I've been searching and reading for weeks reviewing the posts on how roof filling. Most seen to be for Model A which has a very different roof and 32-34 which is also somewhat different/ flatter. I want to wheel one from flat sheet. I expect to do it several times to get it right but and looking to tips/techniques,instruction from those who have done/do it. In many post guys have stated they took roof sections from older cars. I'm in NYC where there is very little access to old iron. The main reason is that I want to learn to do it myself and develop/improve my skills set. Guys here on the HAMB have some of the best skills out there. FYI my car is chopped 3" w/suicide doors. This is the way I bought it. I'm shooting for a late 50's style custom build in appearance. Thanks Leon
My 35 was done a long time ago, 50’s maybe. They used another car roof section and it was leaded in. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The profile of the one you have looks good as is. I'll be interested to see what you do with it. Nice start.
Mine was done with a spare 40 Mercury roof section. Although not something that’s just laying around usually.
I have been looking the roof section of 94-04 mustang as a possible donor, they appear have compound curvature and they are plentiful.....
I'm going to order a few sheets of 19ga steel and go at it with my English wheel. Maybe I can get it right in less than 7 tries. There are no junkyards in NYC to score a roof. Only dismantling centers. Besides I enjoy making everything that I can. It's building it myself that give me the greatest satisfaction.
You do seem from the pics to have a "doublehump". I recently took a sheetmetal class and did some door panels. We did a shrink around the edge(panel bigger than you will ultimately use) and that "locked" the wheeling done inboard from going out. Seemed to work well and is in the same spirit of what you want with your roof. I am sure their are others on here with far more experience than I that may disagree.
You will need a partner with a panel that size. What type of wheels do you have? True radius or flats? The panel you plan to make has a bunch of shape and will test your skills and patience, but it is a great project to learn on. I wouldn't rule out finding a panel.
When I built my 36 3W I filled the roof using a roof from 65 mustang fastback.... it fit perfectly Sent from my SM-G965U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Measure your piece and mark reference points all around the perimeter with a magic marker. use a chalk line and snap lines as your work progresses .It saves a lot of guessing.
I'm a little late to the party but I get what you want to do as well as understand why. Who want's a Mess covered up with Body Man in a Can? Yes it can be done in one piece of new Tin and metal finished off. You ask 5 different guys that can actually do it and you'll generally get 5 different methods. End result is generally the same. That said yes I agree you have a Mess, I'd want to re do it also. Myself, I make templates of the arch I want from front to back and side to side. To do that I use maybe 20 gauge and bend up 1" 90 degree pieces longer than the part I'm going to make then stretch to get arc I want in a grid so I can follow my part. On your Coupe I would cut the wood flange totally out so I'm working with just the roof I'm going to weld the new part to. It would look something like this. We'll get back to this sedan in a bit. I didn't photo doc this project very well. What I can show in in a bit smaller job is a door skin repair. This door had pin holes and some filler in it. After metal working the damage back into shape I made my templates, They follow the black lines. These are a little out of sequence but you will get the idea. The verticals are in place and the horozontal just above the work aria. I actually Cleko them in place on Virgin metal as well as the new part. Keeps you from moving the new part around while fitting it in. When making your new panel make it much larger than the actual part your going to end up installing. Here is the repair part after rough trimming to size. Notice crown going both ways. This takes time and using the gauges keeps panel progress going forward instead of those Aw Crap moves. Here's the finished job. You can't see the repair on the outside or the inside and to do that you must have access to both sides. Once the Skin is totally done then you can put the Door bottom back on. So in getting back to the Sedan. The reason to remove the wood lip in your Top is so you can get this kind of results. You can NOT do metal finish work on a seam that is 2 panels thick period. Hope this helps ya some.
The top is already botched. I cant leave it like that for one. Secondly I very much like the smooth rounded roof. Thirdly it'll be so much more difficult to remove the filler panel and metal work the roof smooth. The least of the issues is it will always be a Henry especially since I'm running a Ford drive train.
Thanks Wizzard. .This roof filler will probably be saved for last. In between repairs I'm going to break out the TIG welder and get a couple miles of practice in.
Any questions feel free to ask, I wouldn't want ya to have to "Do it Over" for a 3rd time. I've learned with these Early Fords when doing welding on the body metal to use .035 wire out of my Mig machine to Tig weld with. My welds stay much flatter than using anything else. Weird eh? Also don't do square corners with the new panel. That causes a Pucker and Draw point.