It's been a long process, but Jay Dean at the Nostalgia Ranch has finally stitched the top back together on this Ford shoebox. Not only has he lowered the lid, but he has also eliminated the B-pillars, giving his happy customer a custom hardtop.
Jay's philosophy from the start was to cut, stand back, and weld it together once it looked right. We left you last month with the A-pillars welded, the B-pillars gone, and the rear of the roof looking like we should have never started. In this issue, Jay is going to show us that he knew what he was doing all along and mate the old roof and some new sheetmetal into a flowing form. Follow along and get some tips to apply to your own custom.
With the front and side pillars...
With the front and side pillars taking shape, Jay could now turn his attention to the rear C-pillar and glass area.
If you can't get your hands...
If you can't get your hands on Cleco clips, use the next best thing-some self-drilling and tapping screws.
This allowed him to push the...
This allowed him to push the new panel down flush with the roof so it could be tack welded together flush.
Once the top edge was done,...
Once the top edge was done, Jay started on the bottom edge.
He did the top edge a little...
He did the top edge a little differently. He started at the middle and worked his way out to one side only.
Obviously we're trying to...
Obviously we're trying to make a flat piece of sheetmetal do the job of a panel that has compound curves, so it's not always going to come along quietly.
Where the side of the new...
Where the side of the new panel meets the roof, Jay used the same trick as he did along the top.
Before Jay fired up the welder,...
Before Jay fired up the welder, he cut a small slit in the roof along the top edge of the panel to separate the exposed roof from the part under the new sheetmetal.
Jay test-fit the rear glass...
Jay test-fit the rear glass so he could eyeball how everything was coming together and check whether it was all to his satisfaction-which it was.
Another relief cut was still...
Another relief cut was still required along the top of what was still left of the rain gutter (the rain gutter will end up being cut away and smoothed) to give that area of metal a little more freedom to move around.
Jay then marked a relief cut...
Jay then marked a relief cut that ran up the middle of the roof side.
Now that Jay was happy with...
Now that Jay was happy with the flow of the window into the roof, he could tack weld the rear of the roof panel to the body.
Now that the existing metal...
Now that the existing metal was pretty much where Jay wanted it, it was time for the first filler piece.
He then trimmed the roof panel...
He then trimmed the roof panel to fit the shape of the vertical piece of the old C-pillar coming up from the bodyline (this was the panel left over when he cut the roof away at the rain gutter).
Another small piece went up...
Another small piece went up into the roof relief cut.
Here's the finished product....
Here's the finished product. Well almost.
The largest filler piece was...
The largest filler piece was cut out and trimmed to fit.