Re: 1937 roof

Posted by Rusty O\'Toole On 2013/3/7 16:49:04

The problem with making a 1 piece roof was in getting sheet metal wide enough. The steel mills simply could not make it.

This problem was addressed in 1934. New steel mills began producing wider sheet metal, wide enough to make a whole roof in one stamping.

General Motors was the first to take advantage of this with their Turret Top bodies. Cheaper models like the base Chevrolet sedan continued to use the top insert for a couple more years.

Even with the steel available, manufacturers had to invest in giant presses and dies capable of making parts more than twice as big as they had ever made before.

The roof with fabric insert was made in 4 pieces with short seams at the corners welded together and smoothed over with lead body solder.

The 1936 Cord had a one piece roof even though they did not have the presses and dies to make it. The roof was made of 7 stampings, laboriously welded together and the seams filled with lead, then filed and sanded smooth. Very costly and time consuming. This was only feasible on a car that sold for more than a Cadillac.

By 1937 only a few cars were still made the old way. The cheapest Plymouths for example. Even there, for a few extra bucks you got a steel insert fitted into the roof instead of the vinyl like oilcloth.

Your aluminum insert could have come from the factory or it could have been made up to replace the old fabric.

The roof material was an artificial leather or oilcloth that resembled the material used on vinyl tops.