Need Help with Vinyl Roof Disease on '72 Scamp

Need Help with Vinyl Roof Disease on '72 Scamp

Wow, thanks for all the responses, y'all! It's super helpful to hear all these points of view!

harrisonm said
I've said it before and I'll say it again. The problem with rust is that you usually don't see all of it. I bet that all the places Demonic mentioned are shot as well. Ask yourself this, where did the water go that all those huge holes by the rear window go? Into the trunk!

Also, not quite sure what you meant by, "after I cleaned it up a bit, I realized it was a LOT worse than I thought when I bought the car". All the dirt in the world would not have covered up those rust holes.

The problem is, I see no indication of serious rust elsewhere whatsoever. The previous owner, after removing the vinyl top, has had the car garage kept for the last 15/20 years, (Without attempting to fix the rust!!??) so there hasn't been water pouring in or anything.

A little rust in there, but surely nothing that would damage the integrity of the car? As for seeing this before I bought it...well, it was definitely my fault. The seller had a patch on it, but I could easily have caught it had I looked more closely.

RustyRatRod said
That car is hiding a LOT more rust than meets the eye. I ga-roan-tee.

barbee6043 said
For every pond of rust you see, there are 10 ponds of hidden rust most every time!! Sand down what looks like rrust free sheetmetal, and many times you al least find pin holes where it rusted from the inside. Then multiply that by 50

That is the main worrisome point... But again, the pictures I've posted show literally all the visible rust on the car. Can car killing amounts of rust be hidden under perfectly smooth paint?

72bluNblu said
That’s not a parts car. My bronze GT has a very similar rust damage pattern. Roof skin because of the stupid vinyl top (worst idea ever), some small areas of the upper quarter because of the vinyl coverage there, and the spare tire well. And nothing else. I got a parts car and removed the roof skin, it’s not a big deal at all. Just spot welds to put it back on.

Rainy Day Auto said
This isn't as bad as it looks ...I did this same repair on a duster many moons ago.

That's how it appears to me. Thanks for the encouragement, y'all!

Dartnut said
You have 3 ways to go here, either get the tools and skills to do this job properly, hire someone with experience and pay them to do it, or sell it to someone who has the skills and patience to do the repair so you can cut your losses and look for a better body to start with.
Whatever you do, DON'T just seal the holes with bondo and foam etc. just so it looks better and think it is safe.
It isn't.

The more I think about it, the more I think you're right about the safety factor. It would be a considerable job to glass it all up "properly" anyway, so I might as well go the welded option.

Selling the car is definitely a distant third for me. It has a pro built 318, and... I kinda love it. I would be willing to learn how to do the repair correctly and/or farm out some of the work to a professional.

Sorry for the long post, and thanks again everyone!