been working on my project again,,,,,it started as a 2 door sedan, but i don't really like the length of the top on the sedans, i like a short roofline, and a loooong ass end..so i chopped/shortened the roof to approximate coupe dimensions,,,the roof that came on the car had a HUGE hole cut in it where someone tried to make a "redneck sunroof", so that skin is basically unusable (although, i can salvage SOME areas for the car)....i've tried to find a donor roof locally, and so far have had no luck (it's the type of thing where, if you don't need one, there are plenty to be had,,,but the minute you DO need one,,no luck ) ...anyway, here's my question: i HAVE managed to find a donor roof from a '54 ford....comparing photos of a shoebox and a 54, the roofline looks pretty similar (at least close enough to work)....does anyone know if it IS actually fairly close,,a least close enough to be a donor roof? i also plan to take some of the crown out of the roof via sectioning,,,has anyone ever done anything similar or KNOW if this could work?
Back in '69-70 I put a 54 Mercury. Sunliner glass roof in a 50 shoebox, it took about 6-8 hrs. then drove it home...Looked pretty cool. But was HOT in the noon day sun.. The ladies liked the stars at night though.... Jim
I believe that the top from the '51 Victoria (shoebox) was carried over, with modifications made to the front edge to accommodate windshield changes, to the '52-54 Victoria, and even the '55 non-Crown Victoria (and corresponding Mercury models). This certainly indicates that the length and width are compatible, although obviously you'll have your work cut out for you adapting all of the different glass. I don't know whether the roofs from the various post car body styles are close to the hardtop roofs or not.
Hey 7777, I'd like to suggest you take some templets from your '53-4 or '55 roof panel, lay them up on your schewbaux, and study the lines of that flow. Since you wanna section some volume( from the roof above the drip rails?) that should tell you if your doner is gonna work for you. You're not talking 'bout using the full roof clip complete with the A,B & C posts & cant rails are you?
The 55 should work for your purposes. You are doing so much work anyway that the fact that it is not the same doesn't matter. The fact that it has a lower crown is an advantage as you say you want to lower the roof line. You should figure out just how much crown you want to the roof, and buy a roof that has a suitable contour. The 55 may be just the thing. I have seen cars from the early fifties that had newer roofs grafted on , from mid sixties models. They never looked right - the roof line was too flat and did not match the shape of the body. The 55 is lower than your car but has a similar shape. If I was doing the job I would cut the roof skin out of the 55 and lay it on top of your car. Stand back and eyeball it, move the roof forward and back until I got the right look. Then trim it down and weld it on. The best way to weld it on is to have a couple of inches of the old roof to weld it on to, which is what you have. Welding around the edge is easy and causes no warpage if you are careful. Cutting across, or welding across the roof causes all kinds of warpage and problems.
thanks everyone,,,,,,,you are correct..i do NOT want to graft the entire roof (pillars.posts, and all),,,JUST the SKIN......(see pics above)...all of the info you guys gave me will help me a LOT,,,i found a 54 ford roof for $50,,,and i can get a 55 ford roof for FREE...i had been looking for a shoebox roof , but had no luck (at least locally, anyway)....when i got the idea for the 54 or 55 skin,,which as i have already mentioned already has a lower crown,,,,,glad to know that it IS close enough to work!! thanks everyone....always could depend on the HAMB for this type of info..
Hey, Sometime back, HAMB member ''metalshapes'' did a chop on a schewbaux, and posted some photos where he sectioned the top, just above the drip rail. This cut resulted in a very clean, lowered lid, and smooth profile unlike the pie cut ones ya see so much of. Too, 'bout the era metalshapes posted that build, another HAMBer posted a chop he had someone build him that also, had the roof panel sectioned jus above the drip rail. Both of these builds were very clean, and had great flow! I've no links to either of those builds as I don't speak computer geek, but maybe a search would bring them to light? Given the small area you have to shape, between the header panel and the backlight panel on your build, you may be ahead by just forming those panels from sheet stock. The areas of the sail panels on you roof will require much shaping (both stretching & shrinking), and to find an oem shape that will work without much rework is gonna be an uphill battle!
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