Need some looks advice.

[tigran]

I am not one for aesthetics. But having caught a bit of Overhaulin where they shave off the gutters off a car and take off the vinyl off the roof and blend it all in got me thinking - should i keep the vinyl or get it off along with the rain guttering/rails? There is bound to be a nightmare of rust patches under there.

Discuss.

Ta.

[tonycocacola]

if your talking about the viva, id keep the vinyl roof on.
the vinyl and colour combo looks great.
I'm not really a fan of the shaved off roof gutter, seen it done on beetles and busses.
i imagine its a long and laborious job to get it looking right.
fair play if you decide to go for it.
and remember, if you do, we wanna see pics.

[Deleted]

I'm not a fan of shaved gutters either. Looks ok on sleds but remember it hides how badly the doors fit and the shapes of the tops. Vinyl roof will be a lot of work to scrape off and you'll probably find a few surprises under there. I might be inclined to just leave it since it's there...

[tigran]

*is liking what he is hearing*

The manly way - run away from the truth kicking and screaming.

[wagoneer]

Taking gutters off and deseaming is a pain. You have to grind a short section, weld, grind, weld and so on. Then, when it rains, you can't have your windows open 'cos you get wet, or even when you wash the windscreen - that's one of the things I hate about new cars.

I would be tempted to take the vinyl off though, even if you find some rust. I've never understood the attraction of them, painting the roof another colour though would be cool, say silver over your green.

[seantoole5]

I would be inclined to remove the vinyl roof. Whatevers hiding underneath it aint gonna get any better with time if left alone. Have you got any tell tale bubbles in the vinyl? I had them in the one on my Ventora, and it wasn't that bad once I ripped it off. It was only patches of surface rust and can be rubbed down and treated then painted over.

[tigran]

No this roof looks surprisingly bubble free. I think that last suggestion I will roll with - taking the vinyl off and getting the roof some sandinig down loving. But the car will be matt black so think the roof will be one colour.

[rmad]

Lose the vinyl, keep the gutters.

[tigran]

Another body noob question - once i have sanded each panel that I wish to be sanded down if it goes down to bare metal what should I spray on before the coat - is primer ok until I give it its full coat of primer?

[akku]

primer is porous so if you leave a bare metal section in primer the primer takes on moisture and rusts the metal beneath it and also can react with the paint when you put it on. If we are talking about a few weeks in this weather you'll be OK most likely. If it gets raining then you're stuffed.

Best bet is jsut to blow a couple of light coats of something from a rattle can, any gloss paint or even clear lacquer will do to give the primer something to act as a barrier.

Loose the vinyl, they just make roofs rust. Keep the gutters, looks odd (unless you radiacally chip foose the whole car), loads of work to do and gets rainwater in the car when you open the doors.

[bryn]

Keep the gutters, as others have said it's a lot of work and can look very shonky and it's very easy to warp your roof.

If you take the vinyl roof and don't fancy repairing what you find, why not replace it with some other vinyl? There was a trend in the early 70s for floral pattern roofs on muscle cars, I've always fancied some of that, and there's loads of alternatives with modern materials...