Original roof material

[Mpgp1999]

Hello I am looking for roofing material for my 25. I’m trying to add a roof while remaining original. 

I am not sure what the original material was. It appears to be faux leather or rubberized canvas. If an intact roof is impossible to find, what can I do to make the roof look old. 

Edited April 12, 2023 by Mpgp1999 (see edit history)

[trimacar]

The original material was Pantasote, or something like it by another name.  Basically, fabric which had a rubberized coating on it.

 

The closest thing to it now is vinyl or naugahyde, which is fabric coated with a plastic.  Haartz has a "replicated Pantesote" but basically it's still a more modern version similiar if not identical to vinyl.  

 

Because your top material wraps around the sides of the top, make sure you get a material wide enough to go all the way around.

 

Over the chicken wire, there would have been a light fabric such as muslin, then a layer of cotton batting (I use the quilting batting, two layers, each layer is about 1/8 inch thick).  Do NOT use foam, it will disintegrate. Do not over stuff the top, either, it should be fairly smooth and not stick up.   The top material then goes over the batting.  Install the top material in a very warm shop or, preferably, in the sun, as you need to stretch it tight so it won't billow out going down the highway.  Take about a foot in the middle on each side, then the same front to back, then work your way around, pulling tight the whole time.

 

You may have to do some woodwork where the tacks (or staples) go, as it appears there's some missing wood.  If you use staples, use stainless ones.  Make sure to seal around edge of top material with a good black sealant.

[ArticiferTom]

Get yourself some waterproof duck material place on . Then paint as ugly as you want with the stuff from the commercials , screen door boat .LOL . I going to try on mine some day . 

[Guest]

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tech-week-install-soft-top-on-model-a-sedan-and-custom-rain-gutters.435634/

[Mpgp1999]

I would like to get a perfect score in the hpof class.  

[nat]

On 4/12/2023 at 8:54 PM, Mpgp1999 said:

I would like to get a perfect score in the hpof class.  

      Does it run?  That was a common feature of most automobiles.

[Mark Gregush]

On 4/12/2023 at 7:31 AM, ArticiferTom said:

Get yourself some waterproof duck material place on . Then paint as ugly as you want with the stuff from the commercials , screen door boat .LOL . I going to try on mine some day . 

lol I did just that on my Ford Model T huckster, only used the spray on stuff for recoating rubber coated bumpers and tool handles, before flexseal came out. Needed redoing every few years but looked ok. If I was to do it again, I would use the roll on stuff and go with thicker coating. 

Edited April 15, 2023 by Mark Gregush (see edit history)

[Mattml430]

What’s the HPOF class. Never heard of it. 

[Minibago]

Well, I guess if you can’t drive it you can get certified.

 

[Minibago]

This is what they were made for.

 

 

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by Minibago (see edit history)

[Mpgp1999]

I got it to run but had low compression. I am in the middle of lapping the valves. It’s never had one. 

[Mattml430]

20 minutes ago, Mpgp1999 said:

I got it to run but had low compression. I am in the middle of lapping the valves. It’s never had one. 

 

1 hour ago, Minibago said:

This is what they were made for.

 

 

 

I don’t think I could bring myself to drive my cars through muddy water like that. I have a mile of dirt road to my house and I crawl along that. 😂

[Mattml430]

24 minutes ago, Mpgp1999 said:

I got it to run but had low compression. I am in the middle of lapping the valves. It’s never had one. 

Did you do a wet compression test to check if it’s the rings or the valves. 

[Minibago]

4 hours ago, Mattml430 said:

 

I don’t think I could bring myself to drive my cars through muddy water like that. I have a mile of dirt road to my house and I crawl along that. 😂

Wet compression test.

 

😂😂😂😂

[Mpgp1999]

I didn’t. The cylinders held atf for a week.  Aft leaked from valves. 

[Mpgp1999]

On 4/15/2023 at 1:09 AM, Minibago said:

This is what they were made for.

 

 

 

Correct 👍 

[Mpgp1999]

I plan to keep the original rotted wood on the roof. I will use penetrating epoxy on the wood and build it up. 

[old car fan]

That certainly doesn't make sense. 

