Roof?

[Arskov]

Just bought a 73 Grande coupe, got her for $600. Only thing wrong with her is a rusty roof. I've been hunting high and low for a new roof and I can't find one anywhere. Anybody got a lead on a place that sells them, or a shop that can make one? I'm kind of new to the classics scene but I've always wanted an old muscle car like this, so I'm determined to make the old girl look like she just rolled off the assembly line again.

 

[turtle5353]

Get a hold of Don at Ohio Mustang Supply, I'm sure he has some parts cars.

 

[goodnigh]

+1

Don would be the guy to talk to.

He is also a forum vendor.

mike

 

[73pony]

How rusty is the roof? try car-part.com it is an online junk yard database.

 

[Mikesro]

I tried to find new one to purchase, but could only find the Fastback roof available anywhere.

Junkyard roofs for the Grande Coupe may be just as bad or worse than your own IF you can even find one.

Custom metalwork and repairs may be the only way to go but also are VERY expensive.

Get ready to spend as much or probably more than you paid for the car. Good Luck.

 

[Widowmaker00]

Someone here might have a parts car that they could cut the roof off for you. I had a similar issue years ago and a member cut the chunk out that I needed and sent it to me.

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk

 

[donkost]

It's hard to see in your flatbed pic, but it looks like the vinyl roof is torn off a bit. How bad is the roof, and is it out of the question to repair it? I think I have seen some message threads where people repaired a roof that even had some rust holes in it. If you could do that then the original roof wouldn't need to be cut off and a new one sectioned in. I think it would need some additional reinforcement from underneath if a repair is attempted, because even in good condition the roof metal will have some "give" to it. If the roof is like Swiss cheese then ok it's probably not a good idea to try and repair it.

 

[Bru]

Just bought a 73 Grandé coupe, got her for $600. Only thing wrong with her is a rusty roof. I've been hunting high and low for a new roof and I can't find one anywhere. Anybody got a lead on a place that sells them, or a shop that can make one? I'm kind of new to the classics scene but I've always wanted an old muscle car like this, so I'm determined to make the old girl look like she just rolled off the assembly line again.



Where in northern Cali are you?

I'm in Auburn / Lincoln area and might know of a parts car. 

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Like some are saying if just surface rust or a few holes you can probably have it wet media blasted and then phosphate it and get some good epoxy primer on it. The work on smoothing it back out before a new vinyl top is put on. 

When you do get it back going do not wash the car with running water it gets in all the little cracks and along the edge of the vinyl roof and can do it again. Just wipe it down no running water and for sure no car washes.

It is amazing how cheap the Grande cars go. 

You are in Calif. so too far from N.C. we have a Mustang junk yard here and several coupes in there. He just cut one up couple weeks back. You might do some searching or put an ad on Craigslist in the Arizona, New Mexico area for a desert car and not a Grande with vinyl roof. It is a huge job to remove the roof and put another on and get it all correct.

 

[OMS]

If you want to replace the roof. You need to find one you can go and pick up.

Shipping a roof across the country would be expensive plus it would need to be crated to prevent damage.

Nice find for 600.00

Get a hold of BRU and follow the lead he offers

 

[goodnigh]

+1

What Don said. Bought a NOS quarter panel for my '71 Grande

and shipping was way more expensive than the panel itself.

mike

 

[kcmash]

You are getting good advice here!

Seeing pictures of your actual rust concerns will help a lot in finding the correct path forward.

Not being a bodyman, I agree if you can strip the vinyl top, clean up the metal and assess, you can save a LOT of time cost and frustration.  Replacing a roof panel is not for the beginner or faint of heart.  If you could do skim coats of putty, high build primer, or other magical coatings for integrity of the panel, the replacement vinyl will be very forgiving for a clean finished look and cover up the rust repair.

Show us your dirty laundry before trying to source a roof.  We are here to help!

Funny, I paid $600 for my car when I bought it.  But Molly Ringwald was famous for 16 candles when I got mine too!

kcmash

 

[Arskov]

I'll have to get a pic the next time I'm at the yard (I've got it under a cover at work) but it's pretty bad, the entire roof is rusted with with a large portion in the center that's gotten to the point where I can put a hole in it with my finger. I've been thinking about welding a strip of sheet metal to the front of the roof and a second one on the inside to cover the biggest holes, then sanding the outer strip to a taper and having a spray-on bedliner sprayed over the entire roof. It'd give it a very similar look to the original vinyl, but it'd be a lot more durable and less likely to leak.

 

[mjlan]

You are options are limited to finding a donor roof or having yours repaired.

Start searching for a parts car in a rustless part of the country (SoCal?). Finiding a Hardtop/ Grande roof might be cheaper than trying to find a donor fastack.

https://www.dvap.com/salvage/1973-ford-mustang-73fo6190d/