Freaked Out By Roof Rust
Yep roof skin, dutchman panel , 2 full rear quarters, 2 outer wheel wells, 2 trunk extensions. If the trunk floor is good which i couldent imagine it is, probably just replace the spare tire well since those are almost always ate up.
I passed on a 71 dart V8 that was slightly better than this one in the roof rust department. Still had to put a full floor in my 67 cuda though. As this stuff gets older and older unless you live in a dry climate this is what you are gonna find especially with vinyl tops. My cuda never had one, i dont intend to put one on it.
I agree with ink on this one, either you buckle.down and learn how to do the rust repair, or find a cleaner body to work with. If you have somebody willing to do the job nearby, ask if you can help do the job with them so you can learn. I am self taught on auto body and rust repair. I did this out of necessity, i couldent afford to pay someone to do it for me.
Good luck on your project. I hope it turns out well for you, some.advice tho, dont put the vinyl top back on once its all fixed.
Matt
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.
Yep roof skin, dutchman panel , 2 full rear quarters, 2 outer wheel wells, 2 trunk extensions. If the trunk floor is good which i couldent imagine it is, probably just replace the spare tire well since those are almost always ate up.
I passed on a 71 dart V8 that was slightly better than this one in the roof rust department. Still had to put a full floor in my 67 cuda though. As this stuff gets older and older unless you live in a dry climate this is what you are gonna find especially with vinyl tops. My cuda never had one, i dont intend to put one on it.
I agree with ink on this one, either you buckle.down and learn how to do the rust repair, or find a cleaner body to work with. If you have somebody willing to do the job nearby, ask if you can help do the job with them so you can learn. I am self taught on auto body and rust repair. I did this out of necessity, i couldent afford to pay someone to do it for me.
Good luck on your project. I hope it turns out well for you, some.advice tho, dont put the vinyl top back on once its all fixed.
Matt
