Thread: Filling in a top, wish search was more user friendly

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The car you currently have may have a depressed area around the perimeter of the big hole (which was not uncommon on many of the cars of that era)---this depressed area was used in some manner to hold the fabric top in place. You want to draw a line about 1/2" beyond this depressed area, onto "level" steel, then cut all around the top on that line. Measure the size of the hole width-wise and lengthwise, and go to an old junkyard with these measurements. Find a van or station wagon roof that has "ridges" pressed lengthwise into the steel to strengthen it.
Try and find a roof section on which the ridges end before they would run beyond the measurements of the filler panel you need. (you are going to need a filler panel at least 2" wider and 2" longer than the hole in top of your car.)
Don't worry too much about the "crown" that you need----that comes later.
Cut out the roof section and take out any stiffners that may be welded on the inside of the roof surface.
Lay the new roof section over the cut out hole in your Studebaker, get a friend on each corner to hold it down in place, (centered and aligned to your trimmed out hole).
Climb in and trace all around with a sharp sheet metal scribe to transfer the exact hole size onto the inner side of the donor roof.
Cut as closely to the scribed line as you can, and trial fit the new roof as many times as you can---this will save much pain later. I like to leave about 1/32" gap all around if working with .020 thou. wire on a mig with a gas bottle.
----Now, the magical entity of "crown"---Short of having somebody roll a crown into a new peice of sheet metal with an english wheel, which costs 3 zillion dollars, there are a number of ways to approach this.---The front to rear crown is so mild that the donor roof will always conform to the lines of the existing roof as it is tacked into place. The side to side crown is the same way, at the front and rear of the car where you are welding to the existing roof section. The iffy part comes in the central area of the roof hole where there is nothing spanning from side to side to hold the contour. I always like to cut at least 2 hardwood top bows that span from side to side, dividing the long ways of the roof into 3 equal sections. These top bows attach to the sides of the existing roof on the inside of the car, and form a tack strip for a future headliner, and you determine what the top profile should be and cut the hardwood bows (cut fom 3/4" thick oak) out with a sabre saw.
Set the new roof section in place and with the help of many friends, welders clamps, big magnets, 1/32" spacers (made from sheet metal), and faith in a higher power, begin tacking the new roof in place around the perimeter.---I try for one preliminary tack on each corner to ensure that everything is aligned to staet with.
Theh I move from side to side with my tacks, starting from the front. Chances are pretty good that after the first 12 or 16 tacks, 6 or 8 per side, you will probably want to cut the two tacks at the rear to let the metal "move around" a little bit from the heat of welding without oilcanning or buckling.
Tack it all the way around with tacks on 3 or 4" centers, then go back around with tacks in the center of these tacks, (remembering to jump side to side as you do so).
If you are unfortunate enough to get "humpies" in the corners, cut a relief slot and let the metal relieve itself. (hammering and cursing generally help)
If it oilcans, heat a spot near the edge of the oilcanned area about the size of a dime to a cherry red, then quench it with a wet rag to try and shrink the stretched area and get rid of the oilcan. (you may have to do that numerous times)
When you go to grind the welded area down, remember that also generates a lot of heat, so again, jump around from spot to spot. I like to use a 3" dia. cut-off wheel on an airtool to knock most of the weld bead down, then a 36 grit flap wheel to finish the welds.
GOOD LUCK