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Roof warped. Any ideas??

nemovr4

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Joined
Nov 19, 2012
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139
Location
Denver, Colorado
Came out from work today and noticed my roof has finally given into the brutal Colorado elements after 20+ years here.

I do not have a sun roof.

The entire roof front to back has warped into 2 massive valleys. So far it doesnt look as though it is ruining the trim pieces but im sure soon if i leavethis they will start becoming misshapen.


Does anyone have any ideas how to fix this? Without buying the roof off another shell.

Any help greatly appreciated!

-Chris.
 

marvinmadman

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Nov 10, 2003
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2,355
Location
Lafayette, Louisiana
Pull the headliner out. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

prove_it

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Jul 3, 2008
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Sioux Falls, SD
Pics please.
 

nemovr4

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Nov 19, 2012
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139
Location
Denver, Colorado






And yes its dirty and the rear trim pieces are going back on soon. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 

nemovr4

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139
Location
Denver, Colorado

Leon_R

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Aug 30, 2011
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Location
Chelmsford, MA
Are you sure someone didn't do a dance on your roof? I never seen this happen from weather.

Have you tried popping it back?
 

nemovr4

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Nov 19, 2012
Messages
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Location
Denver, Colorado
W
Im not sure if someone danced on the roof....I doubt it but possible. Ha

I have tried popping it up from the inside with no luck...might just have to put some more back in to it.

But yeah i have never seen this happen, i was thinking about stopping by an autobody shop and asking if they could pop it out with a suction cup or something.


Any ideas?
 

curtis

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Clarksville TN
OK how is the alignment on the doors from the top to the bottom. It maybe the frame is so weak its collapsing in the middle. You may have to jack it up in the middle, pop the dents up with the headliner pulled and then weld in a set of subframe connectors. This is a serious problem and not just cosmetic on the roof, unless your ex found your car and jumped up and down on it then its just a problem of her weight. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Seriously if you jack it up in the middle and balance the car across a 4x4 or something and the roof pops back up its serious frame damage.
 

nemovr4

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Nov 19, 2012
Messages
139
Location
Denver, Colorado
...well.

I have every record of the car so i will search through those tonight and check for any colisions. I think at one point it may have had a "small" front end colision....over a decade ago...

Thanks for the advice curtis, hopefully i can get it up and tested this weekend.

-Chris
 

89Mirageman

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Jul 5, 2006
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2,502
Location
Stantonsburg, NC
I'm no expert but I seriously doubt that came from rust. It looks like someone did that, almost like a basketball or something kinda heavy hit it. So you're saying you just came outside one day and it was like that and it was fine the day before?

I'm pretty sure that's going to be a major PITA to repair. There are braces glued to the roof under the headliner. Those dents may pop right out but I doubt it. It'll probably just make 20 smaller dents when you pop it out. Short of replacing the roof which is major work on most cars you'll probably have to get it as straight as you can and use filler to get it perfect again. This would probably take a skilled body man a day or two to fix so it won't be cheap.
 

prove_it

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Jul 3, 2008
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Location
Sioux Falls, SD
I have never seen this from the weather before. Do you have any enemies? I would talk to a body shop before doing anything. You could make it worse(spendier) to fix. This is exactly why I have full coverage insurance. I can't imagine what a roof section would cost to graft over.

On the other hand, Have you thought about taking up rally racing? Looks like you have a great canidate to start with. Straighten the frame, Throw a cage in it and your all good. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

gvr4ever

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Aug 6, 2002
Messages
6,190
Location
central Indiana
Were you parked under a lamp post? Looks like damage from up above to me.

Like others have said, if the chassis isn't bent, and the doors still line up, then no way would the roof ever just sag like that.
 
Last edited:

wildman24

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Nov 26, 2010
Messages
22
Location
Benton city, wa
Looks more like impact marks from something to me. try sticking a plunger in the middle and giving it a tug. I've done this to some doors before..
 

