cover up

[Rod Sauder]

As I am new to hot rodding , I am starting with something simple. A c cab. I am at the point of covering the roof and am looking for suggestions as to what do I use? I need something that I can do myself if possible , I would like it to be black and the only catch might be that the roof curves then is flat at the back. I am wondering if when the material gets pulled tight will I get a balloon at the base of the curve??? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Rod Sauder

 

[tfeverfred]

Is this a C Cab body that is already made or are you trying to make one yourself. If it's already made, you could cover it like a vinyl top on a regular car.

 

[Rick]

Fred he said that he was a wood worker and i think he infered that it was plywood AND hand built.

 

[tfeverfred]

Okay. I forgot. I'm looking for a link I used to have on how a guy did his top.

 

[Rod Sauder]

To answer your questions, the c cab is built and it is made out of marine plywood. When you say vinyl car top, thats great . Is iy easy to work with and the curve to flat transition worries me. Thanks for the feedback. Rod

 

[Rick]

I made a plywood body for my 1949 harley trike it was a copy of Big Daddy Roths Mail bag anyway it has a realllllll peaked top like flat sides then up to a 8-9 inch radius at the top all i did was take a 2x4 as a straight edge and cut curf cuts every 1/2 with a circular saw for the width of the radius after installing cleats to screw to i laid the plywood on the side and kept screwing and pushing on the plywood till it conformed to the radius pretty easy.Then i just sanded and filled any voids then glased over it then painted it. Hope this helps and good luck

 

[tfeverfred]

Did you try cutting upside down "V" shapes into the sides of where it will curve? I have seen this down when covering curved bar stools and such.

 

[Rod Sauder]

OK , I guess I have not made myself clear. The c cab is built . the roof is finished . I did cut kerfs into the plywood to get the radius I wanted. The roof is attached to the sides of the body. It is sanded and smooth. I do not want to paint it but rather cover it with vinyl [ or any other suggestion] I just have no experience with soft tops. My concern is the soft top material not staying attached to the roof at the base of the curve where the roof goes flat. My roof is curved over the top of the drivers compartment then over the trunk area it is flat. If I was to stretch material from the front to the back ,yes it would cover the front of the roof and over the hump but from the peak to the very back there would be a void underneath . I need to know what glue or whatever I would use to hold this in place. I will try and show a side veiw of the roof line here,_____/----- . Does that help??? Anyway guys thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it. Rod

 

[Mike]

I suspect the trim shops have some pretty tacky adhesives they use, so that is probably a good place to start.