Hot Rods 32-34 sedan roof fillers- what's your experience?

There's plenty of threads on 28-31 coupe roof fillers but not found a good one focused more on 32-34 sedans.

I'm preparing to install a roof filler in my 34 Plymouth sedan and looking for experiences of fellow hambers.

What have you used, did you weld, glue, cover, did you go ribbed, smooth? Any headaches or heart aches along the way?

Share your experiences and pictures, we're very interested.

 

I Emptied mine

 

I know somebody that used a ribbed '94 Jeep Grand Cherokee... Sorry no photos.

 

not sure if they're still available but ,I have used International Carryall Roofs Before because they were cheap to buy from International Dealers,the International Truck Roofs are also a Great Fit on Coupes.and they are Brand New ,no paint to strip,The curvature is right,The metal is Thick and yes weld,sorry no pics

 

sedans pose a little different challenge as their holes are about twice the length

 

47-55 1st Chevy panel truck/suburban roofs have been used to fill early sedan roofs with some success. Problem now is finding donor truck.

 

Are you shooting for a '80's/'90's street rod look on purpose?

http://www.julianos.com/softtop.html

Swap the wheels & there ain't no shame in this:



JH

 

I agree for all the hassle involved in weld-in smooth tops ,they do not look enough better than the soft top Filler, Nice car Harrison !

 

So your slamming him for filling the roof? Did you look at the wheels on your example???

 

I was editing my post while you were yammering on....

....& yes, I would slam him for filling the top. Wheels are easily swapped.

Ever "unfilled" a top?

JH

 

We've had good luck with the big volvo station wagon roofs over here... 740 series, etc. reverse them and they pop right in nicely. Especially on an A sedan. Otherwise i've heard 60's mopar wagons have good ones, with ribs maybe??

done both full welds, tack and lead, tack and glue on the panels. cant tell a difference, but the glue sure goes a lot faster. hope it doesnt crack reveal in the sun... havent seen final paint yet.

 

62-63 ford wagons used to be the choice for filling alot of early roofs,could be kind of hard to find now adays.

 

Good thing it's my name on the registration then.
I've not made my mind up fully on the style of lid but the build is fenderless and without hood.

I was hoping to draw on some builders experiences rather than read yet another belly button opinion.

 

In my case the hole to fill is approx 65 x 40.
I've looked at almost every mini van and suv lid I can find in the wreckers and all of them have had disadvantages like ribs are too long but right compund curves, right ribs but wrong curves and so on. I did measure up a susuki side kick with a ribs that has the right curves but short by about 1 inch wide.

there must be something out there thats modern day wrecker friendly that would work.

 

I've done my share of metal work. You asked for input. You got it.

Sorry if it wasn't what you wanted to hear.

It is your car. Good luck.

JH

 

I have a friend who did his Ford with a 65 Chev Wagon lid,not sure if it would fit your measurements,it has Ribs.

 

Lono - On my '35 Chevy Std 2dr sedan (same body as a '34), we used a ribbed roof off of a Dodge Caravan. There are four ribs about 63" from tip to tip and about 25" from outside edge to outside edge of the ribs. I'm not sure of the original opening but it cud easily have been 65x40. It fits nicely. Your '34 Plymouth is about the same size and shape as my Chevy. I don't recall the year of the Dodge van, but I'd guess it to be late '70s-early '80s. I'm not familiar with your neck of the woods but, there are plenty of soccer moms driving those Mopar vans around here. Perhaps you'd be able to find some in the Northwest. If there are none at your local wrecking yard, I'd ask them to get on the wire and try and locate one near you. Hope this is of some help.

 

I'd love to see a picture, thank you for this.
All the caravans around here seem to be late 90's and didn't measure up. I'll look around some other spots for an earlier one. thanks again

 

Your quite welcome. I'm hopeful it will be of some use to you. I figured you'd like a look at it so I searched for a pic before I posted. I cud only find one, and it didn't show the roof very well. I'll look for some more and post if they show the roof. I guess I spend more time taking pix of the cars of others than my own. I don't even have a decent pic of my coupe to use as my avatar!

 

Going to have some pics posted of my 32 deuce sedan with a filled roof. Look for post by my friend Joel.
_______________________________________________________________________
Like I told the kid, "Your musics not too loud, its just likr OKC, it sucks!"

 

I remember filled tops on HOT RODS, in the 50s & 60s !

 

I have heard of early sixties Falcon wagon roofs being used for '32 Ford Sedans. They are smooth, no ribs.

 

I used a mid to late 70's monte carlo station wagon roof to fill the roof in my 32 ford tudor. It was more than big enough. The shop I had do the job trimmed a lot of material away. It has 5 ribs and looks quite nice. I'll take a picture and post it up. The roof also has three "C" channel supports running from side to side. It's very sturdy and has no chance of having the "oil canning" effect on a hot day.

Normally I wouldn't have filled the roof in the sedan, however the person who originally built the car in the 80's thought that filling it with a honda sunroof and then using 22 gauge metal for the rear part was a good
idea When I got the car, the sunroof didn't work and leaked. The rear half of the roof was really wavy. I couldn't put the original insert back in as they had destoyed that part of the roof. Then they decided to lay fiberglass cloth across the rear part of the roof over the 22 gauge metal, then bondo, then more bondo. By the time they were done, it was about 1inch think, I'm not kidding. It looks way better now. But given the choice, I'd have kept the insert.

 

I don't have a 32-34 Sedan but on my 29 Sedan I used an early 80's or late 70's Mercury wagon roof that is ribbed.
I had to flip it around backwards so the ribs would be straight across above the windshield and I had about 3 feet of roof left over.

 

Just curious. How does "modern" high strength steel weld up to "old" steel.
Somwhere I heard/read that HSS should only be mig welded, and gas or TIG welding does not work well. Is that true?

 

I'm using an '86 Toyota minivan on my '28 Tudor. The stock hole is 72"x43". I wanted one with no ribs 'cause I'm covering it with black vinyl so it looks stock.

 

I had a few extra dollars to spend years ago when I filled my 1935 sedan roof. I got a panel from Bobby Walden. I installed it per his instructions to cut out the roof and butt weld it in using TIG.

The panel fit and looks perfect.

 

may be hard to find some of the older roofs that work well. 63-63 chevy wagon roof was very popular. International travelall worked great for even the largest holes. My personal favorite is 64 dodge wagon. It has 11 ribs that are sunk down in the panel that run front to rear. I looked a long time to find one not too far from home. This one pictured came from a junk yard and had a road runner setting on top of it. Still needs a bit more trimming before install. Steve

 

That some kind of Canada only model, or you cut up a rare factory prototype for an insert? Monte Carlo is a sport coupe with it's own roofline, nose and tail, although they share enough pieces most years with the Chevelle or Malibu you can swap a lot of parts around.

Any more, anything made much before the mid-1980s is going to be damn near impossible to find, or collectible in it's own right. Someone should come up with a chart for what late model stuff can be made to work -

 

'63 Chevy station wagon lid on a '34 Ford