How to deal with this windshield channel rot
 

Hey guys, I'm looking for some ideas on how to repair the windshield channel rot on my 71 Camaro shown in the images. It's pretty much swiss cheese across the top. I'd rather not replace the roof so I'm leaning towards cutting out the bad and bending up sheet metal to weld in on both sides. Thoughts?

First off make sure you do a good job of killing and neutralizing all the rust through chemical treatment or sand blasting. Start by cutting some metal to replace the worse areas,fit it and weld it in. It is going to be a time consuming operation, but the only other alternative is to find a donor car and replace the whole top.

Vince

window channel
 

We bent up two pieces to repair my 1970 Buick Skylark window channel.Both were an angle shape with a curve rolled in .When they are butted together they curve around and give a place for the glass to sit and the top piece slipped under the skin. Mine is a convertible but it would be the same for a hard top. It is a pain to weld ,real slow but it can be done. This woulbe a real nice part for someone to manufacture because no one does and it is a real common place for rust. :)

Without going into too much detail ,you'll need to visit your local sheetmetal fab shop and have them bend you up some angles about 3/4 x 3/4 to replace the rot fitting the straight pieces wont be that hard but the curves will be without the proper tools like a stretcher/shrinker but you can make notches in one side of the angles with a cut off wheel every 1/2" or so and that'll allow you to easily make the bend but its a lot more welding...it looks like the inner steel is pretty rotted too so what I do is before you cut out any of the old stuff,make the outer pieces and hold them in place with drill screws then remove them (the holes left by the screws will relocate the pieces) then start cutting out the rust and replace the inner pieces...Use the trim (chrome)to make sure everything you made fits snug ecpecially the curves before you start welding the outer pieces...

Thanks for the tips. I've been staring at it more than working on it. I'm not sure how it will turn out because the rear is just as bad as the front. I'm curious, what do you guys think is easier to do, fix the windshield rot that is there or replace the whole roof with the new panel that just came out that has the a-pillars? My cowl is a little rough so I need to remove it anyway, so after it's removed, how difficult is it to detach the a-pillars from the cowl/firewall area?

The new panel

http://www.rickscamaros.com/camaro-r...1970-1973.html

That is probably an offshore panel, usually from China and it will not fit without some serious massaging. IMHO you would be far better off procuring a decent salvage yard part that you know is OEM sheet metal.

Vince

not only that but an aftermarket roof will only be the outer skin...a salvage roof would be the best choice all the way around,just besure to tell them to give you as much of the pillars as possible and dont cut anything until you have it. it's not too hard to replace,I'm sure you can do it..

Camaro Roof Panel Assembly, With Windshield Pillars, 1970-1973

* Reproduction Of Original
* "A" Pillars Are Attached
* Inner Roof Bracing Is Welded In Place
* Replace Your Rusty Or Bent Roof Panel

IMPORTED :pain:

Vince

a complete assembly???? might be worth looking into.last year I did an aftermarket roof skin and it wasnt too bad,fitting and welding the drip rails were a bit of a pain though

Yeah it just came out not to long ago. I'm sure a lot of camaro owners will buy into this because it comes with new a-pillars as well. Those always seem to be a bad spot.

If they wanted to be honest they would put in the text of the description....

"Similar to original, can be used if nothing else is available".

Brian :rolleyes:

It just looks way save-able rather then a whole roof...

A sway in the vote would be if those are those rust bubbles out toward the center?

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/atta...chmentid=53777

Even a soak with *Rustmort then a grind and some fiberglass would have a good 15 year shot

theres only so many parts cars out there these days with good quality sheetmetal on them and they get harder to find every day,so yes ,those roof assemblies should do well...

I'm with you,I'd save it.but over here it wouldnt last two years,I can shape new metal on the stretcher/shrinker in a couple hrs all the way around plus about 6 hrs of cutting and welding but Ive done a lot of them,it might take 30hrs for someone that can weld a little but never did one..you would definetly have to enjoy doing it and be patient to be successful...Determined and stubburnd are also helpful qualities to have..If not a new after market roof assembly or skin might be best for some guys
You can get a stretcher/shrinker for around 200.00 and it'll be like getting your first welder,it'll open up a whole new world to you.
But first things first,,,you should strip the whole roof to see what kind off shape its in BEFORE you invest ANY time in repairs.it could be perfect or it could be loaded with bondo or even rust holes plugged up with bondo,you just never know.I've seen some very surprizing stuff after stripping off the paint...