[FC] FC Roof Panel Removal

[Dale Dewald]

Hello Paul,

Comments in text.

At 10:42 PM 7/21/04 -0400, Paul wrote:
>I believe that this has been discussed before, but I can't find when or where.
>I have to replace the roof panel on my FC because someone had cut a giant hole
>in the middle to make it into a pop up camper.  I have examined the assembly
>manual and it appears that the roof panel is glued down and has some spot
>welds in the corners.

There are also bead (MIG) welds around the door openings and pillars.  It 
would be very difficult to cut all of these out.

>   Has anyone ever removed a roof panel before?

Someone on the list has done a roof removal, but as I recall he would not 
do it again.

>  I have
>examined the FC closely and I find that the panel ends at the roof gutters.  I
>have been told that the bolts that appear to be holding it down won't help you
>to remove it if they are removed.  Does anyone know how the factory installed
>the roof panel.

The bolts provide some attachment strength, but were really only used to 
hold the roof panel assembly to the rest of the body in order for it to be 
welded.  I think that this allowed for some adjustment and tweaking of the 
body and door openings to get everything square and within tolerance prior 
to welding together permanently.  If you were to completely remove the roof 
panel from your good FC I think it would be essential to go through the 
alignment procedure again.

>  I only have one donor FC and don't want to destroy the roof
>in an attempt to remove the roof panel.  Any and all suggestions are welcome.

The suggested procedure has been discussed on this forum before. In a nutshell:
1) Cut the top roof panel off of the donor FC at/inside the drip rail.  You 
will end up with a large shallow dish-shaped piece of metal.
2) Cut the top roof panel off of the recipient FC 3-4" up from the drip 
rail. Use the assembly manual to plan this.
3) Trial fit the replacement panel several times to check fit. Trim as 
necessary. Purchase, rent or fabricate enough clamps to hold the new panel 
firmly in place.
4) Use urethane vehicle assembly glue to attach the new panel to the 
roof.  If the metal surfaces are prepared properly the glue joint will be 
as strong if not stronger than welding.  If done carefully, the seam will 
be covered by a new bead of sealer in the drip rail.

NOTE: A friend of mine is a senior metallurgist/welding engineer at GM.  He 
told me that car bodies can be completely assembled with adhesives--and 
many assemblies are--and be substantially stronger than spot welded 
bodies.  However, they still continue to use spot welding due to potential 
litigation issues.

>Does anyone have a junker that they could cut a wedge out of the roof to
>examine how it was done?  Thanks..... Paul in CT

You might want to contact the Corvair Ranch.

Dale Dewald
Hancock, (UP) MI