Roof skin

You will need to find a 72 or 73 fastback roof skin to be a donor for a 72 fastback. The doors between a formal roof and fastback are the same, but front windows are slightly different because of a different roof line. I'm sure others have more background on the topic.

This is mine from years ago with the roof skin removed. A great deal of work drilling out all the spot welds on both the donor and your car. Then welding back all the spot welds. All worth it!

I can confirm mine was lead filled in this picture and we melted out. Back on my earlier 72 Sportsroof I purchased in 1978 you could see an intended line there at the seam under the vinyl. The donor roof skin for my current car was a non vinyl roof car and was filled with body filler, not lead. Could have been placed there years after the factory. Somebody told me the vinyl roof cars were leaded and the non vinyl cars were filled with body filler.

To answer your question we used body filler and didn't try to lead it. Not quite original looking because you don't see that line under the vinyl. I guess the lead will have a slight shrink to create that line. For me going back to vinyl was an easy decision, I prefer the color contrast between the 2B bright red and black vinyl.

Post deleted.... I read a previous post wrong. Carry on :)

Edited by hogfiddles - 07-May-2020 at 2:31AM

1973 Gran Torino Sport - Q code “Q-Clone” project-on-hold
1972 Gran Torino Sport - Q code new project
1972 Gran Torino - parts
1969 Torino GT - M code
95+/- mid-80's Yamaha XJ-Series (10 trophies)

lead paint?? Lol

1973 Gran Torino Sport - Q code “Q-Clone” project-on-hold
1972 Gran Torino Sport - Q code new project
1972 Gran Torino - parts
1969 Torino GT - M code
95+/- mid-80's Yamaha XJ-Series (10 trophies)

fwiw, my sportsroof was a painted roof and had plastic filler

1973 Gran Torino Sport - Q code “Q-Clone” project-on-hold
1972 Gran Torino Sport - Q code new project
1972 Gran Torino - parts
1969 Torino GT - M code
95+/- mid-80's Yamaha XJ-Series (10 trophies)

californiajohnny wrote:

IDK? maybe the lead wasn't clean? had an oxidized layer on the surface? not primed with good epoxy primer? shouldn't have been an issue!
i always sand mine down with 80 grit as you'll find high and low spots if its all cleaned and sanded you can put filler over it to block it out smooth Wink

you can see the greenish filler that was needed for low spots and the high areas were blocked down as seen...

Yeah, I think there is something up with this lead, as it did it on the original factory paint job too. I have no idea what the body shop did to prep it. Not sure if they used an epoxy primer over it (I am assuming that would seal it up and prevent other problems??), as this was done back in 1996 and it was just a respray. I read a lot of stuff online about the lead filler causing paint adhesion problems as it ages. So I am not sure what to do when it comes time to fix it. Remove the lead and replace it with a modern filler, or just try and seal it up with a good epoxy primer?

Rockatansky wrote:

assy plant may have something to do with whether it's lead or flubber?

Yeah, I agree there seems to be some variation and I bet it is by plant. I don't think the vinyl roof/plain roof made a difference in how the joint was filled. Before this thread, I always thought all they were all lead filler from the factory.

Vince

1972 Ford GTS Sportsroof - Survivor, One Family car

GTS.org Admin

I have lead joints on My '79 Tbird.

A-pillars have "popped" and i was looking at them about a week before i got sick

"What we do in full frontal view, is more honest than your cleaned-up mind."
Randy
1979 T-Bird
2005 F-150 STX RCSB 4.6, 3.55 LSD
How the Heck does a REGULAR CAB SHORTBED weigh over 5200 pounds?