Best way to replace a roof

[comanchekid]

When john said he had the jeep sold for the roof I was like thats alot of work It would be easier to buy another xj, but you guys made it look easy good work cant wait to see the finished pics

 

[dan89XJ]

I am looking at the sectioning of the pillars and it looks like you guys are doing butt joints. I cant see if you are using any inserts. I hope you are at least. Another way for a stronger sectioning is to do a offset butt joint, that method you would drill out some plug welds and overlap the new section over the pillars on the jeep. That way there will be more weld and rigidity at each pillar.

 

[turpehar]

Please keep us update! Looks great!

 

[rehab]

I am looking at the sectioning of the pillars and it looks like you guys are doing butt joints. I cant see if you are using any inserts. I hope you are at least. Another way for a stronger sectioning is to do a offset butt joint, that method you would drill out some plug welds and overlap the new section over the pillars on the jeep. That way there will be more weld and rigidity at each pillar.

yes but remember it is sheet metal, and it was sheet metal before it was cut and welded. it would help to line it and make it rigid as hell but on the other hand, butt-welding sheet metal still has pretty damn good penetration. it may be slightly weaker than stock but does it really matter? from the sounds of it he is going to do a cage also.

thats some nice work guys! makes me wish i cut the roof off my parts jeep and saved it for "that day"

 

[dan89XJ]

yes but remember it is sheet metal, and it was sheet metal before it was cut and welded. it would help to line it and make it rigid as hell but on the other hand, butt-welding sheet metal still has pretty damn good penetration. it may be slightly weaker than stock but does it really matter? from the sounds of it he is going to do a cage also.

thats some nice work guys! makes me wish i cut the roof off my parts jeep and saved it for "that day"

The whole Jeep is made out of sheetmetal. Butt welding at that location without backing or a insert would be prone to cracking or shearing. The welds are probably stronger than the rest of the sheetmetal - and that is why the sheetmeal will shear there.. if it rolled again or is involed in another accident. Welds do not bend/stretch/dent like the sheetmetal. I am thinking after some hard wheeling and alot of unibody flex those joints will crack.. but maybe not for years. And yeah.. this dosent matter.. since they are doing a roll cage that'll provide protection to the passengers and help the unibody strength.

 

[Motornoggin]

Yes, they are butt welds, except for the pillar we cut a tic too short. Rehab pretty much covered it. It is sheet metal and will just bend somewhere else. The plan an exo cage that will be attached to the roof, so it will basically become the structure and keep the roof in place.

Worked on it some more this weekend. Madmax finished the welding on Sat. night and I got them ground down and primered. They will be getting some bondo work done, but the focus right now is getting it drivable. I got the carpet back in and the drivers seat, so it is easier to move. I also got the rear doors, hatch and rear quarter glass in. There are still some adjustments to do, but it is coming along nicely.

 

[madmax]

sweet!
you will be pimpin that thing in hillsboro in no time:greensmok

 

[XJourney]

The whole Jeep is made out of sheetmetal. Butt welding at that location without backing or a insert would be prone to cracking or shearing. The welds are probably stronger than the rest of the sheetmetal - and that is why the sheetmeal will shear there.. if it rolled again or is involed in another accident. Welds do not bend/stretch/dent like the sheetmetal. I am thinking after some hard wheeling and alot of unibody flex those joints will crack.. but maybe not for years. And yeah.. this dosent matter.. since they are doing a roll cage that'll provide protection to the passengers and help the unibody strength.

X1000
I have been doing unibody structure repair for the last 7 years. And that is definitely not I-Car approved. But I have seen worse. At least he welded it and didn't use wood screws.

For anyone else who does a roof replacement, PLEASE put in inner sleeves for your passangers sake. Think of it like a cage, would you butt weld two pieces of DOM without a sleeve?

Atleast he is caging it. Think about doing an internal cage instead of exo. But that is for another thread.

But hey America is great, in the fact that you are free to do things your way.

 

[Motornoggin]

Well, it is pretty much back together. Got the interior back in except for the headliner that I don't have. The only thing I really need to finish up is installing the rear seat belts and cleaning it up.

I appreciate all the comments. We may have not done this the best way, but again, the cage will become the structure.

So, the next step is the rear bumper and cage. That will be coming soon.