Technical Vinyl top and sheet metal panels.

Hello everyone, I’m replacing all of the upper metal panels on my leather back and am planning on stainless and have a couple of questions. I can do stainless for about $2 a pound but would other metals be a better choice such as aluminum, galvanized or cold rolled, etc? I want something to last generations.

Are there any issues with contact cement on any of the types of metals that would cause adherence problems with the vinyl top or does it not matter since they are primed and painted? Should stainless be painted as well or can you do the cement on with just scuffing the surface?

 

upper metal panels? leather back?

 

View attachment 3886993 Yes it is a 28 fordor with a vinyl top also a blind back. Metal panels were to tie the wood together and form the upper body then the vinyl covered that.

 

I should think that 18 ga. mild steel painted with epoxy primer should be all you need. This won't be your daily driver that eventually leaks through the leather and starts the rust process . With the amount of water this car will see it should last a very long time.

 

Zinc electroplated steel (called Zintec in the UK, dunno about the US) isn't overly expensive and will last. It's cold rolled and good to work with. Needs the plating lightly sanding away in areas to be welded, which I guess won't be required in this scenario, so even better.

Chris

 

Are the panels needing to be shrunk or welded in any areas? Is so, it would be useless to use a galvanized metal since the coating would be removed in those worked spots. I think stainless could be used, but not really needed. I'd just use some plain 18GA cold rolled mild steel. I would be more concerned with sealing the joints to keep water away from the wood than having the steel panels rust out again.

 

Yes there are some runs that will require a little English wheel work, no welding needed though. The seams will be filled with roofing tar and I’ll be adding a piece that goes above everyone’s heads. Before it was just the headliner, some batting, chicken wire then the vinyl. I ran into another guy with my same type of top who recently had a new one from LeBaron put on and he could not, unhappily, go much past 45 due to it lifting to much.