Freaked Out By Roof Rust

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1969VADart

1969VADart

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So I finally got around to pulling the vinyl top off the Dart this weekend and now I am freaked out. I guess I was not expecting the disaster that I found. The first picture just gives you an idea of what it looked like before. The roof metal is pitted badly and there are a number of holes all over the roof.



From this before profile the bumps along the roof ridge ended up being a sign of terrible rust.



And the holes in this picture turned into even more holes once this lower section of vinyl came off.



I will try to get some pictures of the actual roof condition posted later. Now I am not sure what to do. I have been told to cut my losses and dump the car (I really don't want to do that). Skim the roof and put on another vinyl top to cover the disaster and let it ride for awhile (I know that is not the best option). I know that replacing/re-skinning the roof is the right way, but that is far beyond my capabilities. And I have searched the area high and low for a donor car, but can't find anything. I read through a number of the "rusted roof" threads from the past, but that spooked me even more. Really need some advice on how you guys would proceed and maybe how you tackled this situation in the past.
 
Unless you are very skilled at metal work or have a lot of money to spend and know you will never recoup. I would part it out and look for a better body. From the rust I see it is going to need floor pans and maybe frame damage repair. Run.
 
I put a roof skin and drip rails on this car which was worst then yours. It wasn't that hard at all. Just a matter of drilling the good one off another car. You will need two roofs . one for the drip rails and one for the skin. You can also get the filler panel from AMD.
 

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Based upon what it looks like by the trim what did you expect to find?
 
See what it would cost to have someone do the work for you (looks like you might have an offer above), but if that's near the same price as another body or solid car, then use this as a parts car and get another car. Always do the math and make the decision based on that, not on emotion.
 
inkjunkie said:
Based upon what it looks like by the trim what did you expect to find?
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Exaaactly!......I would file that under "nightmare", but everybody has their own definition of what they consider a "challenging project" that they would actually enjoy doing. Maybe if I was retired.......

Bet you could find a donor body out here in CA for less than $2K.....but I know shipping factors in too.
 
If the rest of the car is pretty solid and in decent driver condition i'd fix it. If the rest of the car looks like the roof i think you'd be better of finding another car or at least a donor body.
 
I'd base the decision on how solid the rest of the car is. My bronze GT needs a roof skin because of a vinyl top, looks like it might be a little better than yours but it has holes as well, just not in the lower panels. The rest of the car is solid with exception of the trunk pan, and even that isn't horrible. The roof skin isn't that hard to swap if you can find a donor. I removed a roof skin from a parts car I had, wasn't a big deal with a couple of spot weld cutters. Reinstalling is pretty straightforward with a MIG welder.

Biggest thing is finding the donor. Once you've found a donor, its a couple day operation with a few spot weld cutters and a MIG. I definitely wouldn't write the car off just because of a roof skin. Of course, the rusted roof skin makes it more likely the floors/trunk etc need to be replaced too, and at some point its easier to cut your losses.

Here's a thread I posted on before, lotsa info over there. And a couple of pictures.

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=194845


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yikes ...and I thought mine was bad. good luck and post pics if you replace your roof
 

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How about the rest of the car? You need to do a total evaluation. How bad is the rust in the doors, floors, fenders and rails?

How about around the windshield/cowl area?

As I see it now, from the limited view in the pics, also here http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=247743

You need a roof and full 1/4s. If a car has holes in the roof, the water goes somewhere, and where it went is more than likely rusted too.

I see why you bought it. At first glance it looks like a nice, complete, unmolested car.

BUT>>>> For you east cost guys especially, the #1 thing to look for is major rust.

Everything on a car is easy except rust. Minor rust is fine but major rust like that can only be fixed with skilled labor, witch is expensive and replacement parts, which are also expensive.

I would give you a quote of "$8,000 minimum" to make the repairs that I can see. That is just metal replacement, it does not include any paint work.

In my professional opinion (based on the fact that the rust is well beyond the roof), your best move forward, would be to find a good, low cost, car/body from the western US and start moving parts over.
 