[Mpgp1999]

I will show you when it’s done basically I put all the rotten parts back in place and keep soaking it with penetrating epoxy and then I fill the gaps. Once it is cured, I sand it down to its original shape.  This is what I have been doing at work.  

[nat]

1 minute ago, Mpgp1999 said:

I will show you when it’s done basically I put all the rotten parts back in place and keep soaking it with penetrating epoxy and then I fill the gaps. Once it is cured, I sand it down to its original shape.  This is what I have been doing at work.  

     I once had a Jeep with a floor made of woven New Hampshire license plates on the bottom and ready mixed mortar on top.  That might be a great way to cover the roof.

[Minibago]

Call me old fashioned but my first priority is to have a roadworthy car.

To explain roadworthy it is a focus on safety with everything working as it should.
Original rust and dry rot can impact the structural integrity (strength) of the steel and timber. Our cars are limited in many areas so I ignore originality and fit brake lights, indicators, mirrors and windscreen wiper. I won’t ever get 100% in the HPOF but I do enjoy the driving.

 

 

 

[Bloo]

I think the replica Pantasote mentioned by @trimacar is the best you will be able to do for top fabric.

 

To the best of my knowledge none of those prewar predecessors of vinyl are available in any form. I have been down deep in the Pyroxylin/Fabrikoid/Rexine rabbit hole, and although someone may have resurrected a Rexine line about 15 years ago I have not seen any for sale at any price. One of the last uses of pyroxylin was bookbinding cloth, and now is all acrylic as far as I can tell. The last suppliers of pyroxylin cloth (two companies in the UK) get really cagey when you ask what it is made of, and they don't answer the question. Anyhow, pyroxylin is not the same as Pantasote if I remember correctly. I believe Pantasote was a patented formula, and nobody seems to quite know what was in it. Some form of it may have been available as recently as the early 1960s. There were also fabrics available made with Linseed oil called "oilcloth" in the prewar era, but in no way resembling modern oilcloth. Any substitutes for any of these prewar coated fabrics are made of Vinyl (aka PVC) or Urethane, or Acrylic, materials which may have existed(?) but weren't readily available in the era.

 

I would like it a lot if I could be proven wrong about this. Please post if you find a source for Pantasote or any of the others.

 

[Mattml430]

Making a new roof is not that difficult to do. I made a new one for my 26/27. It just doesn’t make any sense using epoxy to fix rotten wood. I spent 5 years restoring a 40 year old 72 foot timber boat.I can assure you I know what rotten wood is after doing that. Filling rotten timber with epoxy is not the answer. No one is going to see the rotten wood in your roof. 

[Mpgp1999]

9 hours ago, Minibago said:

Call me old fashioned but my first priority is to have a roadworthy car.

To explain roadworthy it is a focus on safety with everything working as it should.
Original rust and dry rot can impact the structural integrity (strength) of the steel and timber. Our cars are limited in many areas so I ignore originality and fit brake lights, indicators, mirrors and windscreen wiper. I won’t ever get 100% in the HPOF but I do enjoy the driving.

 

 

 

I have another db in the middle of an off frame restoration. That one will be a driver. I also drive my 35 ford often. About 15k a year. 

[Mpgp1999]

27 minutes ago, Mattml430 said:

Making a new roof is not that difficult to do. I made a new one for my 26/27. It just doesn’t make any sense using epoxy to fix rotten wood. I spent 5 years restoring a 40 year old 72 foot timber boat.I can assure you I know what rotten wood is after doing that. Filling rotten timber with epoxy is not the answer. No one is going to see the rotten wood in your roof. 

Your correct no one will ever see the roof or other internal parts like valves and the head gasket. 
But,

 I will know it’s not original. This project is a challenge for me. 

[Minibago]

5 minutes ago, Mpgp1999 said:

Your correct no one will ever see the roof or other internal parts like valves and the head gasket. 
But,

 I will know it’s not original. This project is a challenge for me. 

Using a bent valve.

Hand sanding a head face.

Bogging rotten wood.

Retaining Rust.

I think I might stop reading this thread.

[Mpgp1999]

12 minutes ago, Minibago said:

Using a bent valve.

Hand sanding a head face.

Bogging rotten wood.

Retaining Rust.

I think I might stop reading this thread.

I ditched the bent valve.