Rot under landau top, replace or repair : 87 Cutlass Supreme

[GeoR]

I just bought a 87 cutlass supreme (my dream car ) the other day, the vinyl top isn't something i'm too fond of so i had planned to convert it to hardtop. I started peeling off some duct tape used to cover a rip and i noticed rot . It isn't to the point where i can touch the headliner, but its there and i can feel the the roof section under the top is weak ( it'll break if i were to punch it). Now come the question and a wanted input.
I have 3 ideas , but i dont know how good they are or viable.
1: remove vinyl top and bondo it, put a sealer of some kind sand it then take it to an upholstery shop and get a new vinyl top installed
2: use a metal or fiberglass filler to fill in rust/rot holes sand it down put a protective coating to try and prevent more rust until i have saved up up enough to get a new paint job.
3: get lucky and find a cutlass for parts < 1000k cut out the portion of roof and mig weld or braze it to the roof from the inside of the car * while crossing fingers for that i dont start a fire*
i dont have pictures of the rust at the moment , but i will take some when i have a chance.
- Thanks to every one in advance
Here are some pics of the car: You can probably see the duct tape a little bit

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

Cutting out the rotted metal and welding in repair patches is the only permanent repair. Bondo will fail in a year.

 

[GeoR]

Cutting out the rotted metal and welding in repair patches is the only permanent repair. Bondo will fail in a year.

Does that apply to both the conversion to (1) hardtop or just bondo under the replaced vinyl top (2).
I figured the filler would only be a temp fix .
i would rather weld a portion to the roof,but until i find a donor or take a trip to the scrap yard with my angle grinder. These car are kinda hard to find up north not rotted out.
So in your opinion do you think any of the first two options would be a good " fix" for at least a couple months?
-Thank you

 

[Qdub24]

Snatch the vinyl top off, have new metal welded in, and enjoy. Vinyl tops are breeding grounds for rust b/c they can retain moisture.

 

[Injectedcutty]

As others have said, replace the metal with metal if possible. I ran into the same thing with my 87 cutlass....removed the vinyl to convert to hardtop and found enough rust to scare my body guy! He said please find another roof....so that's wht i did. Cool part is i had a open roof for a few days while the old skin was removed and new one welded on. After some patience a d good bodywork no one will be able to tell it wasn't a hardtop from the get go. Hunt down a decent donor and do it right the 1st time.

 

[GeoR]

As others have said, replace the metal with metal if possible. I ran into the same thing with my 87 cutlass....removed the vinyl to convert to hardtop and found enough rust to scare my body guy! He said please find another roof....so that's wht i did. Cool part is i had a open roof for a few days while the old skin was removed and new one welded on. After some patience a d good bodywork no one will be able to tell it wasn't a hardtop from the get go. Hunt down a decent donor and do it right the 1st time. View attachment 52923 View attachment 52924 View attachment 52925

I just spoke with an acquaintance today who owns a body shop , he pretty much said what everyone else has been saying find a roof. With that being said i do face some obstacles
1: my welding skills are sub-par at the moment so i unfortunately wont be able to do the work myself.
2: i live in the good ol' New England and most parts cars either are way to overpriced and salvage yards have little to no rust/rot free cutlasses.

So if any of you guys can link me to a place where i can purchase a roof skin or some nice southern parts cars that will be appreciated

In all honesty ill probably be better off getting rid of this car and buying another cutlass. With the amount of work required it'll be cheaper to buy a hardtop with a v8 instead of fixing and swapping mine.

Thanks for the help

 

[theoldsone]

Trust me you're not the only guy who its happened to. Before buying an old car assess the damage and decide if you want to fix it. Rust is repairable it just depends if its worth the while.

 

[thunderball]

mental note to self: avoid vinyl tops like the plague...... damnn. i have a full roof one on my newish dd.

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

It was common practice for the big 3 to use cheap filler instead of lead in the rear quarter to roof seam on landau cars. They figured the vinyl would hide the substandard bodywork as they didn't even sand the filler smooth. It is a high stress area so the filler tends to crack allowing rust to form. On hardtop cars they used lead instead of filler which is more durable.

Also like with Qdub's, car you can get weird galvanic corrosion between the mild steel and the stainless steel or aluminum trim. On my Regal, they used plastic trim clips instead of stainless screws, no corrosion.

 

[GeoR]

I found a rear roof skin online for the t-top does anyone think this might work to replace and weld on where the landau top used to be?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331733801729?rmvSB=true

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...,5.0l+307cid+v8,1222962,body,header+panel,819