best top to use for sedan

i need to know your best ideas for a top to fit my friends 31 A two door sedan he dosent want ribs so a van top is out

thanks

52plybiz

 

67- 72 Chevy suburban or panel truck have worked for me.
Clark

 

Hey,

hava look at the 70s & 80s big Mopar and FoMoCo wagons, without
the roof rack. I think mostta the GMs of that era had ribbs.

 

Try a full size, rear drive 80's Cadillac, turned backwards

 

I've got one off a 1956 Buick that I'm saving, just looks right to me. It's keeping my A chassis snowfree out back now.

 

I believe volvo wagons have smooth roofs.

 

i have a volvo on my 28......it has some curve ....but could use a little more ...but once its covered with canvas or ???? it will look right at home....brandon

 

make a couple contour gauges from wood the curve of the roof both ways.

take it to the junk yard & start setting it on roofs.
you dont want it humped up to high & you dont want it to flat.

-------- youd think since its 2005 someone would surely know exactly what roof fills a 75 year old model A perfect & someone somewhere maybe does.
we went through this on a deuce sedan.
asked around & got 20 different answers so it ended up being EZ my brother made a gauge & went searching he found a perfect donor that was right on. a 56 DeSoto wagon. ---- cut up a nice one too. infact someone bought the rest of the wagon & is searchin for a roof

 

That is a great idea 2-Toned mentioned with the contour gauges. You could make them from rigid foam sheets and use a sureform tool or rasp to fine tune the shape.

 

the problem with a model a ...(or at least a 28 29 ) is the length .....a buddy has a yard ....(probably over a 1000 cars) .....most long roof cars either have ribs....or aren't long enough .....lincoln continentials or old caddys are in the range for a deuce sedan ......as for cuttin up old rods for top skins.......man , you go to hell for stuff like that......haha brandon

 

My buddy Ed took sheet metal and formed a roof section for his 29 2 door, but it's the same drill with a 30/31..

He Bolted it in, and then covered it with the original roof cobra grain roof fabric.


He got the best of both worlds--a steel roof and the original look of the fabric roof. Chopped it 2 1/2".

No leaks either.

Kind of hard to beat the look of a fabric roof when you're building an old school hot rod.

Mark aka Abonecoupe31

 

I found on my 28 Ford sedan that a roof from a 78 Volare Wagon works perfectly with the curves if put in backwards to what it came out of. They have chrome ribs but undernieth them its smooth as can be so only some small sheetmetal screw holes to weld up ad its good. It really fits awesome, and its easy to find volare or aspen wagons out there.

Actually thanks to CHOPRODS on here as he told me to try this roof as well and it worked great.

 

thanks guys thats a lot of good info and ideas i never would have thought of a contour gauge

thanks 52plybiz

 

I used a 64 Ford wagon roof skin from a junkyard and put it on backwards. Fit like it was meant to be.