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69 Charger roof rust, fix or replace?

QOTHL

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The roof above the windshield and above the back glass is pretty badly rusted and has rusted through in a few places. I'm treating the entire area with Ospho to stop any further damage. I won't be doing major work on this car until my current project is done so I have time.
Should I fix the rusted areas or replace the whole roof?
 
Gotta go with replace roof. A holed roof will be a bear to patch and even worse if you don't get all the bad spots cut out. Vinyl top car?
 
Pics would help us help you. Please post a few.


I usually would have but have had problems with my computer lately because it is on the verge of becoming obsolete. My iPhoto file is huge and makes everything run really slow. This time when I started to download photos, it shut the computer down and had to restart. Then iPhoto said it had to do a repair to the file which has taken about 2 hours so that is why I figured I'd just describe the problem. This is Bruno, a Trac Pack R/T SE. And, no, I don't have any girl cars, the balls are too big.

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Gotta go with replace roof. A holed roof will be a bear to patch and even worse if you don't get all the bad spots cut out. Vinyl top car?

Yep. I think that's what held the moisture after the top started to deteriorate. I know how to weld sheet metal and know how to lead. The headliner is almost perfect, I hate to remove it.
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I don't see how you can fix that without removing the headliner, unless maybe using panel bond to glue in some patches; but even cutting them out is an issue.....panel bond is anti-corrosive.......

any repair like that would require a vinyl top in my opinion

these cars are always a can of worms ready to explode
 
I don't see how you can fix that without removing the headliner, unless maybe using panel bond to glue in some patches; but even cutting them out is an issue.....panel bond is anti-corrosive.......

any repair like that would require a vinyl top in my opinion

these cars are always a can of worms ready to explode


I mentioned the headliner to a restoration guy I know who usually recommends saving just about everything and even he said replace it. This is going to be a triple black car and the vinyl top will be replaced especially since the original is gone! It might be a can of worms but it is a really cool can of worms! Parked in 1976, 59K original miles, #'s matching 440 4 speed, Dana 60 rear end. It will be the first car I do mostly myself, right down to the paint job.
I know about panel bond but I think welding new metal and lead would be better. The goal would be to make it look as though nothing had been done.
 
It sounds like you want a really nice job and who can blame you? Only one option in my opinion, replace the roof skin.
 
Original metal fits the best. That actually doesn't look as bad as some. Had to tell without some overall pics from a few feet away, but I'd patch it.

Many years ago Muscle Car Review has a series of articles on patching a rear window channel on a GTX. It was pretty good. Haven't been able to find it online at the MCR website, but I didn't look hard.
 
I would hesitate to make any decision until you remove the rust that is visible. I have stuff that looked bad and wasn't and stuff I thought would take an hour to fix, take all day. Pin holes with good metal around them you can drill and weld shut (copper backer if too large) just be careful with the heat so as not to warp that huge roof section. As Demonic stated above, original fits best. You will have to remove the headliner no matter what. IMHO You can always grind and sand the roof down, make your plan, and then epoxy it, no harm no foul and it will stop any further damage.
 
It sounds like you want a really nice job and who can blame you? Only one option in my opinion, replace the roof skin.


Not to get all :blah::blah::blah: but once I started doing a lot of this stuff myself, I realize I do a better job, mainly because I give a **** about the car. Most of the big stuff I'll probably have done at AMD Installations because they can reproduce factory welds. But if I can save a panel, I will. I'm not a huge fan of aftermarket stuff and replace with original as much as possible. I really appreciate all the help.

I will say that NZ has to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. I found out about the movie Lord of the Rings when I saw a trailer on TV and new immediately that the spectacular landscape had to be NZ.
 
It is a beautiful place alright. We are planning a trip down south next month where the real scenery is, after the lock down has been lifted. Cant wait for that.
 
I would hesitate to make any decision until you remove the rust that is visible. I have stuff that looked bad and wasn't and stuff I thought would take an hour to fix, take all day. Pin holes with good metal around them you can drill and weld shut (copper backer if too large) just be careful with the heat so as not to warp that huge roof section. As Demonic stated above, original fits best. You will have to remove the headliner no matter what. IMHO You can always grind and sand the roof down, make your plan, and then epoxy it, no harm no foul and it will stop any further damage.

I'd really like to try and save it and figure if it doesn't work, replace it. A lot of it looks good in my opinion. It's too bad about the headliner but after 50yrs that's a lot to ask of some things. I really appreciate the help.
 
It is a beautiful place alright. We are planning a trip down south next month where the real scenery is, after the lock down has been lifted. Cant wait for that.


This whole virus thing is a big load of crap. They caught many hospitals falsifying death certificates and diagnosis so they could get money for every case. There are some good Drs on Youtube telling the truth - they have nothing to gain accept to shine a light on this hoax. The biggest threat to my health is stupidity and this govt. There is a vaccine and Bill Gates owns the patent to it. A doctor in one video says the virus won't be what kills you, it'll be the vaccine.
 
If you check out my thread in the members projects section,on page one I repaired a similar area above the rear window. It takes time to slowly weld it so you don;t warp it. The thread is titled Project rat rod V code 70 Charger R/T.
 
Original metal fits the best. That actually doesn't look as bad as some. Had to tell without some overall pics from a few feet away, but I'd patch it.

Many years ago Muscle Car Review has a series of articles on patching a rear window channel on a GTX. It was pretty good. Haven't been able to find it online at the MCR website, but I didn't look hard.


Hard to get a few feet away since the car is jammed in the corner with another car (my) *** width next to it.
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If you check out my thread in the members projects section,on page one I repaired a similar area above the rear window. It takes time to slowly weld it so you don;t warp it. The thread is titled Project rat rod V code 70 Charger R/T.



Thanks! That's encouraging! I want to save it if I can. Stupid question: did you lead it? Looks great! As I mentioned to someone else, if I can't get it right, I can replace it.
 
I used regular body filler to blend it,I suppose you could used lead if you want to. It only took a very light skim to blend the seam.I had purchased a new roofskin for the car,but after looking at the rest of the roof,I decided to repair the one bad area. I made up the pieces using the roofskin as the template. There are three pieces,the first piece was flat curved,and was welded in where the glass sits,the next piece sits upright,and was curved to go around the glass,and the last piece is the flat curved piece that becomes part of the roof. The key to a good repair is to take your time welding and grinding it. When you grind the weld,only grind the weld itself,do not overheat the metal around the weld,or you will distort the metal.
 
I think to get a good idea about how much rust you are dealing with you would need to spot blast the areas of concern. Metal thinned from rust does not weld without evaporating. But most important, make sure you get all the rust out before repairing, whatever method you use.:thumbsup:
 
I used regular body filler to blend it,I suppose you could used lead if you want to. It only took a very light skim to blend the seam.I had purchased a new roofskin for the car,but after looking at the rest of the roof,I decided to repair the one bad area. I made up the pieces using the roofskin as the template. There are three pieces,the first piece was flat curved,and was welded in where the glass sits,the next piece sits upright,and was curved to go around the glass,and the last piece is the flat curved piece that becomes part of the roof. The key to a good repair is to take your time welding and grinding it. When you grind the weld,only grind the weld itself,do not overheat the metal around the weld,or you will distort the metal.


Did you grind with a stone, flap wheel or DA grinder? I'm hesitant to use stone on sheet metal, in fact that was probably a stupid question. I know about heat - thanks, I've worked with stainless steel tubing.
 
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