Roof

My 71 nova has a sunroof (I hate it a lot) and I plan on getting it taken care of eventually by either doing it myself through the autobody classes at my community college or taking it to someone to be done professionally. I want to put an entire donor roof on the car by taking it off and reattaching it at the window posts where the factory originally attached the roof. I found a 74 roof in good condition at the bone yard and was wondering if anyone knows if they are different? I checked http://rmcavoy.freeshell.org/nova_parts.html
and from there I cannot tell there will be any difference. Both the 71 and 74 are in the same generation, so I don't think there will be any problem. I just wanted to try and confirm this before I go and chop the roof off and buy it and then bring it home. How far down on the posts should I cut the roof off at? I was thinking almost flush with the body so I have enough room to "play with" incase some of the post need to be re-used.

Regards,
Dennis

I would have a professional do the work for you or at least give you his expert opinion. The roof is a big structural part of the car. I would imagine that a good body man could piece in just what you need.

Bob

if you are low on the funds,(trust me a body man will be expensive...if it is not then you are prolly gonna get a crappy job...unless you are like good super duper friends)just remove the sunroof, weld a piece of metal on the inside of the car where the sun roof was,then bondo the hole, make smooth, paint...but if you don't trust your own welding or blah blah...see if he will patch the sun roof hole for cheaper than replacing the whole roof...

That area of the roof will tend to flex in its not reinforced properly, even if its not a lot. Just as you drive, hitting bums and whatnot, the metal on the roof gives, bends and flexes. Its perfectly normal, but Bondo may not be the best route to take because it doesn't like to bend once its solidified. Over time it might (not saying it will) crack and begin to fall apart in small pieces. This is just a worse case scenario however. In my experience in areas of cars that will flex alot such as hoods, doors, and of course the roof, fiberglass resin works the best because after it hardens, its just as easy to work as bondo, and it also can handle a decent amount of flexing without breaking or detaching. Just my :2cents: