[OnE-SaD-BirD]

well i have a rather large rust spot on my roof near my windshield. anyways i got a quote for $300 to fix it but i've found some roofs at junkyards for $100-150. How hard is it to replace and what needs to be done to do it? i imagine that labor could be quite costly if it is hard. thanks.

 

[Bob Kinee]

alot of work

I wouldn't do it. They gotta take the glass out, and replace all the gaskets and everything, with the potential of breaking the glass if the shop is not reputable enough. Seems too much work for just fixing a rust spot. The labor would be expensive. I say to just get the rust itself fixed. Just my opinion though.

 

[a Bill]

We did this to a Camaro a few years back. It had a standard roof, he wanted a T-Top roof. I honestly don't think it is worth the trouble. It is doable but it is very tedious. He ended up with one of the only T-top roofs in our area that didn't leak

Oh yeah, neither of us does body work, we were just regular morons doing dumb stuff.

 

[Aaronj]

I dunno what it costs

but I know someone with a late 80's Formula Firebird that recently got the hell beat out of it by hail. After consulting a body shop they said right off it'd need a a new hood and new roof. They explained that the roof is replaced by cutting it out with a torch (as I recall) and then simply welding a new one in it's place. I dunno, I'd say just check with local body shops for pricing. Hope that helps.

 

[Gunslinger]

As previously stated before, they remove the windows. Then they cut the roof off the posts, front, side, and back. Then they weld the new one to the posts and put the windows back in. Simple? No. Expensive? Very. Then they have to paint it. And blend the paint to work with the faded paint that most cars have from sun damage. It's a lousy job to do and even lousier to pay for. Don't do it.
IMO
GUN

 

[Bob Kinee]

yep

I gotta be in total agreement with gunslinger here. Much easier just to get the rust spot fixed.

 

[pdennis93]

i dont know about roof repair, but ill give you some insite to my rocker rust repair...... i had HOLES about a foot long, and rust all around, i thought for sure id have to get new rockers @ $75 bux apiece and another $600 apiece labor to put them in, after consulting the shop, they said they could get rid of the rust, and weld in new sheetmetal and it only cost me about $500 total before paint. so IMHO i would just fix the surface rust.......or if its rusted through i bet they could still weld in new metal and blend it.......

heres some pics of my before and after rust work


BEFORE:

AFTER