MTFCA Forum

This past weekend I spent about 11 hours and around 200 bucks in materials putting together a new roof for my TT. I used all hand tools to do it besides a drill and impact driver since there were over 300 screws to be set. Other than that, all pieces were hand cut with a cross cut saw. Overall, I think it turned out pretty nice. I also took some time refinishing the interior wood as well. Next, I will be making new body mounts to replace my old ones. I will also be staining the inside of the roof black when I get a chance. The top I sealed with some sealer. Now she’s ready for some new vinyl up top. What vinyl would you guys recommend me to put on it? I will post pictures of my work below.

More pictures

Jacob, you can help iron out differences in the curves of the timber laths by putting a layer of Dacron fibre over them before tacking on the vinyl covering. The dacron is the stuff quilt makers use to fill out their work, and should be available from any good fabric store. It is synthetic, so is not effected by moisture should any get under the vinyl. It comes in varying thicknesses. I use 1/4" thick stuff. Any more makes the top look padded on the edges.

Allan from down under.

A quality convertible top material would make a good top covering. I'd want to have an underlayment like Allen suggested.

That is one way to do it, but…

The closed cab TT roof only has the four wood tack strips around the edges and just the four wood bows going front to rear. There is no other wood and no lath going across. A layer of black felt (like craft store felt, not “roofing felt”) gets stretched over and tacked to the sides of the tack rails. Then the top material gets stretched just enough so there are no wrinkles and stapled to the sides of the tack rails. The staples get covered and the edges are covered by hidem welt all the way around. If you are doing a first class job, you can also sew some cording welt out of top material and install before the top material is installed so you have a nice drip edge with the cording slightly exposed below the hidem all the way around.
Upholstery supply wholesalers in the upper midwest have a product they call something like “snowmobile seat vinyl” which looks fine on a TT, is uv stable, deals well with high & low temperature extremes, AND is inexpensive. The fabric that is most “original” is Haartz brand Bison black convertible topping, but probably around $80/ yard.

If you want a really smooth look proper padding is important.
Just don't go too thick or you will get a marshmallow top look.
If there is protruding spot it can be sanded down.

I looked it up and Snyders still lists the "original?" material while Langs does not.
There is also classique who sells topping materials and kits.
If you want a less than perfect look there is the distressed leather look like this
https://www.amazon.com/Leather-Fabric-D ... HFMMY?th=1
A lot of wooden boats simply use painted canvas to cover and seal the roof. Not the lowest maintenance way but works.
Your local fabric / craft store also has some types of vinyl in stock and can order more.

What you install depends on what you want it to look like in the end.
You are in Nevada (dry climate) so maybe you just want to leave it wood with a good sealer as a sun shield.
Whatever you install make sure it is a good quality UV resistant product.

Your visual and functional goals for the truck will drive you to a decision.
Keep up the good work
Mike

Nice work on your roof, & yes it takes a lot of screws to get a nice job. I used marine grade stain and sealant to finish things with padding and convertible top material. It been 15 yrs & it's still looking good.
John M
Oscoda,Michigan

It's important to use a UV resistant "outdoor" material such as convertible top material.

When I put a roof on my C Cab, I only considered copra and long grain vinyl. Chose the former and bought sufficient material from Classtique. Looks great 28 years later.
I didn’t use all those crossways slats. Restored it as original.

I was planning on running the padding over the wood when I do the fabric. I’m not super concerned with originality and had seen Bushmike do a similar thing to his TT about 3 or so years ago and liked the way it looked. You can see his iteration under the thread titled “The Time Machine”. In my eyes, the wooden slats running across the roof is an improvement to the car. Especially so since the truck had chicken wire supporting the padding under the vinyl before. I appreciate all the comments on my work. As far as the fabric goes, it had long grain cobra vinyl on it before and it had a decent look. When I pick, I will definitely be going with a UV resistant material because the sun here in Southern Nevada is brutal.

Thanks for the information, Jacob Mangold