How do you repair the roof..? (1 Viewer)

[Buffalo]

My FJ60/62 crossover is in need of some TLC. The roof has rusted on the left side (our passenger side). Most of it is in the gutter strip, but the tops of the posts are also looking a bit rusty, with some advanced surface rust at least. The worst being the very top part of the B post which has a small hole in it where the pillar sort of gets wider and there is a bit of a shoulder there... The problem has been the slab sides of our roof-rack trapping leaves and crud in the gutter, probably for many years as it has been on the car from first registration.

We are only the second owners of this car and we've had it for over 3 years. All of what I have seen of Australia, i have seen in this truck and I'm immensely fond of it. I was going to spend the next year refurb'ing all of the mechanicals so i could take it on a world tour, but the roof has me worried. I don't want to have to junk the whole car on the basis of the rusty bits on the roof (the other side appears ok), but it looks awfully tricky to fix to me. If i can get the roof fixed, i will happily do the rest of the stuff.

How do i go about it? Who i get to fix it? Sheet welders, or structural welders, or just a repair bodyshop?

Part of the kit i want to use on the world tour, is a rooftent. Those things are heavy and the roads both in Australian bush and in Africa are bad; i.e. lots of corrugations. Any repair will have to hold the weight of the tent over those roads.

I am very nervous - if you have had a similar repair done, please give me some hope..!

Rgds ~PHIL

 

[cando john]

fiber-glass ??

 

[philos1]

I started welding mine and have yet to finish, it's been pretty easy work, just tedious. Don't do like I did and catch your headliner on fire ...

Sorry but I don't really have any pics of the repairs so far...

 

[Buffalo]

Hi thanks for the replies.

I don't want to use fibreglass, i don't think it will stand up to the trail abuse with the roof tent on it.

What is the metal like to weld? Is it layers of sheet metal? Some pics would be really handy. Basically welding is one skill i have yet to master so this probably isn't the place to try (plus i haven't as yet got the gear). If i can get an idea of what the job will be like, i can approach various companies to get the work done, with a better arsenal of information up front.

Thanks ~PHIL

PS - what ist he headlining like to remove? Looks glued on (= PITA? )

 

[rove_mcanus]

The part of the roof that rusts is just a sheet metal 'hood' over the top of the car, it isn't structural at all.
I think the easiest way (if the rust isn't too bad) is to knock it out and fill the roof with rust kill or similiar, then bog it. Strength as far as roof racks/tents go shouldn't be an issue as it's all supported on the gutters. If the gutters are rusting out the best bet would be to grind out the rust, clean it right up and fill it with welding sticks.

Don't have any real pics, but here's a mspaint job showing roughly a cross section of the roof


If you remove the roof lining you can see it alot better. it's also a good way to fill this roof cavity with acid, or fish oil if you're lucky enough to have a rust free roof (remembering it starts from the inside)

 

[rstl99]

The part of the roof that rusts is just a sheet metal 'hood' over the top of the car, it isn't structural at all.
I think the easiest way (if the rust isn't too bad) is to knock it out and fill the roof with rust kill or similiar, then bog it. Strength as far as roof racks/tents go shouldn't be an issue as it's all supported on the gutters. If the gutters are rusting out the best bet would be to grind out the rust, clean it right up and fill it with welding sticks.

If you remove the roof lining you can see it alot better. it's also a good way to fill this roof cavity with acid, or fish oil if you're lucky enough to have a rust free roof (remembering it starts from the inside)

Thanks for the drawing. The truck I bought last Fall had some rust up above the windshield that was repaired and painted (mostly surface but a couple of small holes from what I was told). See my editing of your drawing, are you suggesting that the rust typically forms from the inside of the "hood", in the cavity you show in the sketch? If that's the case, would it make any sense to drill holes and shoot some rust-proofing oil in this gap, as preventative measure? In my case, at least around the spot of the repair, since in Canada, rust rarely forms along the top, but mostly on the bottom of the truck (due to road salt in winter). The rest of my roof and the gutters are very solid.

 

[battle cruiser]

Here's what i did...

 

[tnagaway]

OMG !!

 

[monton]

Good work.

 

[soggy60]

Roof Rot

Based on the 60's with roof rot I've dug into, the 'construction' and cause:
( gutter is part of roof panel....)

 

[rstl99]

hmmm, can't see it for some reason? Care to repost (picture?)

 

[rstl99]

Based on the 60's with roof rot I've dug into, the 'construction' and cause:
( gutter is part of roof panel....)

Thanks, that drawing is useful! So the gutter is part of the roof then. Too bad they didn't put a seam at the top of the curvature too, to prevent condensation from accumulating above the lower seal and rotting out from inside. Bottom line is also probably that Toyota did not apply appropriate/sufficient rust-proof paint/treatment to that inner roof panel. Oh well, can't have everything I suppose, and no vehicle is totally perfect... Cheers.

