Roof skin re-installation

[Robdog]

Hey guys,

looking for some opinions on possibly using adhesive to secure the roof skin on my 240.

It has been removed before by the look of the welds I had to drill out, ie not stock spot welds. I did so to repair rust in the A pillars and seem between roof and rear quarter.

so the roof skin needs some work to repair the flange that sits in the gutters etc, but to put it back on, has anyone just used panel bond to avoid heat?

thought it might give better water protection for this area as well?

[C.A.R.]

Yes you can use panel bond.

IMHO you should apply a 2part epoxy primer on the surfaces first.

[Robdog]

52 minutes ago, C.A.F. said:

Yes you can use panel bond.

IMHO you should apply a 2part epoxy primer on the surfaces first.

So as it is, it’s coated in paint grip 253. Once repairs are done it will get epoxy. 

Did notice with the the adhesives, they want you to go to bare metal and completely cover the bonding site. I guess the manufacturer is only saying this to make sure their product bonds properly. 

So yes, my next question is can it be applied over the epoxy without separation issues?

[240ZBUILTBYME]

Hi robdog

Disclaimer that I am no expert or have any experience with panel bond. The question would be how strong is the bond between the metal and the epoxy? As that bond would be what is ultimately holding the skin to the frame. i would think that as the chassis flexes in corners etc that there would be considerable forces going through those joins as they flex. As even the soldering in the roof cracks on most cars after time at the four corners. 

My question would be How often are you going to take her out in the rain after she’s restored? If not much then just restore as stock and plug weld in place managing the heat with cooling and moving around? 

Would be interested to know about your a roof and A pillar rust repairs as I have a rusty roof/pillars too, do you have any pictures taken during the unpicking and repair process? 

[Millerman]

Keen for any updates on this also as we are doing a complete roof resto as we have a z with vinyl foldback sunroof  and will be converting to standard again. 
Have been recommended to use panel bond also as it is awesome stuff. The other option was to cold hammer? But dont know much about this option

[Robdog]

Still no further along with this, other than the roof being coated in epoxy primer but still needs repair. The rust under the roof predominant was in each corner where the lead filler was originally used. There was also some brazing done to plug some holes. This was where the rust had effected the pillars.

As mentioned, this roof had been off before or more likely was from a donor.
Once I got the roof off It looked like the roof subframe had been struck and slightly squashed.
The rust holes were reasonably small patches with some pitting, but my main concern now was the quantity of mig weld used to pin the roof down. I had to make fairly large holes in the gutters to get it off, so roof repairs are the priority, and I’m thinking of employing a more experienced hand for this. I’ll try to dig out some pics 
 

[240ZBUILTBYME]

On 9/8/2020 at 6:23 PM, Robdog said:

Still no further along with this, other than the roof being coated in epoxy primer but still needs repair. The rust under the roof predominant was in each corner where the lead filler was originally used. There was also some brazing done to plug some holes. This was where the rust had effected the pillars.

As mentioned, this roof had been off before or more likely was from a donor.
Once I got the roof off It looked like the roof subframe had been struck and slightly squashed.
The rust holes were reasonably small patches with some pitting, but my main concern now was the quantity of mig weld used to pin the roof down. I had to make fairly large holes in the gutters to get it off, so roof repairs are the priority, and I’m thinking of employing a more experienced hand for this. I’ll try to dig out some pics 
 

Some pics would be great, especially the a pillars. Did you tackle the pillars yourself? Was it at the bottom front of the rain rail skin that runs under the roof frame? I’ve had the same thoughts for my rusty roof and pillars. But out of my league to repair... 

 

[240ZBUILTBYME]

On 9/8/2020 at 6:23 PM, Robdog said:

Still no further along with this, other than the roof being coated in epoxy primer but still needs repair. The rust under the roof predominant was in each corner where the lead filler was originally used. There was also some brazing done to plug some holes. This was where the rust had effected the pillars.

As mentioned, this roof had been off before or more likely was from a donor.
Once I got the roof off It looked like the roof subframe had been struck and slightly squashed.
The rust holes were reasonably small patches with some pitting, but my main concern now was the quantity of mig weld used to pin the roof down. I had to make fairly large holes in the gutters to get it off, so roof repairs are the priority, and I’m thinking of employing a more experienced hand for this. I’ll try to dig out some pics 
 

Could you use a copper weld helper to reduce heat and provide a backing when repairing the holes so the plug welds aren’t as large when you put it back on?? For rain rail side too?