need to get wood

[mrcaug]

I have a 26 dodge that has the roof rotted out of it.

Where can I get template or the actual wood to replace it.

 

I have search the internet and not much luck.

 

thanks

 

mrcaug

[Rusty_OToole]

A template would not help much, after all these years the body has probably warped a bit or changed shape. In many cars the roof was a removable insert installed as a unit after the car was painted. See if yours was done this way. Measure what is left of the wood and make a drawing.

 

You will need to make an insert to fit your car or have a carpenter make one. The wood framework is covered with poultry wire then cotton padding, then muslin cloth, finally the vinyl type top material. The finished insert is put in place, and a molding and sealer applied to the edge.

 

Poultry wire comes from any good hardware store. The cotton padding is available from upholstery supply shops. An upholsterer may be able to help you. Sometimes the padding needs to be adjusted with long needles after the cloth is on, to get a smooth surface.

 

In some cars the top was framed all in one piece and the top built on the car. Either way, the top was upholstered and covered the same way.

 

There have been discussions on this before. I hope someone comes along who is familiar with your model. But, top replacement should not be a big deal. It is a fairly standard bit of maintenance on twenties and early thirties cars.

[Friartuck]

Several points I'd like to make

 

1. Use good wood to make your bows. Ash is preferred as its strong and stable over time. Suggest adding (including) a slight crown from side-to-side. If you ever get water on the top you want it to roll off, not puddle in the center. Custom fit your bows into the existing wood. Fasten using screws and glue. Rotary tools like 1/8 carbide cutters were helpful for my project.

2. Acquire pics from other Dodge owners with the same model car. Use them as a guide for form and shape.

3. An important part of top replacement is how the edge gets finished. This is where the fabric meets the body. Some cars have a molding strip at certain sections. Others may have a rubber molding or a caulking method.

4. A good sealant is 3M 5200 in full caulking tubes. Used extensively in the Marine industry and is available from West Marine or other on-line suppliers.

 

[mrcaug]

here ae some pictures, looks like the last person had a 1 1/2 of wood above the metal before the top wood was put on.  Is this right?

[mrcaug]

oops thank you for the detailed replies I got already.  You guys are awesome.  What a great forum.

[mrcaug]

oops thank you for the detailed replies I got already.  You guys are awesome.  What a great forum.

[Restorer32]

A template would not help much, after all these years the body has probably warped a bit or changed shape. In many cars the roof was a removable insert installed as a unit after the car was painted. See if yours was done this way. Measure what is left of the wood and make a drawing.

 

You will need to make an insert to fit your car or have a carpenter make one. The wood framework is covered with poultry wire then cotton padding, then muslin cloth, finally the vinyl type top material. The finished insert is put in place, and a molding and sealer applied to the edge.

 

Poultry wire comes from any good hardware store. The cotton padding is available from upholstery supply shops. An upholsterer may be able to help you. Sometimes the padding needs to be adjusted with long needles after the cloth is on, to get a smooth surface.

 

In some cars the top was framed all in one piece and the top built on the car. Either way, the top was upholstered and covered the same way.

 

There have been discussions on this before. I hope someone comes along who is familiar with your model. But, top replacement should not be a big deal. It is a fairly standard bit of maintenance on twenties and early thirties cars.

In all our years of rewooding antique cars we have never seen a car where the roof was a separate insert that was installed after the car was painted. Interesting, can you supply an example of a car that used this method?

[Rusty_OToole]

I thought it was common in the mid to late 30s on cars that had a small insert in the middle of the roof. There was a thread on this a few months ago, I think it was concerning a 1936 Dodge.

 

1921 and 22 Essex coach bodies had a roof that was made as a sub assembly then screwed to the body.

Edited January 2, 2016 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

In either case the construction was the same

 

1) Wooden framework

 

2) Poultry wire mesh (finer than chicken wire)

 

3) Sheets of cotton padding

 

4) Muslin cloth

 

5) Push the cotton padding around with long needles to get a smooth even top

 

6) Cover with vinyl top material or equivalent. I know they did not have vinyl in 1926 but I use the term because everyone knows what a vinyl top looks like.

[jeff_a]

Go to one of those Model A catalogs, like MACS, and you should find many of the materials to do a top insert. There is a kind of rubber or vinyl-impregnated fabric called "cobra-grain", I think, that looks a little like artificial leather that you stretch over the top bows, batting, etc. that should work pretty well for a 1926 Dodge.

[DavidMc]

I have done 2 sedans over recent years and in each case I dispensed with the chicken wire and used 1/8" thick ply covered with  wadding.  I believe that this makes it easier to get a smooth shape for the vinyl.  The plywood needs to be as thin as possible so it can be fixed to the bows to give the necessary compound curve.  This was achieved without difficulty.

[Walt G]

Regarding the separate wood roof section that was fitted to the car when it was made. I have several hundred period photographs that were

from the archives of the Budd Body Company of Philadelphia. They made all welded steel bodies for Dodge , and possible some for Essex in the mid 1920s. Photos

were taken by Budd's in house photographer and are mounted on a linen backing. Some of these show the completed welded steel 4 door sedan bodies (all dated 1925)

stacked in box cars for shipment to Dodge - no paint on steel, and although the bodies were all welded steel the roof area is missing, and I am guessing the wood that

was fitted there was done so at Dodge in Detroit when the went to finish the body. Dodge workers would have installed the wood for the roof, then the padding, covering , painted

the car to finish it.

[keiser31]

The roof for the car in question is NOT an "insert". It consists of the top AND edges which are made up of wood. The 1928 Dodge Brothers was the first DB with metal edges all around the top with a wood insert. That system was used until 1935. In 1936, Dodge came out with a steel insert that took the place of the wood/chicken wire/cotton batting. 1937 saw the one piece steel top.