1942 dodge ambulance resto

[jack neville]

The roof sat back with a little jiggling and the use of a hand winch diagonally to square the top up. The repairs had spread the sides and rear outwards a bit but fortunately it has a substantially strong gutter. With the use of ratchet straps to put downward pressure on the roof I was able to bang wooden wedges all around to hold it in place. I then ran a speedfile over the roof to check for dents. I then pulled all the wedges out and lifted the roof back up so I could get a curved dolly underneath and dress up the last remaining dents.

[jack neville]

I have got the rear part of the roof pretty good. The front piece over the cab has a couple of cracks and some dents that should come out easily. These insert sections above the doors are a problem. Especially the right side.

[jack neville]

The left side not as bad.

[Bob Carriere]

......going were few men have gone before......

In the Dodge power wagon forum they warn about disassembly of the large open bodies like yours as they are inadvertently very hard to put back together.

Been following your progress and fascinated by the bravery to tackle sheet metal that has become like a saltine cracker.

How will you form your patches???? do you use an English wheel or maybe a sand bag and hard rubber mallets........?

Love that wooden wedge trick.

Cheers

[jack neville]

lucky we haven't read the Dodge forum Bob. Haven't worked out those patches yet. They curve in both directions.

These photos show what I needed to do to square up the roof.

[jack neville]

The roof is now welded back on. I also added the small step that drops down from the rear floor to the front cab. The cab has been put back in place to check its fit and alignment with the floor and roof. All looking good.

[Mike K]

Wayne is detailed here

http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/w/wayne/wayne.htm