Cheap roof repair. wondering if it will work.

I think by the time you cut the rust out and get to clean metal you are going to have a pretty large hole, panel adhesive might work but for me I wouldn't trust the repair unless I welded it in.

I see no issue using panel bond once you cut back to clean metal. If its the real 3m stuff. Its really great stuff

Welding would be preferred, but going with adhesives I would be looking onto what would be used for O.E. assemble on newer cars. I would use Lord Fusor products myself, but do some research find what best suits your budget & ease of use. Like welding, make sure the rust is dealt with so it can be a one & done job. Also check into other options to the Bondo to do the filler work that will flex and hold it shape. Are you planning to put a vinyl top back on?

waterproof bondo glass to seal it up. Long board sander is your friend. The matte / satin finish will hide the repair

Best fix would be to weld a new roof on. Harbor Freight MIG welders aren't the best, and for thin metal repair you need solid core, shielding gas machine with cold start. The roofs on these cars are very thin and flux core will burn right through. The roofs also flex alot and will crack bondo. The only filler that could work there would be body lead. At the least you are going to have to carefully weld in a large roof patch.

Clone TIE Pilot said:

Best fix would be to weld a new roof on. Harbor Freight MIG welders aren't the best, and for thin metal repair you need solid core, shielding gas machine with cold start. The roofs on these cars are very thin and flux core will burn right through. The roofs also flex alot and will crack bondo. The only filler that could work there would be body lead. At the least you are going to have to carefully weld in a large roof patch.

Click to expand...

That's hardly a cheap roof repair for a matte back semi-rat rod.
Lazarus, take a look at the other roof supports with the headliner down. The factory would use low density expanding foam to fill the void between the roof and supports. Keeps the metal from vibrating at speed and warping from the heat.

Post up some pics to see how it turned out.
I just did a similar ( though not as bad ) repair on my '03 DD. Astro/Safaris rot in front of the PS rear wheel. I used a cutoff wheel and cut halfway up to the bodyline. Patched in a new panel, pop rivits to the wheelwell and panel bond under the good steel at the top with a couple sheet metal screws to hold it in place until the bond cures. Took the screws out and used Bondo glass to seal it up and get the repair close. The parts house matched the paint 95% and if I had bothered to blend it into the side door it would have matched better. I figure with a coat of dirt it will not be noticed by 99% of the people on the road.

Is it a 100% repair, hell no. But I think it will hold up just fine for at least a few more years. Your repair should as well