The roof was in real bad shape. Across the top of the
windshield, above both doors & above the back window was like swiss
cheese. I had two cabs, a large back window and a small back window. We
cut the roof off the big back window cab (the floor was rusted out) and
used it to repair the small back window (the floor was pretty solid).
Here you can see the drip edge, some of the holes in the
roof and some to the far right in the door jams. The drip edge was very
rough, I have seen some people in the past put aftermarket chrome edging
(or painted) on. However, I was trying to make the body lines as fluid
as possible, so it just had to go. A lot of time will have to be put
into the doors to make all the gaps perfect, but it should be worth it
in the end.
Here you can see the roof removed. The drip rail is
where the top of the roof and the inner roof are crimped together. By
cutting off the drip edge the top piece was able to be removed. The good
pieces from the other cab were inserted. In the end the roof skin was
put back. In the process we welded the two panels together and the drip
rail was shaved. All the rust in between the panels was treated with
corrosion protection.
Here you can see the almost finished product. All the
swiss cheese holes are gone and the drip rail is smoothed out. Once the
truck is painted, it should give it a real smooth appearance. Most
people won't notice but hopefully other truckers will be able to
appreciate it.
Since the last photos some more progress has been made.
The welds were the roof sections meet have started to be filled in. Also
some metal has been added to the cab to fill in the gap along the top
edge of the door. Also seen here the front edge of the door has been
radiused. More information is on the section about filler neck and door
handles.
