I recently bought a 31 coach from a friend of the family who at age 80 has decided he would rather drive his beautify restored deluxe 4dr than finish the restoration on the coach. He has owned the coach since the late 60s and most of the hard work is done. After spending a few weeks getting my hands on the chassis and drive train changing the fluids grease, and generally cleaning it I've moved on to the body. The lower parts, fenders, running boards, and aprons are already painted black and are in good shape. the body was stripped to bare metal and coated with a rust inhibitor years ago but have remained rust free. I've blocked and primed the hood pieces and doors and am now ready to start the body. This has been a long way to get to my question but the guy I bought the car from says to install the top first cut the excess off with a razor, tape and bag it off and then paint. Others have said to paint and then install the top. I need the experts opinions. Thanks Bob

I am no expert but I painted first. It lasted from 1963 until 2003 with no problem. When I repainted I did not replace the top material and painted around it. Your choice.

See you down the back roads

I would highly recommend installing the top and then painting. The new molding is aluminum and needs to be painted black. It is much easier and will coat the sealer used under the top material and molding making a much better looking job. If you don't have the new molding it can be obtained from the Filling Station or Bob's Automobilia (who had it remade).

Yes, definitely install the top material and the crown moulding first, and then paint the body.

Thanks guys, looks like it's the top first. I have a catalog coming from the Filling Station so I'll check out the molding when I get it. Thanks again

My 60K mile 31 coupe seems to have the original top and molding. I would like to replace the top because of its age. Can the original molding be reused and how does it come off? Thanks.

The crown moulding is nailed on with nails that are part of the moulding assembly. It will come off fairly easily, but the hard part is putting the crown moulding back on. If you want to reuse the original crown mouldihng, one way is to remove the old nails, drill and countersink holes at various locations along the crown moulding and then attach it with flat head wood screws. Fill and sand the hole areas and then repaint the crown moulding.

Skip, that sounds doable but is worth it or should a guy just go for a new one? thanks for the reply, I'm guite aways from this part of the project.

It depends on which year you have. The 1932 is a molding with nails welded on the bottom. The drill, nail, countersink and fill procedure is the best for them. For the 1931 it is a single piece molding that is made in the open position. The bottom part is nailed down and then the part that makes the center hump is tapped down over the nails. So to use drill, nail, countersink and fill is more difficult.

A problem with any of the roof moldings is to keep them straight enough so they can be reused. If you are successful then reuse is the cheapest and may be the easiest route. Bending the corners for the '31 style molding is a bit tricky. Check the Oct. '01 G&D page 28 for installation tip.

Of course, new is always the way to go, however, bending them is a nightmare as Chipper mentioned. If your old crown mouldings are in nice shape, I would stick with those.

Thanks guys, thats what I needed to know. I'll check the 01 G&D. When it comes time to remove the top I'll be very very careful and try to salvage the old trim.

oops, Oct. 01 G&D does not have this info. Chip did you hit the wrong key on your computer? If you could recheck I'd appreciate it, thanks.

I have the original moldings but the roof must have leaked because someone has coated them with some sort of roofing tar. I'll try to strip them and see where I stand. Thanks again Bob

Oops, The column is on page 10 not 28 of Oct. '01. Sorry

bob you got my attention when you said leak. a good posibility that the wood rail around the top has rot which makes it hard to get the trim back down tight to seal the top material and top it is quite a job to replace thies pieces i have seen most repair methods from nailing two by twos around the edge tot taking out parts the front and rear piece are the most difficult to replace. rodman has the replacement parts . the head liner has to be taken out to get to the bottom . i did one a while back and found their was nothing to nail to had to take the metal off to replace the wood . if it was built it can be repaired .money and patience. hope this does not dicourage you oldpush

Chip, found your great article on pg. 10 of 01 G&D.Good info, thanks a lot.

I was very lucky in that the old top was striped and the wood was replaced when I bought this car. The pad was installed, I believe I just have to put the cover and molding on and get ready to paint. Thanks Bob