3rdstrikedsm

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Feb 17, 2008
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3,402
Location
32159, FL
Something or someone did that and if she is not rusted then it can be fixed any number of ways which I would start by letting it sit in the sun for hours on a hot day then heat it up some with a heat gun but no so hot it burns the paint then hit it with either a can of duster upside down or a small pail of ice water and it should pop back fairly close and if you are unsure of the process just look on you tube for a how to, When I was in college we actually were taught this method and it worked well in most cases but just make sure not to get the glass with the ice water or else it will crack.

Pull the head liner first and pop the most of it out by hand then try the hot and cold shock method.
 
Last edited:

BoostedAWD91

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Mar 1, 2007
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2,937
Location
Danville,Pa
You should be able to pound that back out from the inside or get one of those automotive suction cups and pull it out. Looks like someone or something was on your roof, highly doubt it would just collapse on its on.
 

nemovr4

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Nov 19, 2012
Messages
139
Location
Denver, Colorado
I'm more convinced that curtis is the most correct with is. I looked real close and it really doesn't look like someone used it as a saw horse.

It is still possible that some drunk might have thought it was funny to walk on top however, there were no marks leading me to think that happened.

Like I said before, unfortunatly it wouldn't suprise me if the frame allignment was jacked. I found some repair recipts from 97 when the car had a small front end collision. Might not have been apparent the accident cause slight frame mis-allignment...then over the last decade or so it just got worse..
I wasn't able to get it up and check that yet, but when I do the results will be posted.

Thank you for all the suggestions guys!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif It seems as though this is a pretty unique problem.


-Chris
 

BpuVR4

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Jul 11, 2005
Messages
813
Location
Chicago
Quoting curtis:
OK how is the alignment on the doors from the top to the bottom. It maybe the frame is so weak its collapsing in the middle. You may have to jack it up in the middle, pop the dents up with the headliner pulled and then weld in a set of subframe connectors. This is a serious problem and not just cosmetic on the roof, unless your ex found your car and jumped up and down on it then its just a problem of her weight. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Seriously if you jack it up in the middle and balance the car across a 4x4 or something and the roof pops back up its serious frame damage.



are subframe connectors for our cars a pretty common mod? not sure if i even thought about that before..but sounds like a great idea.
 

Racah15

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Aug 28, 2012
Messages
315
Location
Colorado springs CO
I hate to say, but this has already been said, it's 100% not weather related. By looking at it, you can try to pop off the headliner and press against the bottom, upwards using an object or something with a large surface area, to push it back out. Doesn't look too bad, and the headliners aren't massive tough, so I assure you, it's probably some damn hipster with his/her hipster friends rolling around trying to take funny hipster photos ontop of cars. Sorry, hipsters aren't my cup of tea. And I've seen them do that stuff before. Trust me, I live in hipster ville. This stuff is common where I live.

Goodluck!
 

curtis

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May 4, 2003
Messages
11,892
Location
Clarksville TN
Look up dry ice dents on you tube..........its like ice water but can be controlled more with heat from a torch and then a chuck of dry ice on the other side... Me and another guy fixed the leading edges of a beechcraft baron wings this way years ago. Nothing better than holding a piece of steel with one hand up in a 3 inch hole shoulder deep with your ear against the wing while some one else takes an air hammer and beats on dents. Longest week of my life or close I guess a tie with doing cylinders on a v tail bonanza with my elbows zipped tied together.
 

curtis

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Joined
May 4, 2003
Messages
11,892
Location
Clarksville TN
Quoting BpuVR4:
Quoting curtis:
OK how is the alignment on the doors from the top to the bottom. It maybe the frame is so weak its collapsing in the middle. You may have to jack it up in the middle, pop the dents up with the headliner pulled and then weld in a set of subframe connectors. This is a serious problem and not just cosmetic on the roof, unless your ex found your car and jumped up and down on it then its just a problem of her weight. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Seriously if you jack it up in the middle and balance the car across a 4x4 or something and the roof pops back up its serious frame damage.



are subframe connectors for our cars a pretty common mod? not sure if i even thought about that before..but sounds like a great idea.




I did a run of them a few years ago and everyone seemed pleased, it was the first mod I did to my car.
 
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