 

[Max.Powerzz]

It's Alive!

I just had some rust pop up on the upper portion of my windshield and hope it doesn't go deeper, knock on wood. You could always chop the top and add a rollcage with a canvas topper.

 

[goldchaser]

My FJ60/62 crossover is in need of some TLC. The roof has rusted on the left side (our passenger side). Most of it is in the gutter strip, but the tops of the posts are also looking a bit rusty, with some advanced surface rust at least. The worst being the very top part of the B post which has a small hole in it where the pillar sort of gets wider and there is a bit of a shoulder there... The problem has been the slab sides of our roof-rack trapping leaves and crud in the gutter, probably for many years as it has been on the car from first registration.

We are only the second owners of this car and we've had it for over 3 years. All of what I have seen of Australia, i have seen in this truck and I'm immensely fond of it. I was going to spend the next year refurb'ing all of the mechanicals so i could take it on a world tour, but the roof has me worried. I don't want to have to junk the whole car on the basis of the rusty bits on the roof (the other side appears ok), but it looks awfully tricky to fix to me. If i can get the roof fixed, i will happily do the rest of the stuff.

How do i go about it? Who i get to fix it? Sheet welders, or structural welders, or just a repair bodyshop?

Part of the kit i want to use on the world tour, is a rooftent. Those things are heavy and the roads both in Australian bush and in Africa are bad; i.e. lots of corrugations. Any repair will have to hold the weight of the tent over those roads.

I am very nervous - if you have had a similar repair done, please give me some hope..!

Rgds ~PHIL

buffalo im on the east coast,i had one with a bad roof,i found one with a good roof up the road,the panelbeater cut the roof off halfway down the pillars and swapped em over,cost $1800,but he works cheap,if i was you i'd look around for a rust free diesel one,there around for good prices,i wouldn't do a roof job like that again,once its there its hard to keep out,ive got a rust free hj61 diesel now,now as long as i treat the inside of thr roof every 12 months it should be good for a long time.i know sentimental value is involved here but when you get one thats rust free your quite proud of it.
cheers goldchaser

 

[Buffalo]

Thanks for the great sketches guys - they are very good and should allow me to give the welder some idea of what he is getting into prior to the work.

Goldchaser - I have now moved to country NSW, so where was your roof guy? Maybe he'd be interested in some more work..?

Buying a new vehicle with a less rusty sectioned roof is not an option... It has to be this one really. The rest of the body shell and chassis are rust free, it is just the roof. I don't think it is worth getting rid of the rest of the vehicle because of this as we know the history of this one so well. The mechanicals are tired but still with probably another 200,000km in them, but i will refurb them once the roof is done, so that we can use the car around the world if this becomes an option for us (it is what i am aiming for in a couple of years time).

Battlecruiser - your rig certainly lives up to your name! IT looks like something out of madmax! The screwed section, is that a new roof piece entirely, or just bolted over the old section? How does the roof bar handle the weight?

Cheer ~PHIL

Another hints/tips, experience? I'm all ears the more the merrier!

 

[goldchaser]

the shop is in central vic,where in nsw are you?
buy chance this arvo i had to do a run to the local tip,while im there the bloke that bought my old 60 pulls up,we were talking for a while,he said cars goin great,but the roof has a cuppla spots of rust comin through again.
it lokks like a real fiddly job to repair it properly,in my mind to rid it all if it was me i'd learn some welding and do it myself,i think to pay a shop to do it properly would be very very expensive,my old one was done cheap and after two years its coming back.
then you have to find a rust free roof that someone wants to chop off,if the roof is good then the rest of the car is usually ok.
if its down your pillars then its pretty bad,thats how mine was
good luck with it but im real glad i dumped my old one then waited till a rust free one came up
thers a real clean petrol sahara down here for sale at the moment,from a distance it looks rust free,round headlight model,not sure on price ,it looks good though.
im from nsw originally,let me know where ya at i might have some contacts if your in the right area
cheers goldchaser

 

[Buffalo]

I'm in Orange...

I hear what you're saying, but I feel i want a crack at doing it. It's a murky world i know (I've been here before with previous cars) but the rest of the shell is fine, even the rest of the roof is fine, it is just where the gutter strip has become blocked. It just doesn't seem right to trash the car over it...

If you know of someone that you think might do a good job i'd be very grateful.

Cheers ~PHIL

 

[83FJ604ME]

WTF? It's FrankenRoof! Good luck with your project buddy!

 

[2020 Rocks]

8/10ths cruiser, 2/10ths Grumman Canoe by the looks of it.

 

[battle cruiser]

What you see is what you get!

There is NO sheet metal under there...just a gaping rust hole about 4-5 inches wide...the rack has had no issues...the most I've had up there are two 12' ocean kayaks...so no worries, mate...as you Aussies would say!