Roof Drip Rails

[gzig5]

I'm going to be replacing the entire roof skin.  Do I also need to get drip rails or would I be able to re-use the old ones?  From what i can see, they are in pretty good shape, but I haven't really dug down.  Seem like as long as they hold the molding correctly, they are serving their purpose? 

[Filthy Filbert]

Eager to hear on this topic.  and maybe see pictures of the work being done. 

I've read on here that they can be saved if you're careful, but would like to see pictures of the process of saving them.   with all the paint and body caulk, I can't really tell how that all goes together.  I figured I'd have to wait till I started removing the roof before I could figure it out.   Only problem with that, is I may damage them during disassembly if I don't understand how the parts are fit together.

[BFM_Cuda]

If you are replacing the roof skin due to rust, I would be amazed if the drip channels are good enough to save... but you never know.

I would use a thin cutoff wheel to cut the roof off just above the drip channel (careful not to cut too deep). I cut mine at the 90 degree bends where it "turns" to make the window and drip edge.

Once the skin is removed you can see what the channels look like. If you decide to save them, I would grind the remaining roof metal off where its spot welded to the channel. Its a slow process, but totally worth it if you can save the channels.

[Filthy Filbert]

Well see once I get into it, but I'm doing the roof due to rust in the front and rear window channels.  the rest is seemingly solid. 

[70 Challenger Lover]

I did a skin on my old RT and had no trouble with the rails. I used a cut off wheel to slice away extra metal being careful not to cut into bracing or side rails. Then I switched to an angle grinder and lightly ground the top inner channel of each rail. The spot welds become immediately visible. Then I put grinding pressure on each spot weld but didn't go through. Lastly, I used a small chisel to chip away at each weld, separating the roof metal from the channel itself. Doing it while the metal is hot makes it easier to pop the welds. Afterwards I used the grinder very lightly to smooth out what remained of each spot weld. I was able to do both sides in under an hour.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Here's a shot before I cleaned and prepared the new skin. Gives you an idea what's underneath.

[Filthy Filbert]

Awesome!  So the drip rails mount to the frame, and the roof comes down over top of the rails?

[Jocigar]

This is the best video tutorial that I've found.  they don't save the drip rail but gives good understanding of the process.

Not having done the work, I'm not sure exactly how the roof skin attaches to the drip rail and where they seam together.

Then there is the seam sealer and type of sealer, that opened another discussion previously of where to apply sealer both
before, on cross brace etc. ? and after attaching roof skin     This video does not get into seam sealer application.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbMOSKKfoW4