Roof skin replacement

[Jocigar]

Hi all

replacing roof skin due to rot around front and rear windshield openings.

Is it a given to change the drip rails? or can they be spared in the process.   they are pricey at almost half the cost of the roof so i'm asking/wondering.   I am waiting on answer from the shop but afraid AMD will sell out in the meantime. 

While I am at it, does dynocorm make these for cuda?   thanks

[torredcuda]

Drip rails can be saved, roof skin is spotwelded to it so it`s just a matter of cutting out the spotwelds and separating the skin.

[tparker]

I hated those drip rails. I wasn't exactly sure how it all went back together, but I got it and the trim fit just fine. But there was lots of worry over that for me. LOL. I wouldn't think they would sell out of these. I would look at what you have and see if you can cut around it. The roof is all spot welded and you can probably cut through the ones there and reuse them. I don't recall exactly how they came out on mine.

One tip, If you haven't already cut the spotwelds out, invest in a better spot weld cutter. I got the cheap ones at harbor freight and they worked ok but went dull fairly quickly. I went through a couple. I think the first one broke. They aren't too expensive and you don't want to be up there cutting longer than you need.

[BFM_Cuda]

I wouldn't replace them unless you need to. If your window channels are bad, the drip rails probably are too. You should take the roof off and look, that will make the decision for you.

It would have been nice if Ma Mopar would have fully dipped these cars in primer during assembly....

[7E-Bodies]

Thankfully my car has a good roof, but if you could document your work for this database and future inquiries it'd be awesome. I never know when I'll stumble across another project.

[Jocigar]

Thanks guys,  a shop has this cuda but I may go up and try and help with removal to save a little $ on a big project.

I'm all ears on a good spot weld cutter, working on the 67 dart myself and will need.   
McMaster lists a 3/8" not sure if better than HF

There is a motor trend series somewhere on prime in which they replace the roof skin on challenger among other things, great tutorial.

Also found this:
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/roof-replacement-1970-cuda/

[7E-Bodies]

I too have busted through too many HF spot weld cutters.

https://www.eastwood.com/ew-skip-proof-spotweld-cutter.html

[torredcuda]

I`ve found the Blair the best from the ones I`ve used but it looks like they have newer versions now that I haven`t tried yet.

https://www.amazon.com/Blair-13224-Double-Spotweld-Cutter/dp/B000GTOOC0

[torredcuda]

One trick I used was to grind down an old 1/2" wide chisel a little bit so that it fit in the drip rail channels and used it to help separate the roof skin from the drip rail.

[Rich G.]

When I did my roof on the Cuda I cut the roof off leaving about a 1/2 inch past the drip rail and just started to peel the remaining roof off and when I got to a spot weld I ground the top of the roof where the spot weld was not touching the drip rail and just kept peeling off the remaining strip of roof. A lot easier then trying to find the spot welds and left the drip rail in perfect shape.

[GoMangoBoys]

We recently replaced the roof skin.  We used plug welds to attach it around the windshield and rear window and used panel bond to attach it at the gutters.  I did have to replace a section of the gutter that I fabricated.
This is is the page that shows this.  I have also seen other postings on here with people showing similar work.
https://forum.e-bodies.org/your-restoration-project-roseville-moparts/10/go-mango-boys-project-car/14877/msg226865#msg226865