Help with Roof support issues

[aknotts]

The roof supports have become unattached from the roof skin. They are about 1/2 inch below the skin. The question is if I force them back up and reattach I am afraid it will pull the skin down an deform the top of the car? Should I be worried about that?
It takes quite a bit of force to push them back to contact with the roof, if I force them back up and attach them, when I release it , do you think it will deform the roof?
Also how would I reattach it, I do not think seam seal will hold it up, jb weld maybe? Or should I just fill the gap with foam and leave it? Will it interfere with the headliner if I leave the gap?

 

[Dibbons]

I had the same problem. I used 3M panel bond adhesive. I did not notice any deformation of the roof skin. See my restore thread for more details in post #27 here:
https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/mopa...t-odyssey-a-1972-super-satellite.91765/page-2

 

[tak419]

Leave it alone or use a foam. The roof is a large piece of metal that will buckle and ripple easily and being it is eye level you are gonna see it. Let it float or use a soft non expanding foam.

 

[aknotts]

I had the same problem. I used 3M panel bond adhesive. I did not notice any deformation of the roof skin. See my restore thread for more details in post #27 here:
https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/mopa...t-odyssey-a-1972-super-satellite.91765/page-2

Thanks, just what I am looking at doin, one question though...
Was it hard to push the rail up to the roof, mine take a lot of force to get it back up to that level , which is why I am worried about it caving in the roof.

 

[Dibbons]

It was very difficult to push up, I used a large piece of wood like a 4" X 4" which was just the right length to be forced up/between the tunnel/floor and the roof bracing. Once the wood was in place, I could see the adhesive oozing out between the brace and roof so I knew it was good and tight.

The adhesive is very runny/watery until it begins to set up. I may have used a hair dryer to help slow the dripping and speed up the dry time.

 

[aknotts]

Leave it alone or use a foam. The roof is a large piece of metal that will buckle and ripple easily and being it is eye level you are gonna see it. Let it float or use a soft non expanding foam.

You don't think it will deform the headliner? I have not seen a headliner in this car so not sure how far down it hangs, I don't want the support to show through it though. That is why I am worried abut leaving it as is and filling with foam. If the headliner hangs far enough down, I am thinking the same as you, leave it and fill with foam

 

[Chad Witham]

I’d follow @Dibbons advice. He has first hand experience with it, also if you look it appears there is seam sealer or some early form of panel bond in your pics, which means Chrysler intended it to touch the roof. The worst your gonna have happen is the roof will need some body work (highly unlikely)

 

[71dodgechargerrt]

Thanks for posting I have the same problem on a project car I will be working on soon and was looking for a solution. I have one brace that has come loose.

 

[Dibbons]

I understand the concern for warping the roof some. In my case, I was more concerned with roof integrity and flex. Repairing the "sunken" supports will put some tension back on the roof skin and change the roof line one way or the other, but I believe any change is practically invisible to the naked eye. Just tell the kids don't use the roof as a substitute trampoline any longer.

 

[tak419]

By the looks of the picture your brace isn't low enough to affect the headliner. These braces weren't put in place to hold the roof skin, they were put in place to help in a roll over accident. The seam sealer put in from the factory was there to keep the roof skin from slapping the roof and causing noise. It's not a structural bond so don't use something like panel bond. You want the LARGE roof skin to be able to expand and contract with heat and not warp all to **** cause it's glued tight. That's why all large panels like hoods and such use a flexible bonding material like foam. If you push the rigid brace up with a board and glue it, the roof skin will not hold the brace in place. The brace will go back to it's formed shape and take your nice straight roof skin with it and you will be putting body filler in it to straighten it out. But it's your car so do as you wish..

 

[Dibbons]

That seems like sound advice in post #10, but too late for me to worry about it--I'm just glad I don't see any ill effects yet after three years.

The original factory seam sealer or whatever it was probably came loose because the roof did flex with the passage of time.

 

[aknotts]

Now this is why I love this forum. Dibbons had me convinced that I should bond it back up, then along comes Tak419 with the same concerns I had and some good reasoning behind it. Just about the time I decided that Dibbons had actually done it and it worked out well for him, so I would do it that way, Tak419 came back with some even more convincing arguments for another approach.

So now I will take all this into consideration and **** it up somehow all by myself.

All kidding aside, I appreciate all the input here, i would have never got this far with this project without it.

Since the car is freshly painted I think I am going to use a foam or seam sealer and not attempt to force it up, the last thing I want is more freaking body work on a new paint job.

 

[wahya]

When I was working on my car, I needed some seam sealer, mostly for my trunk. I went to the automotive paint store and got a couple of tubes. Before using the sealer, I read all of the small print on the tube. Somewhere on there, I read that it was not to be used on inside areas of the car. I went back to the store the next day and asked about it and the clerk told me that was what everybody used and she had never looked at that warning before.

 

[aknotts]

When I was working on my car, I needed some seam sealer, mostly for my trunk. I went to the automotive paint store and got a couple of tubes. Before using the sealer, I read all of the small print on the tube. Somewhere on there, I read that it was not to be used on inside areas of the car. I went back to the store the next day and asked about it and the clerk told me that was what everybody used and she had never looked at that warning before.

And this is why you NEVER read the small print....

 

[72RoadrunnerGTX]

Will have disagree with the notion that the two lateral roof supports on these cars are there for roll-over protection and not there simply to support he roof skin. They are in no way strong enough for anything but supporting roof skin only. As mentioned, the gap pictured doesn’t appear too great to just fill it with a bead of either seam sealer or a somewhat flexible panel bond. I’ve used panel bond, in that application, and with full skin replacements, never had an issue.

 

[Dibbons]

The 1971 Dealer information mentions the roof bracing "Metal bows cemented to roof panel give support, prevent drumming". Does not specify what grade of "cement" employed.