Karen, I checked your gallery, hard to tell but it looks like it's a fairly simple patch to make. You're not that far away, pm me, maybe you can bring it up and we'll mig a patch in place-Rusty

 

When I found my 51F1 up here in the Seattle area the underside of the roof was soaked and the condensation was dripping down and running down everywhere. I was born and raised in Southern California so that was a new experience for me. Luckly it had been stored in a garage and only sit outside in that field a short time. I imagine that condensation probably causes the problems mentioned especially if the front end is lower or lying on the ground. JMO

 

So has the weather warmed up enough for you to get going on the roof patch yet?
I see you had a few offers to help out on the project. Let us know if you are progressing or not.
Don

 

Nothin, I sent a very very nice roof section to nixer and he did not use it since his Mom bought him a new cab. It was not a lot to ship at all. It had about 3" of the pillars left on so it would be a lot less work to cut and re-weld at the pillars instead of going all the way around the roof. Try to see if he answers to PM or EM , I have not seen him on the board lately, good luck. Jon

PS: If you are anyplace near Alamosa, there is a good roof on a semi-nice cab sitting near the cemetary 1/2mile north of La Jara. It has been there a long time and all is for sale down there. If not the guy in Capulin has a bunch for metal but he is proud and shady.

 

i dont remember who but whoever makes that fiberglass roof panel that was previously mentioned i could swear they make a metal replacement . i can't remember the company as i've got the same issue kinda, where my truck sat when owned by my bud norm some lil' brats sat on the roof and caved it in making a bird bath out of it and now we have the swiss cheese effect . i as i said couldn't remember and just bought someone's old project for the cab and just gonna swap 'em as the new one is that much better and in a case of irony it comes with an extra cab top section as the guy was gonna chop it , oh well i geuss my son in law lucked out as he's inheriting the ol stuff.

 

That's a common area for rot, with all the other repair panels made I don't know why no one has started offering them for that area? Maybe because it's not a difficult shape to duplicate? If I were doing it I'd get a piece of 18 ga cold rolled sheet steel a little wider than the cab length and a couple feet long. You can make a rudimentary bender out of a sheet of 3/4 plywood and a length of steel water pipe slighty smaller than the radius of the patch plus a bunch of C clamps. First make a posterboard template of the profile you need from the roof. Next mark the sheet of metal where the bend will start, don't try to bend it right at the edge, use the edge as the straightest part towards the center of the roof, the tightest part of the bend plan towards the center of the sheet. Lay the sheet of metal on the plywood aligning edges and clamp along the edge with ~ 3 clamps. Lay the pipe on top touching the sheet where the bend will start, and clamp it to the plywood with as many clamps as you can round up. Hint if you have trouble getting the clamps tight on the pipe without slipping, tack weld a length of angle iron to the pipe as a clamp surface.
Now grab the long portion of the sheet near the center, and lift it up with a kinda pulling action to keep it tight to and bending along the pipe. The edges will bend a lot easier than the center, so work primarily on the center and the edges will take care of themselves. Release the sheet and check your bend with the template and look to see if the raised up edge of the sheet is straight and parallel to the plywood. If it is bowed or wavy, work the low areas until it is straight and parallel. When it is, and matches your template, unclamp it, recheck the entire bend with the template, then cut off the repair patch strip the width you need. Continue making more strips in the same manner
until you have plenty of stock to work with. Remove the rotted sections of roof a section at a time and replace with the new metal, leaving the corners for last. If you don't know how to form compound curves for the corners make them from pie cuts of the straight stock instead. More welds to do and smooth off, but the corners are shallow so it's do-able.
If the rot is severe and/or the main roof panel is warped or heavily dented, I'd also suggest replacing it with a donor roof cut at the top of the windshield and door posts and just below the drip edge around the back.

 

Lots of great ideas guys, thanks! Right now, Old Horse is sitting warm and dry in the garage waiting for me to do some simple steering and suspension work.

Isn't it a crime the way the demands of Life (especially home ownership) just CUT into the time and funds we need for our trucks? There ought to be a LAW!