some of you may remember, i have an 81 firebird, and i've finally got it running. i towed it to a transmission shop, and should have it driving in a few days. the next problem to tackle is the hole in the roof. has anyone dealt with anything like this before? what kind of metal should i buy to patch the roof with? what gauge should i use? the plan right now is to cut all the rust out, weld in a patch, grind it smooth, coat it in bondo, and put primer on it until it is professionaly painted. anyone have any feedback? thanks guys.

 

if you have the money, get a roof from an 81 with t-tops and swap the whole roof.

 

You can use 18-20 gage, Make sure you use an etching primer on any exposed metal. Are you mig welding it? Stich weld it to reduce heat if you are. If you let things get too hot you will push a warp in the steel and your bodyman will hate you or love you if he is charging by the hour.

 

I had a hole in the roof of my '71 Camaro from when I put a sun roof in it back in 1975. I wanted it fixed before I had it painted 3 yrs. ago, so I searched the local wrecking yards and Craigslist until I found a 2nd gen Firebird a private party had. I went over and cut the whole roof off the Firebird for $45, and used the roof to make a patch for the sun roof hole.
If you get a complete roof, or most of a roof, you'll have the correct thickness metal, the right contoured shape, and it will make repairs much easier. I just measured out the area I needed, and cut the metal from the same area on the donor, so my contour was perfect. I tack welded it in with my wire feed, and after about 400 tacks it was all connected and I ground off the welds smooth and filled it.
If you use a MIG it should work great, but DO NOT use flux core MIG wire! If you don't have a MIG that uses argon mix shielding, you'll find the flux core will not give a good repair and may create issues later under the filler.

 

I guess a lot depends on the size of the hole I was thinking a hole the size of my fist for some reason. If you are talking near sun roof size 1971BB427 is dead on.

The flux core stuff is fine for fixing a exhaust bracket outside on a windy day but I was mig welding I use the smallest wire (.023) with gas and stich weld as stated above. If you try a continuos weld you would warp the whole roof. With the .023 wire I can lay down a nice flat 1/8" wide stich. I then use a flapper style sander disk and level it right off.

 

Yes, and use a very coarse grit disc when grinding down welds. The coarse grit will make quick work and not heat up the metal as quickly, which can warp it also.

 

unfortunately, buying a roof is not an option. around where i live there are barely any birds or camaro's, and the ones around are rusty. as far as 18-20, where is a good place to get some? and it is curved slightly, what's a good way to bend it? i'm going to be welding at school, and will have plenty of help, i do believe it is mig welding, and it is wire fed, and has gas. i'm not sure the gauge of the wire, but the plan is to stich weld. i'm not gonna lie, i'm new at this, and i'm learning, but i will have help. i'm trying to do as much of the work on this as i can, so i'd also like to finish it up with bondo before sending it to paint. any suggestions on that?

thanks guys!

 

I wouldn't even begin to try and explain how to shape metal into compound curves, as I'm a novice at it, and rarely try it. You'll probably find that most curved areas on your roof are compound curves, and those are challenging to even advanced metal workers to shape freehand. If a 2nd gen Camaro or Firebird are not available to use as donor material, then there are still good options. You can make a cardboard template of the area by cutting cardboard until it fits the shape well. Then take the template to a wrecking yard and compare it by holding it to various new car roofs. Once you find one that's very close you can cut out the roof and use it as donor material. I have a battery powered sawzall, and snips that I take with me to remove panels.
I've found that most wrecking yard don't care about roofs, as nobody seems to buy them, so that's what I buy often for many sheetmetal repairs, and it's cheaper than buying new sheetmetal, plus closer to the curve you need without hand forming over a mandrel. The last sheet of 20ga. I purchased last week was $48 for a 4'x8' sheet, and the last roof I bought off a car for donor material was $15.

 

I know Joe's you pull-it yard by me had a few newer second gens.

If you really want to get into this I would suggest a training video. Ron Covell is the man, To the point many of the people that are concidered the best today went to his training classes. If I ever get rich I would love to go to one.

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That may get you what you want but if not then the next

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Depending on the size of the hole you are repairing, any camaro or firebird roof skin, 1970 to 1981 will be the same, and will save you a ton of headache's. If that is not an option, try this site..... www.biscaysclassics.com . They have been very helpful to me and have a good selection of parts that can ship right to your door.