Everyone has to start somewhere when it comes to metal work; you either nut up and tackle it or you don't. It's the funnest part of the build. Your gonna face rust in some form or fashion eventually working on an old car, that's how it is. It's only rust, and time consuming.
 
PoisonDart74 said:
Everyone has to start somewhere when it comes to metal work; you either nut up and tackle it or you don't. It's the funnest part of the build. Your gonna face rust in some form or fashion eventually working on an old car, that's how it is. It's only rust, and time consuming.
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Absolutely, but starting somewhere shouldn't be removing the roof and both quarters, especially for a beginner.

And... I don't see GTS on the fenders.

$2000 Solid West Coast body + $1200 shipping = Saving thousands of dollars and a huge amount of time.

You will also have a better car in the end.
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
Absolutely, but starting somewhere shouldn't be removing the roof and both quarters, especially for a beginner.

And... I don't see GTS on the fenders.

$2000 Solid West Coast body + $1200 shipping = Saving thousands of dollars and a huge amount of time.

You will also have a better car in the end.
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Very true.....yet so many balk at the idea. Building one of these in going to cost some $$ no matter which way you go. I like going the least aggravating route. My friend/body guy would not even take something like this on. But he is in AZ, where finding a good candidate for a builder is pretty simple.

Ask yourself this, lets say you were to find a relatively rust free car for $2500 that took $1300 to get it to you. And lets just say that you were capable of doing the work for yourself.....but have a life outside these cars. As Steve mentioned you will need a donor roof and a set of donor rails. So that equals 2 parts cars you will need to use for donors. Factor in the time it will take to remove it all, swap it over etc. That $3800 for a cleaner car is starting to look pretty damn attractive to me. Couple that with if the roof is that bad you can almost bet on the car needing major rust repairs in other areas there really is not much to think about.

Good luck in which ever way you choose to go. Personally, I would have never bought a car in that shape. In today's world of the internet it is to easy to find a car in decent shape. Sure it will cost a bit of funds to get it you but body work aint cheap. If the car has sentimental value to you that is another topic, but if it is just a car you picked up out of the paper. Will you be out the purchase money? Perhaps....but why throw good money after bad. This would be like suing someone that has nothing that can be taken...

The reality of building a car, for most of us at least is it is going to cost a boat load of money. You have a car, that unless you possess the skills to do do the metal work yourself, you will be into for a more money than what it will cost to just find another car. If you can, get together with the fellow from PA that has done/is capable of fixing it and see what he says. Some of the other folks are right, it is only metal work. Do you have the tools to do it? If not, you will need a mig machine with a bottle + the skill to use it.

Damn...I am rambling or what? GOOD LUCK
 
You could make a convertible out of it, and also make a fiber glass mold of the roof so you could take it off and put it on like a jeep. LOL..

If you decide not to fix it, you have a solid donor car, I would find another one and take the parts you need for the other one. Then when you are done with your next car, part what is left out.
 
68383GTS said:
You could always make a convertible out of it.
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1970Duster said:
What he said
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This is pretty much NEVER a good idea. If the OP doesn't have the skills to replace the roof skin, he doesn't have anywhere near the skills needed to turn it into a convertible that will be safe on the road.

Making a unibody a convertible is a heck of a lot more involved that just chopping the roof off. The chassis and body need to be braced, not to mention the finish work to deal with the edge where the roof came off.

Done wrong, you'll have a car that is totally unsafe to drive and that no stock interior parts will fit. Done right and it'll be so much time and money that you could have just bought a 'vert to start with.

As for the OP's car, based on the other pictures its going to be a tough decision. I'd have to see the tops of the quarters stripped down to metal. There might be enough there to salvage the tops of the quarters and just patch the lowers, but that would also depend on the wheelhouses, trunk extensions, etc. And we really need to see the floors. Worst case it needs the roof, both quarters, wheelhouses, trunk, floors, dutchman, etc. The cost of the sheet metal itself would be higher than shipping a decent donor from the west coast, let alone labor. Best case is the roof, dutchman and quarter patches, with the rest being salvageable. But based on how the roof looks, I'd bet closer to the worst case scenario. Definitely not an easy project either way.
 
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