[Bob Carriere]

As much as I enjoy driving the cab 11 as a "roadster" we always planned to have the roof done.

Over the cold months we slowly worked at it. First thing to do was to repair the cracked sheet metal on each side by the door frame...... a very common fault of the cab 11/12 is the metal eventually sheers even with the small reinforcement L bracket inside the corner.

I carefully remove the existing L brackets by grinding them away and replacing them with new 14 gauge corner L brackets that were welded in place then POR 15 to seal behind brackets.

Next step was removing the dings from the dents from the creased and bulges.

It is not perfectly smooth yet but has improved 99%..... what a task. Impossible to hold a dolly on one side and hammer with your other arm unless you are built like a gorilla..... you just can't reach that far. so with the help of various hammers and large rubber mallet Grant wacked away on one side while I either held the dolly or pushed with my hands on the other side.... which was noisy and easier to describe than actually do. Amazing how the metal eventually stretches back into place..... thank God Grant was patient and persistent.

We have been pondering the eventual surgery to the bottom 8 inches of the roof which in some areas was completely eaten away by rust. Our concern was to remove and reskin while insuring that we maintained the same dimensions. The roof needs to be braced before removing any steel and to today was the first amputation.

We first braced the rear angle iron using a 1 inch square tubing bolted to the bottom of the angle iron..... the tubing is low enough to carry the top[and leave clearance for the bottom edge of the skin for alignment and ease of working. Then we bracing the rear window opening that will be cut through.

Then installed a brace so we could sit the top flat on the work table at the proper angle. Now the roof weights an extra 50 pounds but is very stiffly held.

We will do the reskinning in two steps...... so we cut on one side to the center of the rear window where there will be a center vertical weld. By cutting through the window opening we reduce the butt welding by about 40.

The new skin has already been rolled curved and we will crimp the bottom edge using Grant's bead roller before installation. The butt welding is the next nightmare and exercise in patience.... it has to be perfect to look good from both the inside and the outside. Grant gained some experience when doing his cab 13 roof a few years ago. We will start near the door opening and slowly tack weld our way around to the middle.

Will need to do some sandblasting to properly clean the existing angle iron that will be welded to the skin...... following the Jordan pattern of "rosette" welding around the curve.

By the time we get all done welding it should be warm enough outside to do the painting. Then the wood support, from Brian Ashbury, will go into place as they are already painted/sealed with POR 15 against water.

Still have to fabricate the ceiling rubber pads.

Thanks to Grant for all the inspiration and perspiration.

Attache are a few photos of the bracing. Yes it took a fair amount of square tubing but it was purchased specifically for this job..... we will salvage the good pieces after the job is done.

Cheers