[1971WARBIRD]

i know that top.looks good so far.i'll call you before thanksgiving,maybe we can get together.just got my papers,so it won't be long.

[Formulabruce]

Looks good up front, you have all you need for metal. Get windows handy for set in ( mock up for spacing) after its clamped or "cleco'ed" in place.

[wwilder9]

Well, I finally got the balls, and a warm garage, and cut the roof off my car. And after cutting into my dash so I could remove the entire roof. Here are some pics of my progress. Hope you guys like what I've done, I have measured and re-measured, and finally removed the old rusted out, tree smashed and bondo'ed old roof. I took my time and removed to the factory seams on the A pillars and on the lead seams in the back.

[wwilder9]

More pics

[wwilder9]

And more pics!!!

[wwilder9]

And with no roof......... And also as you can see I welded in a frame into my car for structular support and to weld guide poles so I could have a real good idea on were the new donor roof was supposed to be lined up at....

[wwilder9]

Pics of no roof.

[wwilder9]

What do you guys think so far?

[njsteve]

Amazing work!

What's in the beer keg behind the car? :-)

[x-bird2]

hmm, move the seats back, fab up a new firewall and cowl and set the engine back about 2-3 feet and you'll have a quick and easy firebird roadster.
sorry for giving you ideas lol
good work so far, good job with bracing it up.

[wwilder9]

More Pics, Cutting back to factory seams, sandblasting, etc.

[wwilder9]

What's in the beer keg behind the car? :-)

njsteve, Beer keg is empty left over from party, need to return.

hmm, move the seats back, fab up a new firewall and cowl and set the engine back about 2-3 feet and you'll have a quick and easy firebird roadster.
sorry for giving you ideas lol
good work so far, good job with bracing it up.

x-bird2, I do like roadsters and very good idea, but I'm also a purist, so I guess I will have to fix/save this old bird correctly.

[PetesPonies]

well I think you are going to a lot of extra work . . but if it gives you some reassurance, then its worth it. Everything looks good so far , so I'm confident that you will be completely successful in the end.

[wwilder9]

Here are some pics of the "mock up" and checking window fit after clamping everything back into place, And guess what? It fits better than the original roof did, I guess on the assembly line these cars where just thrown together. Hope you guys like all these pictures I'm posting.

[keith k]

Very thorough job. Nice!

[GRNMTGOAT]

Interesting project,you must have big n**s !!! I see you are blasting and cleaning as you go, I did similar, makes a good job, one word of warning however, don't completly prime the parts you have blasted, leave unpainted any area that will be welded, if you prime it all,welding will be a REAL PITA!!!
Keep up the good work, regards Bruce.

[x-bird2]

the extra work of bracing for a piece like the roof is well worth the effort. get it wrong and ..... let's just say ouch! from what i've been told, the gaps and tolerances on these cars will be better on the left side than the right side. prime and most visible example of this is the lower rear valance to quarter panel gap. haven't seen one yet that's even side to side. left side always seems to be nice and tight, right is wide. I was told that they were done this way because most buyers look at the driver's side of the car when it's on the showroom floor or dealer's lot. could be a bunch of bull-puckey too ....

[wwilder9]

Well, got thr roof welded in, time to move on to the dash. Need to fix both corners, and two other small places, I cut the corner of the dash from the parts car I had. The other places I will just have to make. Here some more pics.

[wwilder9]

More dash repair.

[wwilder9]

And here is the driver side., Hopefully I can get all these pieces welded in tonight.