of cars that offer a good roof section, and Waldens seems to have the best reputation for a new one - but! The wood needs to be removed in order to do the welding and metal finishing, but since the wood bows & side rails go in from the top - which came first, the chicken or the egg? It's obvious that I am not seeing this in a much simpler term, but someone out there must have a workable answer to this wierd question? Thanks in advance, Steve Hackel

 

after u take out the wood, leave it out

 

Take wood out, do metal work. Its your choice to replace the wood or not. Personally, I would put it back in like stock, and then fill the roof. From the inside, it will look like its supposed to. Plus, its there for a reason...support. Looks much better than a bunch of square tubing stuck together.

 

im thinking about cutting off the bead section of the top to leave a little flange to set a bobby walden insert covered and bolted in.

 

I agree with MR FORD... put the wood back. It looks much better than steel. It just belongs in a coupe.

 

Hi i installed a steel roof in my tudor i left the wood in and spot welded every 12 in and cooed the wood with a spray bottle of water after welding was done filed gaps with spray foam from lowe's to take up any voids

 

I know on my '28-'29 there's a wooden bow that runs to a metal bracket on either side and mounts to the wood over the doors. It is right at the back of the doors and really stiffens it up alot. Also if you do the Walden insert, it seems like it's done with a butt-joint to the car's roof and the lip that the roof insert wood sits on would be gone.

 

First of all, the wood does not come out from the top.
I used the Walden panel on my coupe and although it was close I had to test fit and trim several times to get it the way I thought it should be.
Mr. Ford is right, it needs to be there for support and looks better than steel pipe or tubing. As Coopsdaddy said, cut the bead section off cause it will hinder your ability to get it to set in properly. You will be able to reinstall ALL of the wood with a little thought and effort.
Go here and see for yourself post # 930
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=400502&highlight=roof+insert&page=47

 

There are other options. We used automotive panel adhesive to put the one in our coupe. Here is a thread with another HAMBer asking the same basic question. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=390830

Here is the build thread on our coupe: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=348159

 

These guys are the people that know there shit. Just look at there rides!!

 

I took another approach: I used an aluminum insert that bolts in, and I had it covered so it looks much like an original soft top. Luckily for me, my original wood was still in good shape, so I left it in place. I sanded and varnished the original top bows so they'd look better. If your wood is shot, you'd need to replace it with an available top wood kit to do it this way. Check out the pictures to see how it's mounted.

In the first picture, you'll see a 1" hole bored in the wood, just ahead of the top bow. I bored 4 of these holes. My top insert is made of aluminum, rolled on an English wheel to get the compound contour, but there's no reason you couldn't use a steel roof cut out of a wrecking yard car, like a Ford Maverick. The bolt in bungs are made of 3/4" aluminum round stock drilled and tapped to take a 1/4" button head allen bolt with a fender washer. the bungs are welded to the bottom of the top insert in the appropriate places. At the front and rear of the top insert, there's an aluminum angle welded to allow the insert to be bolted to the wood at the front and back of the top opening (I installed nutserts in the wood).

After the metal top was fitted snugly, I had an upholstery shop cover the top insert with a canvas material. The material is actually left over military canvas I bought from a shop that had used it to upholster the seats in a B-25 bomber. The metal bead that bolts between the quarters and the middle of the top did need to be ground back and the seam welded so the new top insert would lay flat.

That's it...this way, you can easily remove the top insert if you want, or if it becomes necessary in the future to do any repair work.

 

Craig,you didnt cut off the raised bead that goes around top opening,iwas looking at mine and it seems i need to do that to get it to set down flush,also what did you do up front with the visor

 

Craig Owens--Very nice! The only reason I haven't ever filled mine, is because its so sweet having it open most of the time. But, its nice to have the option of closed. Your idea sure beats vinyl and snaps.....

 

VERY NICLEY DONE! i like this alot and it will help my idea work that i have thanks craig

 

Here're a few more pictures that might help show how my top insert is held in place. Also, my "insert" actually overlaps the opening by about 1/2" instead of sitting in the opening. It's much easier to do this way, and it forms a better seal. Coopsdaddy mentioned cutting off the bead that goes around the opening, but I saw no need to do this. The bead is slightly lower than the roof sheet metal, and by overlapping the opening, everything is covered with no gaps showing.
Craig

 

Nice work Craig. I saw your car at Stoke's ranch at the Cars 4 a Cure show.

 

Thanks for the pics Craig ,Do you have any close ups of it covered and installed? Thanks again for pics nice job.

 

Thanks for the comments...here are a few pictures that sort of show the top and overall. I don't have any real close-ups of it...I'll have to get some. I was able to buy the rest of the roll of that military canvas I used for the top, and I had the Dodge Caravan seat done with that, in a similar pattern, so it matches.

There are more pictures of the build in some albums on my profile.
Craig

 

Put a roof fill in a 31 from a 64-65 Mustang. Fit unbelievable perfect!!!!!