Town Sedan needs a new roof

C

chesapeake bill

Member
So here's what the roof looks like in the attached photo.. the wood is solid.. I few holes from the nails but soild.. three of the cross beams have lost their arch... two back ones look good.. I would appreciate any guidance before I order the kit and get this underway. I was told that ordering it from Fordwood could take a long time to get here? the prices for the pieces are not bad. I also could make them myself but I would have to take off one of the good one to get the arch right.. looking for to your guidence.
 

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I had to replace a lot of the wood in my 155-A several years ago. As I recall, the roof ribs were the only replacement parts I bought that actually fit without any problem.

I would buy the whole set so you don't wind up some sort of goofy appearance mismatch. Have you checked the usual Model A suppliers for more ready availability? I know they handle top wood kits, but not sure about just the ribs.

I dithered a long time before I screwed up my courage to do mine. Finally, another Model A guy I called in for advice told me to just do it, so I did.

My one precaution is to be careful when it comes time to put on the cloth roof. It's possible to stretch it so tight that you can put a bend in the metal windshield visor, taking it from looking like this:

straightvisorthen.jpg


to looking like this:

curvedvisornow.jpg



Steve
 
If you are concerned about removing a good bow to get a pattern, consider making a pattern from cardboard to get the arch to match the good ones.
Be sure to put down a layer of duck cloth over the wire so the cotton padding does not hang down where the mice can harvest it if they get in the headliner.
A layer of friction tape on top of the bows before the wire is installed will help prevent squeaks.
 
I did not like the idea of the chicken wire across the bows so got 1/8" baltic birch, pieced togather and cut to fit where the chicken wire went on the top. Fit the cutout in the top perfectly with no difference in height. Screwed it down with #4 3/8" screws that had the holes countersunk in the plywood. Coated the top with three coats of Spar varnish before applying the padding and top. The benefits of this are it is quiet and could add insulation to the bottom side so it is not so hot during the summer. Maybe some purist may not like my solution, but it worked for me. No one can detect this difference except will not sag between the bows.
 
Order the CD from Diablo A's also avail. from MAFCA Store. Get your wood from Classic Wood Mfg. 336-691-1344 for a catalog.
1006 N. Raleigh St. Greensboro,NC,27405
The Restorer,Nov-Dec 2003 Vol 48 Iss 4 pg 26/27 shows my sedan with wood installed. I gave my wood 2 coates of tongue oil and let it dry. This was to seal; out future moisture.
Bruce a400usa@nccn.net or 160abc@nccn.net
 
looked at it again.. looks like just replacing the ribs is not enough.plus looks pretty tough to just to get the ribs out and in without taking the rails out. The drivers corner is a pretty split on the end from all the tack wholes. Both corners on the back piece are pretty broken where the side riails come into the piece half the "teeth" missing. it's still all together but it looks like I have more to fix than just the 4 bows if I want to do it right or put the four in and close my eyes and cover it over.. I probably should do the whole top. Although I am a bit of a half *** carpenter it looks scary difficult to squize evertything in. So looks like I should save up a couple of bucks and do the roof.
 
looked at it again.. looks like just replacing the ribs is not enough.plus looks pretty tough to just to get the ribs out and in without taking the rails out. The drivers corner is a pretty split on the end from all the tack wholes. Both corners on the back piece are pretty broken where the side riails come into the piece half the "teeth" missing. it's still all together but it looks like I have more to fix than just the 4 bows if I want to do it right or put the four in and close my eyes and cover it over.. I probably should do the whole top. Although I am a bit of a half *** carpenter it looks scary difficult to squize evertything in. So looks like I should save up a couple of bucks and do the roof.
 
If you use a hand plane you can take some of the reversed arch from the bottom of the bows so the headliner sits fairly level and glue a thin bit of wood on the top to make up for the sag. It may not work as well as i hope but i hope to try it soon.
 
If your tacking locations are badly eroded, it would be best to buy the roof wood kit and make it all new. It would be disappointing to install a new roof and have it come loose in the wind.
 
Richard is right,this is who i use for all my model a wood. Give him a call,he will bring your order to Hershey with him!
Wick
 
Here are a group of pictures we took to document to the restoration of a 1930 Town sedan. You may find them helpful when you go back with the top.

1930 Town Sedan Restoration
 

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In the kit I bought, the pieces were numbered. Each bow is slightly different.
I bought my kit (Classic Wood, North Carolina) through Brattons. I have a 30 Town Sedan. I wouldn't worry about squeesing the sides too much. The header (over the windshield) controls the side to side dimension. ASK FOR SOME DIRECTIONS AND OR DIMENSIONS! They throw you to the proverbial wolves on this and assume you were born knowing how to do this. Don't think of it as over kill to take lot's of photos beforehand and as you complete the job. Better get a top wood screw kit too.
Terry


chesapeake bill said:
So here's what the roof looks like in the attached photo.. the wood is solid.. I few holes from the nails but soild.. three of the cross beams have lost their arch... two back ones look good.. I would appreciate any guidance before I order the kit and get this underway. I was told that ordering it from Fordwood could take a long time to get here? the prices for the pieces are not bad. I also could make them myself but I would have to take off one of the good one to get the arch right.. looking for to your guidence.
Click to expand...
 
Bill, I think I read where Brent Terry seals all new wood with at least one coat of urethane and then a topcoat of black paint. I did mine with 2 coats of urethane and a topcoat of Rustoleum black, brush paint. Good Luck!
Terry
 
At this point it looks lilke I am going to just replace the top ribs and back piece.. now can that be done without taking all the top wood out? The top ribs tips are about 3/4" under the metal edge. how do you get it out and more important how do you get the new one in ? Is releasing the side rails the secret ? next the back piece? how crazy is replacing it since it's ends are really under te metal? If I have to take the top wood out to replace the 4 pieces can all the top wood all be taken out without cutting things out ? Can the new pieces be pieced in our am I dreaming ?
 
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