Oil-canning/maybe warped roof!!

[NathanPrince]

Hi guys, been restoring my Ford Capri for a while now and a job I been putting off for ages has caused me all the problems I was afraid of. I wanted to remove the sunroof because that's where all my rust issues stemmed from (poor design on the drainage!)

I decided rather than trying to get a piece of steel the right shape and profile I would weld in the sunroof itself, with the seal removed it left a 7mm gap all round so I used some 5mm welding rods welded to the sunroof panel then welded that in the hole in the roof.

All was going well until I got the the back edge of the sunroof, the long low slung roof panel is thin as hell and although I took my time I've managed to get maybe too much heat or maybe too much of a welding gap and I now have a dent in the roof which oil cans quite badly, you can pop it out easy but it dents right next to it, if you push both out at the same time the roof goes back to shape perfectly.

Do I need to somehow shrink the dent out or stretch it? Just want it solid enough so I can skim the roof and paint it!


Cheers

 

[pedrobedro]

Glue a support to the back of it with Sikaflex/Tiger Seal before you put the roof lining back in.

 

[BrokenBiker]

Support from underneath is what I would do too although I haven't used tiger seal a lot of people on here have recommended it God knows how many times so it must be good stuff

 

[NathanPrince]

Will that be enough to keep the dent pushed out and keep the filler needed to a minimum? I did hear of stories about mustangs having wooden chocks pushed into their roofs because they warped during the painting process, not sure how true that is lol

 

[BrokenBiker]

As long as the support is solid then yea it should be fine. I would bend some flat bard to match the original curve of the roof, make up a 'H' shape and bond it in but I'm sure there will be more experienced people along shortly

 

[pedrobedro]

At a lorry yard where I used to do some weekend work they restored buses and trucks and we used to use 2x1 shaped and wedged in to support panels and glued in with Sikaflex.

 

[Kent]

Now I am no body man but putting a patch in the middle of a roof is asking for hassle
Usual is full roof joined at gutter hidden and tops pillars front and back
Whatever you do on a car like a capri it's going to be very easy to see a fault in this part of the car I fear
Might be time to look again at a full panel change?

 

[NathanPrince]

I get what your saying which is why I chose to use the original sunroof panel, it already has the correct shape and profile as the roof so once its in and skimmed lightly with filler it should look as it was never there rather than a flat piece of steel shaped and welded in which would never look right?

 

[mike 109444]

Nathan you would be best starting with the least destructive method first, as suggested glue in a preshaped rib or two. Then if that fails try other methods and have heat as a last result cos it may get worse! There are some you tube vids on using heat but don't rush for the blow lamp just yet

 

[NathanPrince]

Sweet will knock up a couple of ribbed strips to stick in tomorrow and see if it makes a difference, in hindsight I should of done that before starting the welding! Next time...

Cheers

 

[mike 109444]

Rib something like this.....

 

[the snooper]

go to scrap yard and hack one out of a car with a similar profile roof skin

 

[rikrobson]

Whatever you do on a car like a capri it's going to be very easy to see a fault in this part of the car I fear
Might be time to look again at a full panel change?

A new capri roof would be hard to get and you are going to miss the sunroof. just tilt it up and get some fresh air in the car. they can get hot in the summer and its a good way to cool down. The strength in the sunroof itself are the returned lip. I don't think there are any ribs on it, I'll have a look tomorrow at my spare one.

so I used some 5mm welding rods

The chassis legs aren't 5mm thick!!!! The best option if you want to seal the sunfoof would be some .8 mm strips to fill the gaps. the metal is pretty thin up there on a Capri.

The drainage on mine goes through some rubber pipes down the C pillar and end up in the sill of all places. I think the original design was for it to drain out of the sills. (WTF were you thinking Ford?)

the gutters ,tubes and sill drains all get blocked and that is just asking for rust, unfortunately.

In hindsight it may have been better to glue or bond the sunroof in rather than welding. There will be plenty more of the capri that will need the welders attention without welding bits that dont really need it.

 

[Wallace]

The drainage on mine goes through some rubber pipes down the C pillar and end up in the sill of all places. I think the original design was for it to drain out of the sills. (WTF were you thinking Ford?)

Built in obsolescence, helps to sell more cars!