Destruction of an Eldorado or two

[dosrado]

Hello.  I am new to the forum and have a general question about the 67-68 Eldorados. I have one of each and am wondering about the roofs.  Both cars are in fairly good condition but the roofs are rusty from the top material trapping moisture. My question is.  Is it worth restoration or better to part out when this happens? 

[Smedly]

I would think if the rest of the car is in good shape and the mechanical stuff is good, it would be worth the effort, provided you have the  ability to do the work. Or the $$ to spend. I do my own work so I would always be willing to spend some time on it before parting her out, even if in the end you do part it out you can learn a lot by trying to fix it. skills that might come in handy down the road.
Sheldon Hay

[Aaron Hudacky]

My threshold for whether or not to repair a rusty roof on 67-70 Eldorados includes two considerations assuming the car is mechanically sound, does not need interior work and has good chrome:

1.  Has roof perforation caused visible water or rust damage to the car anywhere else, such as lower a-pillars, rockers or trunk? 

2.  Is the entire roof damaged from rust or is damage isolated to specific sections? 

If the answer to question #1 is yes, then no, I would not try to restore the car, because there is likely much more rust lower in the car that you can't see caused by water running in places it wasn't intended to go.  Although 67-70 Eldorados weren't produced in mid 60's Mustang volume, there are still many solid ones without floor, a-pillar and rocker damage.   

If the answer to #2 is isolated areas of rust, I would fix the roof if rust was isolated to 30% or less of total roof area, unless there are visible openings in the roof from rust for the same reason listed in response to #1.  If the entire roof is rusted, I would not attempt to replace it unless the car was perfect otherwise and had option and color combinations you find extremely desirable and rare.  Chances are, if the entire roof is rusted, the rest of the car is far from perfect.  When I lived in Tucson, I saw a 67 and a 70 on a dealer lot with this type of rust, and the rust caused bluish-brown staining down the windshield and rear glass after the cars sat on the lot for four years.  Fixing that degree of rust seems like it would be a nightmare.   

I love these cars, but their worth in mint condition will usually be exceeded by the amount it would cost to restore a car with interior, rust and chrome issues.  You could do a quick bondo job on the roof and recover it, but that is a really cheap way of hiding the problem rather than fixing it.  If you keep the car after doing that type of repair, the rust will be back before long.  I established these guidelines for myself when I was buying my 70 Eldorado, because it is tough for me to stay objective when looking at them, even in poor condition, and roof rust is rampant in these cars. 

My car has roof rust, but it is limited to the rear window channel, right c-pillar and right forward corner, it has very good chrome and a really nice interior, and there is no lower body rust damage from water intrusion.  I've been happy with it so far, but I never leave it outside, drive it in rain or get the roof wet.  I plan to fix the roof when my career change is complete and I don't have the risk of a sudden move occurring while the car is disassembled.