I've had several people ask as to what the purpose of the roof material on my '34 Standard, since I'm a newbie to the 30's era I can't answer the question, I'm sure it must be a simple reason...then again maybe not. Been wanting to know this since I got my '34 but was embarresed by my ignorance. So after you stop laughing could you enlighten me?

EDIT: Now that I have a temp guage and have flushed the cooling system the car runs between 190-210 (the 210 is after sitting stationary for several minutes) . Is this an average temp? I'm used to my '70 Chevelle that I put a 5 core radiator in that runs at 180 in the summer with the AC on, usually takes about 5 minutes to get up to 170, which is great for Florida summers.

Since the largest stamping machines were not big enough to stamp the roof in one piece only the outside was metal. The center section was covered with a fabric top. Beginning with '35 models a one piece top was available.

Thanks Chipper, that makes sense, now I can actually sound like I know what I'm talking about when I get asked again.

Drew:
Chipper is right. The '35 Master series touted the new "turret top" as a safety feature. I guess they thought the chicken wire inserts wouldn't help much to keep the people inside the vehicle during an accident. (I guess the same thinking didn't apply to the suicide doors that were also used only in '35.)
In my literature it was noted that the process to make a large stamping was available to the industry, but it was not until 1935 that GM could make these economically and introduce this feature to their low cost line.
Coach

Great info, thanks guys I really appreciate your time and patience for me.