82 S&S victoria vinyl roof covering

[AndyTheRadioMan]

Recently I purchased a 1982 S&S Victoria Hearse. When I bought it the original owner mentioned that the windshield had a leak.

I removed the trim around the windshield and started the process of sealing around the windshield and discovered that the problem looks ALOT more severe than they though.

Right above the drivers side of the windshield, it looks like water had accumulated under the vinyl roof covering and there is now a rust hole about the size of a tennis ball right above the windshield, yet still covered by the vinyl roof covering. It looks like the water is NOT coming in thru a bad seal around the windshield, but somewhere in the roof covering and running down to that rust hole and into the drivers compartment.
It does not look like the vinyl covering will come off in one piece due to age and the adhesives used, so I'm guessing I'm going to have to rip the roof covering off entirely, and fix the compromised roof.
Had anyone removed the vinyl roof covering on one of these cars, and is the roof top under the vinyl able to be sanded, and painted, and appear as a normal roof, or will more work need to be done (such as sanding welding seams in the metal, removing rivets, etc)

Also, if I remove the roof covering, is there an aftermarket facility that could put a replacement vinyl cover back on top of the car after the roof is fixed.

I'd be interested if anyone had pictures of a similar project like this that they've dealt with, or any experiences with converting from a vinyl rooftop to the steel rooftop that exists underneath.

Thanks! and have a great day.

[Flymanj3]

That's what I like about having a fiberglass roof

Usually, vinal tops are used to cover seams and such made during stretching the vehicle - if removed, you'll probably have a lot of work to do.

Anyhow, here are some options from my limo days...

1. Try repairs from INSIDE. Remove the head liner and 'glass patch from inside. This MAY not solve your problem in the long run - still have to find where the water is getting in.

2. Do a 1/2 roof. Remove only half the vinal (say up to the drivers door edge) and get a strip of chrome to go across the roof. Then just finish the exsposed sheet metal - lot less work than a a whole roof.

3. Find a shop for vinal roofs - gonna cost a good penny.

[BIGEVIL]

This has to be the worst thing about owning a hearse. My rusty roof repair ended up being $3000. Worth more than the car at the time. But if you want something done right......
DO NOT reinstall vinyl. Use a good spray in bed liner company or go with a crinkle top.
roof repair.JPG

[AndyTheRadioMan]

Thanks for the replies!

I also did a little reading further into some old thread and found some more info too.

Looks like this is gonna be too much fun!

Decisions decisions................

[Abnorml]

My friend has a 81 S&S and she took the vinyl top off. She sent me some pictures of it and it was very rough and it had a lot of rust. She treated the rust first then she got somebody to spray bed liner on. It was only a day or two and rust came through the bed liner. I have a 73 M-M and She had a crinkle top and I had Line-X sprayed and I haven't had any problem with it.