Roof Fabric Recommendations

[Rexville48]

First time poster on the woodie site but long time hobbyist with several open body Chevrolets.  I am currently the second owner of a 1948 Chevrolet wagon that has been my latest project.  All of the wood has been stripped, repaired or replaced where necessary, bleached, and has had several coats of varnish .  Soon I will be needing roof fabric and am looking for recommendations.  The original fabric, which I removed, has a very slight almost pebble grain and was burgundy in color.  While I realize that I’ll need to use vinyl dye on the new fabric to match the color, my question is related to the fabric itself.  What fabric options do I have?  The roof at the widest part is 66”.  Has anyone used tonneau cover material?

[Tom Boehm]

I am restoring a woodie and I recently dealt with this subject also. Many woodies had canvas on the roof with a vinyl coating in the cobra grain texture. I could only find black and none of it was wide enough to cover in one piece. Seams would be necessary.  I needed 66" also. SMS Auto Fabric had this fabric but not wide enough. Look on their website as they had other options too. I considered what I call convertible top fabric or Haartz cloth. This may be the same as what you call tonneau cover material. I see this on a lot of woodies also. You are much more likely to find this in your color choice. The website for the Haartz cloth company had a lot of good information about what old cars had originally and about what they offer now. I don't remember about their widths but I think that would need to be seamed also. 

 

In the end I acquired what I wanted but did not think existed. An individual sold me a roll of NOS brown vinyl cobra grain canvas backed that was 67" wide. 

Edited November 27, 2020 by Tom Boehm (see edit history)

[46 woodie]

Tom, are you sure that SMS has Cobra Grain in 66" width. About 6 month's ago there was a topic on this same subject and 66" width Cobra Grain was unavailable anywhere, including SMS. Before they closed, LeBaron Bonney was the only source for 66" and several of us tried to purchase whatever stock LB had, but hit a brick wall because of the lawyers involved in the closing. At the time SMS had Cobra Grain, but only in something like 54" width. Station wagons do need the 66" width and I know of one Woodie that has seamed the fabric to cover the roof but that's not stock. If you're looking for a non stock fabric you might ask an upholstery shop as to what is available in 66" width.

[Tom Boehm]

You are right. I did not word that clearly.  Psych!

[Rexville48]

Thank you for the feedback.  While I’m familiar with the basic appearance of cobra grain material you mention, even if was available, the original material that I removed from the Fisher Body Chevrolet has a much finer grain with a pronounced pebble effect as shown in the attached picture.  Disregard the black areas in the attached photo as the exposed sections of the roof had been coated over at some point in the past.  Tonneau cover material used for pickup trucks and other custom applications is available in 77” width from a variety of suppliers and seems to be closer in appearance.  Other than the appearance, can you think of any considerations related to the actual installation?

[Tom Boehm]

My understanding of how a woodie roof works is there is the wood slats, then a layer of fabric, then padding, then the weatherproof top fabric. Since the first layer can be seen through the slats, choose a pleasing color and texture. This layer is so you can't see the padding through the slats.  Knowledgeable people told me not to use foam for the padding because it will deteriorate in the summer heat. "Trimacar" on this forum told me to use cotton quilt batting from a fabric store. SMS has some 70's style vinyl top material on their website which may be closer to the texture you are looking for. I doubt that comes in the width you need. "Trimacar" also said it helps with the installation  if the top fabric stretches a little. 

[Tom Boehm]

Also install the top fabric outdoors on a hot day so the fabric is pliable and stretchy. I think that tonneau cover fabric is OK. I considered using that before I found the NOS stuff. Post a picture of your car. 

Edited November 28, 2020 by Tom Boehm (see edit history)

[Rexville48]

Thanks Tom, I’ll keep looking for wider material options.  I may also order a yard of the tonneau cover material to test for adequate stretch and its ability to be dyed.  The 1948 Station Wagon Body by Fisher Service & Construction Manual outlines a very detailed procedure for roof cover replacement.

[Tom Boehm]

The Fisher instructions for roof cover replacement sounds very interesting. Is that something you could post here? 

[Rexville48]

Tom,  Rather than attempting to scan and post pictures of certain pages, the entire manual is online at “oldcarmanualproject.com”.  Just search “1948 Station Wagon Body by Fisher Service & Construction Manual”. If you’re unsuccessful let me know.  Mike

[46 woodie]

There is also one for sale on E-Bay Motors under "Woodie Station Wagons" for $19.00. 

[Woodie47]

Dear Rexville,

 

I have rain gutter if you need them.

 

Mike

 

[Rexville48]

Thanks for the offer, however the originals that I removed are in great shape.  Mike