If Randy wasnt such a pussy he would intro and ask this himself! WHat have you guys found that is a good choice to fill the top on a 30-31 coupe?
I once worked in the shop of a metalcrafter and one job was filling the roof of a '32. He basically spent an hour memorizing the shape of the curvature of the roof by eye and then went to a local wrecking yard until he found a car that had a similar crown in the roof and sliced out a big section to work with. He told me it "came from a late model station wagon". That's all I can say, but it seemed to me you'd have to have a bit of experience to get away with this method.
I used a 67 falcon roof spun around backwards, fit like a glove. 66-69 the same. Vega wagon with the ribs is one I've seen too.
Vega hatchback roof, turned around backwards. I installed one in a chopped '30 coupe about 8 years ago. Worked great!
The 30 A coupe that I used to have, I put in a 72 Ford Mavrick roof skin turned around backwards and also used the 8" out of it too.
You could make a template of the front to back contour,and one of the side to side contour, and take them to a wrecking yard to find a panel that is closest to what you need. A little less curve than ideal is better than too much. Or, if you have a lot of time on your hands, you could weld in a flat piece of metal, or one with less shape than desired and shape it to fit the car using a ball peen hammer, a shot dolly, and a hammer and dolly. This along with a shrinking disc would make a perfect panel possible. Tons-o-work! John www.ghiaspecialties.com
We actually rolled a pretty nice insert Sunday night using the english wheel. Randy didnt care for it though! So he went and made a couple aluminum templates yesterday to hit the yards with. I'll keep ya posted which way we go.
Got a friend in KS that used the ribbed part of a '59 Chevy wagon. Looks pretty slick if you're into the ribbed roof thing.
There was recently a post in the classifieds about a '49 Lincoln top. That's what I used on my '32 five window. Turned around, it follows the roof line perfectly.
I cut a ribbed roof out of a van for my tudor Model A but I really dont want ribs. I cut the roof out of a big 70s Chrysler for my 35 2dr sedan. I like it.
We trimmed a Maverick top tonight. It looked better facing forwards like it came out of the car. I will pst a pic later this week when we get it installed.
I'm puttin a 59 caddy roof section in my 30 5 windo. It's got just the right amount of curve to it, and it'll match the roof of my 59 caddy then too
I cut the rear half of a 65 rambler wagon roof out. It has ribs and is just a little long. I haven't put it in yet ( this winter) but I think it will work good. overspray
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