Need advices (pics ) on how to decrown a roof

My wagon is screaming for a decrowning, the ambulance look make it so ugly i can't live with that !!! But i've got not a very good idea on how to do that ! i ve seen plenty of top chop tutorials, but can't find any on decrowning ! may be i use the wrong term ? what i mean is a "sectioning" above the drip rails...

Pics would be very helpfull as i suck in technical english

Thanks for your help guys

 

i'm still needing some help

 

What year and model vehicle are you talking about?

 

There was a dude on here who did it to a mid 50's (1955 I think) Ford F-100. I can't find the thread, you might have to search for it. Might be helpful if you can find it.

 

Wow, I have a wierd memory, I knew Metalshapes did one, but I didn't remember it being in 2005

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64513

 

Do a search on pancake roof and you will find some old posts (most of them have someone commenting that pancake is the wrong term but it will still find you the results).

Here's a couple ...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=570377&highlight=pancake+roof

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=291312&highlight=pancake+roof

 

Posies did roof skin transplant on a '55 Ford Wagon, they used the roof from an Edsel.

 

Hey Zed,

There have been a few posts 'bout sectioning hood and deck lid panels, and most of what would apply to those would apply to a roof. The one metalshapes did was photoed and explained well! Also, flop did the deck lid on a tin indian that showed some section work.

To section a roof panel well, will require good planning, layout, cutting/slicing and above all, great welding skills. Roof panels are generally now crowned, especially after sectioning, and will warp badly if not tacked and welded correctly

" Meanwhyle, back aboard The Tainted Pork "

 

i suppose that you could take the crown out by taking out an "X", corner to corner, and welding the seams back together.... but...
you're talking about seam welding probably 200 inches of sheetmetal and trying not to warp it beyond recognition.... as well as, simply trying to come up with a measurement of how much metal to take out in the "X"....
or, you could cut the entire roof section off, piecut the edges and mash it down, cut off the excess and weld it back on... another 200 inches of welding....
now; if it were my wagon; i'd take a third approach. let PAINT disguise the height and crown; Watson style scallops and panel jobs, contrasting flake, anything to break up the top hat look. there's no 90 minute fix to this problem.... 90 hours, maybe.

 

some old french POS : Peugeot 403 wagon .. i doubt it helps

(not a picture of my car)



but i have a good excuse : i'm french !

 

Thanks a lot ! that's why i didn't find anything usable with the "decrowning" term

 

thanks , i will read that well documented topic

 

very smart trick, but i don't believe i can find that kind of donor for my project

 

Yes, i plan on using basically the same technic as for a " regular" sectioning , but as you note, an even more on a wagon, it's a fuckin huge panel i have to work with

I don't call me a pro, but i'm not a beginner as i've already turned a 403 peugeot sedan into a coupe by lengthening the doors, and just chopped my wagon ( 8 pillars !lol! )

 

i can reassure you , I don't believe it will be a simple and/or fast task ! but as you can see on the pics , that wagon as a huge ambulance look ! no paint cheating would really work ... not for may eyes at least ! ...and i love to cut and weld !

Thanks for you help guys

 

the work will go fast if you decrown it. make sure the welds are in a high crown area and you will be golden.

 

good point ! thanks my friend

 

You might contact HAMB'er Sonny Day Out (Sonny Daout). He is one of the best, and has done this on his long time project Merc.

 

That 403 wagon is a great base for a crazy custom. Im a fan! many nice european cars that are completley snobbed by europeans......so sad.

Anyway, in the last episode of Monster Garage, Winfield did just that to the roof of a 54 Ford wagon, and with the help of Starbird!!
I dont remember the episode all that well, but im sure it can be of some help lookin at Winfield doin his thing.
Being the car pre 64 why dont you start a thread? I'd love to see it.

 

FAIRLY SIMPLE IF DONE CORRECTLY......
HERE ARE MY RECOMMENDATIONS.....
NO CUTS UP ON TOP OF ROOF SKIN!!!!

mark your cuts completely around your roof approximately 1" above the drip rails on both sides...probably 2" could be removed if lucky here

Thenthe rear and front cuts will be about in the center of their "crown" or curvature....
then most important cuts will be relief cuts in all four corners to allow you to pull it down where the metal meets the metal and no filler metal needed except a slight amount in each corner......

I did this on a 57 chev Suburban so this is an easier task due to size....
As to how to pull it down to meet the new seams?

Get a friend to help you and use 4 ratchet straps across the roof evenly spaced....pla ce a 2x4 longways under these straps on each side of your roof's length to prevent uneven pressure in the contact point of the straps.....

 

Time to start a build thread on here Zed!!

 

thanks a lot my friend , i will do it

the name is familiar ...a nice blue mopar, something like that ? i think i remember some quad headlites ...

 

Thanks a lot Bonez May be it's because it's simpler to copy that being inventive ... if it's to have more american cars modified into nice kustoms that's cool, but it's the same chopped shoebox over and over

For the Monster garage, i've maid a research on google, but can't find a way to see that episode online

And as for the thread...well, i've never thought about that i know foreign cars can look odd . when i'm looking at english or aussie cars , i think they're looking strangely designed because i'm not familiar with those, and i'm sure it's the same for french car for those guys !! I guess we're more familiar with american cars , or may be they're just better designed ...well to make it short i was sure it couln't interrest anybody... but if it can interest at least one person

 

Thanks Choprods

do you really means it only need relief cut at the corner i was prepared to make them everywhere

the straps were something i didn't even thought about very smart ! thanks

do you habe pics of that decrowning you did ?

 

so you're two ??? lol!

ok, i will start a thread ... i hope people will not barf when they will open it !lol!

 

Yes, thats pretty much what I meant.........You can get it done with that method....
sorry it was my truck and I took no pics of the mods.....

 

I chopped it, pancaked it a bit and sectioned the hell out of it.

Took me about twenty minutes. I'm guessing yer gonna have a bit more time in it than that.

 

Hey Zed,

Hell yeah I wanna see the former 4dr. 403 made into a 2dr. And, jus 'bout anything one could do to a schewbaux or '49-'51 Merc has been done, and is well played out

The designs of french, british & oz vehicles from the 40's -60's often contained design elements from Detroit U.S.A. i.e. fins, dog leg door posts, wrap around windshields/screens & the use of lots of chrome This was no accident, as sometimes designers from Ford, GM & Chrysler Corp. would get shipped out to forgien branches of those builders.

Ain't no reason those Vedettes, Simcas, Vauxalls , Renaults & yeah, Peugeots wouldn't make great kustoms I'd love to get my hands on a Peugeot 202,302, or 203 and build a Ayala/Barris or Zephyr like kustom

'' Humpty Dumpty was pushed "

 

^^ Yep!
The main reason for many british and aussie cars lookin odd is the use of pastel colors, color coded bumpers, alloy wheels, or simply not enuff effort....
The well done ones look plain cool. its just a tad harder to do.
Whats his name here on the hamb? the guy w/ the copper carson topped austin? that one is absolutley perfect?
Or the french dude w/ the convert custom Vedette...see what i mean? It can be done, it just take more work and more patience.

 

Try Youtube for Monster garage, look for last episode 54ford. im sure you'll be able to watchi it there, maybe in 4 or 5 parts but still.