roof rust questions

mean318 said:

hello there, I was wondering the best way to take care of alot of rust on the top of my 68 dart. It had a vinyl top originally and when I got it it had holes the size of quarters so then we tried to do it cheaply with some rust inhibitor and long haired fiberglass bondo then we put another vinyl top back on and 8 years later the roof started rusting again. My questions are:

1. Should I replace the roof all together or should I use this por15 stuff? Cut away rusty metal liberally in square sections.2. If I do replace the roof with new sheet metal how should I go about it? (I will be putting frame connectors in before I start) Should I do one big piece? Yes, Weld in Frame connectors before you start. Several smaller pieces are easier to deal with, keeps every thing from shifting. But this is hard to answer without a picture. I could proably guide ya if I saw a pic. Look for some of my other posts on how to make a replacement panel from flat metal. Basically using a cardboard template.
3. how can I keep the bow in the roof with the new sheet metal? Hopefully, you can get a "roof skin" from a donor car. Cut away rust, lay new roof on top, mark from inside, cut WIDE. Weld. Otherwise it's fabrication time.
4. The bottom left corner of the rear glass window frame is rusted out (water in trunk when it rains) how should I go about fixing this? Same way, cut out bad stuff, Use cardboard to make a template, trace to metal, cut , shape, weld.

I would like to keep the vinyl top off of it this time around so I need it to look good. Any insight is greatly apprieciated.

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