I am sure some of you have put new roof vinyl on one of these. How hard is it? Where should I get the stuff, what all do I need, etc.....?
It's not that hard but does take some time. We have a local upholstery supply house in town, you probably do also. They will have a selection to choose from. I build a frame work out of 2X4 that will drop over the roof with the fabric stapled to it. I work from a center line and like a warm day out in the sun. Helps keep things tight at the nail strip. The weight of the frame work will stretch the material just enough and start nailing from the center out on the ends and let it drop over the sides as you go. Trim it up and put the hidum back on. It's a little more than that but not so much that a Home Builder can't do it just fine. The Wizzard
Really?? If you try to hand stretch it as you tack it in place you will have wrinkles at every point you pull from. A uniform stretch won't let that happen. The Wizzard
The fabric/material will lift, when you drive at 40+ mph. There are methods to keep the matl tight and flat, like the old button and tuft technique. Read up and ask here, as you'll be glad to solve this before it becomes a problem. Folks use everything from chicken wire, to 1/4 in. hardware cloth-wire for the base then a drying loft-height of gauze-like sheet, and vinyl above that. Tacks, hidem welt made of the same matl, etc.
by filling some of those holes along the front you are not going to have anything to tack to for a few inches...not sure how that will work i did the top on my `28 tudor myself by just stretching it in the hot sun , still looks fine 17 years later
you can do it if you're handy and think it thru. chicken wire was under mine, hardware cloth is better though,1/4" should be fine. they used to use horse hair for the padding, but now you can get some thin foam. you should make a frame to pre-stretch the vinyl, so it will go down with out puckering or bunching up as you staple the perimeter. then you cover all the staple heads up with trim. some use hide-em, some make their own. you can buy kits for this too. I think the popular vinyl people use for this is called "colbra" and can be bought at snyders, etc. do it right so you wont have to do it again!
Unless you want tuck and roll I would go with LeBaron Bonney (800) 221-5408. It is my understanding if you isolate the chicken wire from the body you can use it as a radio antenna. I have never tried it but heard it several times. Something to consider. Charlie Stephens
I share in the appreciation for the "stretching" frame, though 2x2 is more to my liking as 2x4 that size is pretty heavy. Here's a step by step that will at least give you a good idea via pictures (without using the frame method): http://www.abarnyard.com/workshop/roofinstall-1.htm
Find a restorers club or model A Club in your part of the world, I am sure there are lots of guys there, who have done this, or know who to take it to...they are FULL of info, like to talk about their cars as much if not more then rodders do...
Make sure you have a good internal wood structure to nail into. and prepare to hit your finger with the hammer.
Mac's & other Model A part retailers have kits that make it a little easier. Kit's come with instructions that are pretty straight forward. A couple sites online go through process step by step (google). The stretching of the fabric isn't too difficult on a warm day, but the edging (there's a couple different kinds) is a little stressful. Look at a couple of Model A's and see what kind of edging you like, before you purchase material.
Word of advice: Tops are a little convex, with an arch front to back and an arch side to side. If you use 1/4" hardware cloth it will not conform in both directions since it is rigid, it will have to be notched to conform and it will not end up smooth in the corners. Since chicken cloth is woven it will give some and you can get smooth corners. Probably why Henry originally used chicken wire on the OEM roofs.
I used a top kit from Juliano's on my coupe. Used a 2x4 frame to stretch the material. Piece of cake. They offer an instructional video.
I recently did my own top on my Model A coupe - a 1930 so a little different to yours to do. I didn't bother with chicken netting even though I had planned to use it. Instead I first laid down a layer of black Stay-Fast canvasas as I left the timber roof bows exposed inside. Next a layer of reinforced 1/8" neoprene mat which is really tough to stretch - good for strength etc. I stapled through this into the bows as well as around the perimeter to keep it nice and tight. Then a layer of poly batting material for padding fixed down with spray glue. Got it sitting nice and trimmed it up as I went. Sprayed some more adhesive on top of the batting and then laid out the "proper" grainy top material. The glue should stop the top material bellowing up at 100mph or more! The special top stuff is available off the roll through most good auto upholstery outfits - even if they have to order it in for you. So I worked my around starting in the middle of each side, front and rear and tacked it down working towards the corners stretching, checking and adjusting as required. Just taking my time. Good to do this in the sunshine so it's more plyable. Once there were enough tacks in place and the excess vinyl trimmed off I ran the hidem around tacking away as I went. All using the holes in the roof Henry provided. Getting the Hidem to sit properly over the rear body seams was the trickiest bit but a bit of perserverance to get the wrinkles out etc... Lastly I ran the 1/2" half-round aluminium across the front fixed in place over the vinyl and then trimmed off the excess. Job done. Not super easy but well within a hotrodders skill range. Hope that helps......
Most all the Model A supply company's will have what you need in a kit form. Looks like you may have a problem on the front corners, appears to be a piece of metal welded over the tack holes. If you are considering a vinyl rather than the black long grain replacement material, check out "marine grade vinyl" as it will be thicker and have more UV protection if the car will be outside a lot.
The Jalopy Journal
