can anyone help me with installation instruction,or know how it is done properly, for a 1933 ford 5 window coupe steel roof insert,cheers Martin.
If you mean filling the center with a steel insert, look at Ron Covells web site for inspiration. We did a 33 sedan not long ago, and found a volvo station wagon roof that was close. We welded it to the original trim rail, welded studs to the bottom of the trim rail, and bolted it in. Covered it in vinyl.An option to welding an insert in.
I have been looking at redoing the soft top on my car and have collected the following info. Good luck LeBaron Bonney supply's top cover kits for your '35 Ford and should have instructions too. I will ***ume that your vehicle already has the wooden top bows in place. If this is so then follow these instructions. First you will need to go to the hardware store and purchase a length of chicken wire that is long enough to cover the top opening of you car. Trim this chicken wire to where it just fits inside the top's opening. Once trimmed, then use some sort of non metallic tape and tape all around the outside edge of the chicken wire so it will not ground to the car body. If your car still has its original radio antenna wires, then soldier those in place to the chicken wire at the left front side. Staple the chicken wire to the wooden top bows and make sure it lays flat and smooth on the top opening. Now you will need some napped cotton padding to lay over the chicken wire. Trim the padding to where it fits just inside the top opening. Next lay the black top cover material over the top and make sure you have enough excess material laying over the edges of the top opening. It is best to lay the black top material flat in the sun for a while to remove any wrinkles. Once the top material is laid on the top opening of the car make sure it is straight. Now what I do is to take four (4) six inch long top rubber edging pieces and feed them into each corner of the top corners of the car Make sure you gently stretch the black material so as to not have any wrinkles. It is usually best to do this with two people. Lastly, starting at the back rear of the center of the top of the top opening of the car, begin feeding in the rubber trim piece. Make sure you have enough to go around the whole opening of the the car. Slowly feed it in with a flat edged screw driver. When you get to the corners then remove the six inch corner piece and continue feeding in the edging. Continue this process until you have gone all around the top. You may want to lube the rubber trim with Vaseline to make it easier to feed in to to trough. Once the topping is in and is smooth, then simply trim the excess black covering that is on the outside edge of the rubber trim piece and cut it off with a good sharp razor. Hope all this made sense to you and it helps you out. Take care. Keep V-8ing, Dale Sandman" <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o> <o> </o> Tom, To do it right get the correct top material first...as the guys have said LeBaron Bonney makes a good kit. What I do is make a 2x2 wood frame as big as the piece of material your supplier sends you. Stretch the material over the frame so it is taut then tack it in place. I use the best contact cement I could find and applied it to the rail that runs around the inside of the roof opening...the rubber molding snaps into the recess between the rail and the roof. With the contact cement on the rail and the underside of the top material you are ready for the next step. Get a couple buddies and lift the frame with the material stretched on it over the top of the car and CAREFULLY place it down onto the roof of the car. You get one shot because the contact cement is not very for- giving. I chose to use a soft rubber mallet to tap the material firmly onto the rail. After I let it set up for an hour I cut the top material away from the frame then with due caution trimmed the material to 1/2" past the rail. I folded the material under the rail and then installed the rubber mold- ing. I know there are no doubt many ways to do this job, this is the way I do it. It's a bit complicated the first time but doing it this way insures no wrinkles. Finally ,it is best to do the job on a very warm day so you get the best 'stretch'. Charlie ny <o></o> <o> </o> http://www.abarnyard.com/workshop/roofinstall-1.htm See this link for additional info<o></o> <o> </o> http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=197551 See this link for additional info<o></o>
thanks guys ,i allready have the steel insert which came with the car when i imported it from U.S.A.to australia,but i am unsure whether i have to cut the old roof channel out to fit the insert or leave the roof channel in and cut the insert to fit the original channel.a panel beater told me if i leave the original channel in and cut the insret to fit and then weld it,that it would rust underneath.i dont wont to cut this car up if i dont have to.thanks Martin
Just sell the steel insert and put the soft top in as per original, it will out last you. My 2 cents. Dave
I am just about to do this on a 33 tudor. I have been torn as to how to put the steel roof on. It is from an unknowm sw and fits real close. I have now seen to cars where the cut the roof about a 1/2 in bigger than the opening and mig'd it on. Rust seam sealed it and painted has not been a problem (the lap weld solution). The way I would like to do it is to cut the panel to fit and then **** weld it with my tig. Two body men have said when I cut the car's old top channel out that the remaining piece will go wonky (note it is already 'wonky" from the guy that choped the top). Haven't made up my mind yet but will let you know what I do ....
check out sept. 2010 "streetrodder" article 'roof inserts for sedans' ,i know yours is a coupe, that just makes it easier. they overlapped the new piece all the way around, clamped, then cut both pieces[old and new] at the same time then reclamped usuing special welding clamps and i believe the proper term is **** weld.
I have a couple of other suggestions which you might consider, unless you're wanting a solid metal roof -finished to look like the car came that way from the factory. If you're just wanting something that will last a long time, without cutting and welding on the roof, you might try either of these suggestions. 1. Trim this metal insert to match the shape of the channel surrounding the stock opening. Weld bolts onto the bottom side of the insert, drill corresponding holes in roof area, glue a vinyl cover to the metal insert, use a sealant along the edge where the insert touches the roof, then you can just bolt the ***embly in place. This way you or a future owner can easily remove the ***embly. 2. Several years ago, I used the following method on my '30 Model A coupe. I followed the same steps as laid out above regarding the use of chicken wire, padding and the vinyl top material - with the following exception. After installing the chicken wire, I stapled 9 mil thick plastic over the opening. I then cut three layers of fibergl*** mat to fit the area. It took about 1 1/2 gallons of fibergl*** resin to finish everything off. After the resin hardened, I sanded the surface, used bondo to fix the imperfections, and then proceeded to install the padding and stock vinyl cover. The resulting job looked like an original installation, but wouldn't/couldn't leak. What causes these original tops to start leaking is driving these cars with the windows down and the air pressure in side will cause the top to balloon upward, pulling the material around the nails/staples. By using either the fibergl*** or metal substructure, the vinyl top material is never stressed. While the fibergl*** (Corvette-in-a-Can) method worked really well for my Model A coupe, I'm gluing the vinyl material to a metal insert for use in my '34 Ford coupe. These are just two of many methods of finishing off the roof of your car. Good luck with which ever method you choose.
Scroll down the thread a bit, complete discussion on this. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=230893&page=3
There should be a layer of muslin over the chicken wire to support the cotton batting so it doesn't separate and drop onto the headliner through the wire.
You can get metal inserts which can be covered and look original from Bobby Walden: www.waldenspeedshop.com
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