Project P.o.s. Part 2

[70bird]

Thanks to all that responded to my 1st questions. You guys have been a great help in deciding how far to go on these repairs. Much appreciated!

Ok, I found a roof today at my local ecology self serve wrecking off a slightly newer 2nd gen. It’s in really good shape, inside and out for $120.00 + $100.00 for a guy to remove it. Sweet, that parts taken care of. I had him cut way below the A-pillars, actually taking a chunk of the dash with it as well as much of the upper sail/ ¼ panel.
Now, I’m wondering how much of it I will actually need to use.
Worse case, I will replace the entire roof with bracing and all, but really my roof skin is what is rusty. so I’m thinking I will cut out my existing skin so I can get a better look at the braces for rust etc; and will have access to previously hidden areas for blasting.
So, here’s my question: Should I plan to remove the entire skin at all the factory spot welds etc? Or can I just slice it and leave a “margin” all the way around, leaving window channel and door channels intact? If so, should I cut it at the edges of the channels on the 90deg. bends, or should I leave more of a margin than that. Would welding be easier at the edges, or on the flat areas?
I really don’t want to replace the entire roof section if I don’t need to as I am told that temporary bracing would be required so the car doesn’t twist out of shape. I do have welded in sub frame connectors and a 4 point roll bar mounted to rear floor and wheel wells, so I wonder if that would be enough or if I would need to brace it.

Here’s a link to my previous post for pics:

https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=38697



Thanks for looking, Mark

[70bird]

Well, I had today to get something done to my junk, so I decided to just go for it. I'm in it for real now!

I left a good margin to weld to, but I don't know, maybe this thing just needs the whole top as rust is everywhere. It's all surface rust and is now accessible for blasting except the insides of the A-pillars. Here there is surface rust on the insides, as far down as I can see with a flashlight. I suppose these areas could be chemically treated.

Here's a few pics:





This shot is from the rear and shows A-pillar at the left


Any suggestions to save the roof are welcome, Mark

[shep]

I would wire brush what I could get at and use rust a converter or encapsulater on it. For inside the a A pillar you could put a rag on a wire dip it in the encapsulater and run it through.

[mikey]

I would media blast or sand it the best I could or $$$ allow then rust mort etch prime and epoxy prime. 3M makes a nice wheel called strip and clean for die grinders the only problem is it's only 1/2 wide. It stripps away rust and paint with minimal thinning of metal works great for small areas. You might try that along with a wire wheel.

[bart007]

Wow, if the lkq part is in good condition, I would have cut the roof in the middle of the a-pillars and in the middle of the sail panels toward the smaller end. Then replaced the whole roof assy as a unit, not quite as much finish work would be needed w/this approach.

[mikey]

Wow, if the lkq part is in good condition, I would have cut the roof in the middle of the a-pillars and in the middle of the sail panels toward the smaller end. Then replaced the whole roof assy as a unit, not quite as much finish work would be needed w/this approach.

True but it means more work splicing in the pillars and potential fit problems if not done correctly. Skinning it would be alot faster and easier for a newbie to get it right.

[70bird]

True but it means more work splicing in the pillars and potential fit problems if not done correctly. Skinning it would be alot faster and easier for a newbie to get it right.

OK, I agree with just re-skinning. This brings up a new set of newbie Q's. (sorry)

How to get the skin off the roof I just bought without killing it? I am not concerned with the spot welded sections, but with the drip molding area that is wrapped around the roof frame. (much like a door skin) Also, the adhesive that is used between the skin and frame was real tough to get separated when I took my old skin off. I ended up using a long pry bar to get it off, and bent it quite a bit in the process. I obviously don't want to use this technique with the new one. So, how to do it?

How far down the A- pillars should I replace?

Thanks for your time, Mark