1971 Charger, rusted out roof! Need advice!

[jenkins71]

Hello-
Just joined the forum. Looks like a great place for information!
Last week I acquired a new Mopar project, a 71 Charger with a 440.
The Charger has very little rust, EXCEPT for on the roof! It came equipped with a Landau vinyl roof, and it feels like the metal underneath is totally rotted out.
I'd like to get the roof taken care of ASAP, as having a bad rust spot worries me and I'd like to put this in the past!
So, does anyone know of a decent body shop that can tackle this job near the Western Mass area? I can tow the Charger on a trailer to a shop, even if it is a couple hours away, I'd like to put it in good hands. New York State, New Hampshire, Vermont, wherever!
The roof is only rusted out underneath the vinyl, which ends mid-roof, before the C-Pillar.
Also, anyone have a roof (or a lead on a roof) for this car? Lastly, what other models can provide a donor roof skin? Any 71-74 B-body? Note that I only need the roof skin from about the C-pillar forward.
Thanks a lot!
-Sam

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Here are the only pics I have of it now. I pulled it up from Delaware with my B150 van. All Uhaul had available were tow dollies!

 

[dsd1967]

I think there is someone on the site selling a 72 roof....check in the exterior parts or cars for sale forums.

 

[vitamin c]

cool car, just picked up a 71 R/T myself. post up some pics when you have time.

 

[snakeyes]

hi and welcome to the site ,congrats to you on getting your charger ,why do you think you need a complete roof skin ,when you can post some photos of the area s in your roof some of the guys can see what's needed may be you wont need a complete roof just some repairs :thinker:

 

[67GTX440]

I just bought a rust free 67 Coronet roof from Steve's Musclecars and Parts in Arkansas to put on my 67 GTX. Nice roof with original paint. $300 plus $360 shipping to build a skid and ship to a residential address freight in Florida. Body shop is charging me $500 to cut off the old top and weld the new one on, which seemed pretty cheap. They said it was no huge deal since the dash, windshield and back glass were already out and they I was replacing the headliner anyway. They did have to weld in a bunch of temporary reinforcements to the body to keep it from flexing when they cut the old roof off. They were not excited about fabricating what was needed to fix the original top. Car had a vinyl top and sail panel and under structure were pretty rusted as well as left front edge of top, once all filler was removed. The body shop guy was telling people I changed my mind about the car and wanted a convertible at first, and is now telling people I wanted a black car with a gold roof and he did not have any gold paint.

 

[nomax]

Heck of a deal you got on the car, Glad it went to a member here.

-k

 

[jenkins71]

Thanks. I'm gonna put up more pictures of the roof when I can so you guys can comment as you see fit. I live in Brooklyn, NYC, but the Charger is up at my dad's place in Western Mass.

 

[bigblock]

Take the cloth top off then send pics.

 

[wedge69]

Nice score there ! You need to see how bad it is under the top before shelling out for a roof.

 

[tallhair]

Cool car and neat van

 

[Ron 73]

Welcome aboard the forum! Love the Chargers and there sleek body style, Looks pretty good in the pictures good luck with it and have fun!

 

[red340bbody]

man i love the car ...call year one or someone on the forum might have a rust free roof ...that short box van is smokin hot wish i owned it ..i could put my power chair in it or my scooter .. if you ever want to sell the van send me a private message ...

 

[jenkins71]

Thanks. It's a pretty special van. Bought it about 3 years ago. It came equipped with a 3.9 V6 and 3spd auto. I have since swapped in a low-mileage 5.9 magnum and a 46rh tranny with lockup and O/D. It's got headers, no cats, and an x-pipe with glasspacks. Also put in a sunroof, swapped in doors with power windows (thus the mis-matched colors), and a Hurst Pro-Matic 2 truck shifter. Pretty fun van. Not for sale at the moment though.
More Pics of the Charger to come this weekend!

 

[jenkins71]

hey guys, sorry to revive a dead post, but i finally peeled back the vinyl top on my charger. It is VERY rough and will need replacement. Luckily, I was able to buy a roof from a member on here almost a year ago. I never peeled the vinyl back until about a week ago, but wow is it NASTY!



I have doen very little body work in the past, but how hard could it be to drill out the spotwelds for a total novice? I figure I could save some money by removing the original roof, and then if I want I can pay a body shop to weld in the donor skin. I might even be able to do that myself too. I do have a Lincoln mig welder, and a garage, and plenty of winter time left...

ThoughtS?

 

[TX67RT]

Dude; that's as bad as I've ever seen! However, since you have a donor roof, it shouldn't be that bad. Instead of re-skinning the roof, I think I'd just separate the whole roof assembly at the A and C posts at the factory joint, and replace the entire thing. While the glass is out, check the lower channels front and back as well; might be a little rot there too.

A good shop should be able to do the swap without many issues. Or, you should be able to get most of the way yourself. Just a matter of grinding out the old lead at the joints, drilling out the spot welds, and lifting the roof. I would think alignment at reassembly/welding would be critical for glass fit. A few careful measurements before the old roof is cut off would be critical for installation of the new roof. Might even go as far as dry-fitting the front and rear glass prior to welding it all up.

Hats off to you for saving the car, and undertaking the project. It will be very satisfying when it's all complete and you're showing off the car!

Cheers!

JD

 

[flypaper]

It looks like alot of fun
Good luck!

 

[Coronet 14]

This is just my opinion but I would gut the interior then take it to the restoration shop. Since the whole roof needs replacing. It's a structural part of the car. If you only had to do some patching of rust holes i'd say go for it and do it yourself. If it were my car I would take it to someone to have the roof replaced.

 

[Dennis H]

Holy ****! Man! Replace that roof and keep the real-life pictures coming. Drill out? Wow. Car is an Icon worth the effort.

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WTH? Did the factory put vinyl over raw unprimed metal?

 

[jenkins71]

The frame underneath only has some surface rust. I don't think it would be advantageous to cut it at the pillars. This is just about the only rust on this vehicle--just a couple other spots here and there.
From reading other posts, I think it is easy enough to just drill out the spot welds and lift the roof as an assembly.

 

[eldubb440]

is a new roof skin available? ........ if not, a donor roof would be much easier to replace as a unit