roof insert - 33 Tudor

Doctor's Ford

Doctor's Ford

Senior Member
My 33 Tudor restoration continues and found the following issue shown in the photo: After removing the old paint from the top of the body I can see a line of welding of a lar metal roof insert overlying the area where I see rubber insert on other cars. My car had no vinyl or other type of material on top of the roof when I purchased it and I was told there was no modifications on the car. Can somebody help with the following questions?
1) How is the original roof of 33 Tudors like?
2) The rubber/vynil piece that is seen in many cars is just attached to the metal surface? or is part of a larger insert structure
3) What do I need to do to stay original?

Found this kit on Lebaron Bonney company: "Kits include top material, cotton wadding, muslin lining, insulating strips, and instructions. Tacks are included where necessary" but don´t know if it applies to a car that is all metal on the roof and does not need insulation.

Ideas and comments always appreciated. Thanks to all. Manuel
 
If your car was assembled in South America I suspect that a metal roof insert may have been standard on those cars. Don't do anything with the roof until you talk to others in your country. There is a large group of V-8 Club members in Argentina. Contact Jorge Pinero at 54-11-4371-8046 or e-mail him at; cdattellis@yahoo.com.at
 
Had a friend with a thirty three 3 window coupe from South America had no sign of ever having a roof opening.
 
I think Tom is correct. I ran across a '33 Victoria that has the filled roof. Everything on the car was stock. It was a South American car originally.
 
Manuel,

Your car is of North American manufacture and it had a fabric insert in the roof originally. It may well have been assembled in Argentina or Uruguay, but neither operation had the stamping capability to handle a major stamping like that of your car's roof; it came from the U.S. and was originally like all the other U.S.-made '33 Tudor roofs. In the years I spent down there, it was rare to see a closed car with its original fabric insert. The standard fix there was to weld in a sheet of steel and avoid the headache of periodically coating the top with sealer and eventually replacing the fabric to prevent water leaks. If you look real close, you will notice that the contour of the steel in the center section of your roof doesn't quite match those of the perimeters.

If they cut off the depressed area that would hold the tacking and finish strips of the perimeter moulding for a fabric moulding (which was often done), your best bet is to live with what you've got and forget a fabric insert type roof. You could fake it with just the outer fabric, some thin padding, and the finish moulding glued to your steel roof. If you want to go that route, I can provide the name of a fellow in California who properly bends the reproduction moulding material (it's an aluminum extrusion that comes in straight lengths and very difficult to bend without distortion).

I find it interesting that if Ford U.S. did not have the stamping capability to manufacture a one-piece roof until the 1937 model year that some folks think that the capability to do that existed in South America prior to that time.
 
I certainly agree with your comments David. The Sth American Fords were US made & Sth America was only assembling, not stamping panels . I also once heard from a guy in Australia who had imported an Argentinian coupe & swore its metal filled roof was original. Many/most early '30's closed cars here in New Zealand also got this treatment to stop leaky roofs ; a sheet of metal was usually just attached by screws into the surrounding roof metal. I have read that the first metal presses that could do a complete body shell with a full metal roof did not become available in the US auto industry until the mid thirties for the 1937 model year..
 
I saw a lot of old Fords during the years that I spent in South America and while closed cars were not that plentiful compared to open cars, only a very few of the closed cars that I saw had been spared this treatment. In some cases, it was done carefully and you really had to look closely to tell that it was a post-production "improvement". In other cases, no close examination was necessary. The sad part from my point of view as a restorer was that more often than not the inner perimeter channel had been cut off, more or less precluding an authentic restoration of the car.
 
This is the picture of the welded roof insert. Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, I will not mess with it but would like to attach some fake rubber cover as suggested by DavidG.
 

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I recover the top on my 29 Model A with a kit I bought from a company called Cartouche.
I used the long grain and it came with everything need to complete the job except the rain gutter. I'm not sure if your 33 has rain gutter. You could leave the metal sheet there and just use the padding and the linin with the top fabric and make it look original. You could also use a spray adhesive to glue the padding to the top of your car so it doesn't shift on you later on down the road.
Just my two cents.
 
I have just fitted a lebaron roof insert kit to my 33 fordor, kit came with ,top fabric,white padding ,black denim type material ,black denimm material strips to fit on the bows that the inside roof lining attatched to,a box of tacks.
Lawrie
 
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