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BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER.... A's, G's & E's


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gkpost
morbank
m1dadio
Big W
Chevboner
9 posters

    Roof Skin?

    Chevboner
    Chevboner


    Number of posts : 209
    Location : Skokie, IL
    Age : 35
    Registration date : 2012-09-15

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    Post by Chevboner Sun Mar 29, 2015 9:31 am

    Suggestions on the best way to fix this wavy roof. Either a lot of bondo and hammering, or better to just find a  good roof skin?

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    Big W
    Big W


    Number of posts : 3282
    Location : Saskatoon,Sask,Canada
    Age : 59
    Registration date : 2011-01-13

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    Post by Big W Sun Mar 29, 2015 9:51 am

    Holy crap....someone have a dance party on that thing. repairing that may take a fair bit of time and cash. If it was me, I would look for another skin. Good luck with your repair.
    Chevboner
    Chevboner


    Number of posts : 209
    Location : Skokie, IL
    Age : 35
    Registration date : 2012-09-15

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    Post by Chevboner Sun Mar 29, 2015 9:54 am

    Yes and i think they used the door handle to get on top cause its jazzed up too

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    m1dadio
    m1dadio
    Chevy Guru


    Number of posts : 1778
    Location : north saanich
    Registration date : 2008-10-06

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    Post by m1dadio Sun Mar 29, 2015 10:32 am

    I would start with spending a couple hours doing some rough straightening and see where it goes from there. because getting a good roof home and changing it is alot of work and costs $$.

    If there is rust in the roof you might want to work that factor into the desicion making.

    try some of these simple teckniques
    Make forming blocks out of wood
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    on the flat sheet metal parts  you could make a 10" square pad with plywood and 3/4" styrofoam or something like that to distribute the load and not make other dents.

    A block of steel (dolly) and a good body hammer and you should be able to adjust some of the creases.

    3 or 4 hours and you should have the roof straight enough to accept a reasonable amount of bondo.


    Use the 2X4 jack to straighten the roof beems also. After you get the roof and beams as straight as you want them, use body seal coulking to reglue the beams to the roof skin.
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    M1D" />
    Chevboner
    Chevboner


    Number of posts : 209
    Location : Skokie, IL
    Age : 35
    Registration date : 2012-09-15

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    Post by Chevboner Sun Mar 29, 2015 10:56 am

    That is cool M1. was your roof as bad as mine?
    morbank
    morbank


    Number of posts : 161
    Location : Thousand Oaks, CA
    Registration date : 2014-07-30

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    Post by morbank Sun Mar 29, 2015 12:58 pm

    Great post M1, thanks for the info and pics!
    gkpost
    gkpost


    Number of posts : 224
    Location : nh
    Registration date : 2010-10-16

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    Post by gkpost Tue Mar 31, 2015 3:33 pm

    Mine was not as bad as your's but it was bad. I used 2x4's and a bottle jack in a upright position. And strapping across the roof. I jacked a little ( or a lot ) past where I wanted the roof to be and used a block of wood and a rubber mallet and be the crap out of it till I got close.
    I did this for more than a few evenings. I dondo'd the real offensive stuff and painted the roof a light color.
    One short cut might be to consider a big sunroof up front.~ GK.
    vanny
    vanny
    Moderator


    Number of posts : 14774
    Location : Ashburnham, MA
    Age : 64
    Registration date : 2012-09-22

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    Post by vanny Tue Mar 31, 2015 4:01 pm

    What I Love most about this site is that no matter what your van looks like, someone's seen it before and has some insight as to what it takes to resolve the issue and are willing to share advise and pictures to back it up.

    M1 and gk, Fantastic ideas and thanks for sharing because you never know when a tree limb or some drunken folks might decide to do a dance on your van and wouldn't it be nice to have some ideas on how to fix it? Idea cheers cheers cheers


    _________________
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    Chevboner
    Chevboner


    Number of posts : 209
    Location : Skokie, IL
    Age : 35
    Registration date : 2012-09-15

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    Post by Chevboner Wed Apr 01, 2015 12:56 am

    This input is more then I was expecting to get. Just like Vanny said, The know how, The advice, the right or wrong way to do things is excellent. Much appreciated. I talked to my buddy that will end up doing the body and paint work. He said it wouldn't be a bad idea to look into another skin, So I'm still going to put it out there as I'm in need of one. In the mean time ill try some of these tricks of the van trade and see what I can do to try and save what I have.
    vanner68
    vanner68


    Number of posts : 655
    Location : Eastpointe MI
    Registration date : 2008-09-22

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    Post by vanner68 Wed Apr 01, 2015 5:05 am

    The roof skin extends into the drip rail, so when you look for a donor try to get one with the drip rail still attached.
    jeffnjen
    jeffnjen


    Number of posts : 26
    Location : el paso
    Registration date : 2015-03-29

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    Post by jeffnjen Wed Apr 01, 2015 9:57 am

    I most likely will have a roof skin by friday,
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    ChevyVanMan1


    Number of posts : 425
    Location : Your Nation's Capital
    Registration date : 2009-07-19

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    Post by ChevyVanMan1 Fri May 22, 2015 8:13 am

    I feel you pain. Had some thieves up on my roof a few years ago who used my van as their ladder and escape route. Since I chased them off my roof the two there (third on the ground) ran over my roof and dented it up. Looked like a father and two sons--all appeared intoxicated. Fortunately, they were very small hispanic guys. Chased them down my alley until they scattered like rabbits. It was about 3:30 in the AM and my dog didn't even bark. Must have thought them invited since they were on the house.

    Managed to do a pretty good job with rubber mallet pounded with a 3lb hand sledge. Pretty tiring but a good vent for my anger. Still, will need some finer work done by a pro. At least it looks pretty good and doesn't shudder on the higway.

    Good luck and happier motoring, Mark

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