Auto body repair & detailing: 1969 chevy van roof rust, rust holes, chevy van

Question
QUESTION: HELLO MY FRIEND. IM COMING TO YOU BECAUSE IM IN NEED OF SOME PROFESSIONAL HELP. I OWN A 1969 CHEVY VAN THAT I HAVE HAD FOR OVER 30 YEARS. I DRIVE IT DAILY AND IT HAS BECOME A PART OF MY FAMILY AS I HAVE HAD IT SO LONG. I JUST PUT A BRAND NEW CRATE 350 MOTOR IN IT LAST DECEMBER REBUILT THE TRANSMISSION, NEW FRONT END, JUST HAD THE STEERING BOX REBUILT SO MECHANICALLY ITS GREAT. MY PROBLEM IS THAT I HAD IT PAINTED 29 YEARS AGO AND ITS TIME BUT MY ROOF IS SUFFERING FROM ALOT OF RUST. ONLY ONE BODY SHOP I CHECKED OUT OUT OF NINE WAS WILLING TO FIX IT BUT NOT FOR APPROX EIGHT TO TEN MONTHS. ALL OTHER SHOPS DIDNT WANT TO TOUCH IT. I THINK THERE IS MORE MONEY IN INSURANCE WORK. IM CURIOUS IS IT POSSIBLE TO REPLACE THE WHOLE ROOF OR JUST REPAIR ALL THE SECTIONS THAT ARE BAD. I DONT KNOW WHERE I WOULD FIND A COMPLETE ROOF THAT WAS IN DECENT SHAPE ANYWAYS. DO YOU KNOW OF ANY SHOPS I MIGHT BE ABLE TO CHECK INTO. I LIVE IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA IN CALIFORNIA ACTUALLY THE CITY OF LOMITA. ANY INFO. WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. THANKS

ANSWER: Hey Butch! Being as I live in Ohio, I can't recommend a shop for you. If you have rust holes, be surprised that ANYBODY wanted to tackle it- if it's in general rust- well, the roof is a large area, and yours surely needs stripped, then the rust repaired. A big job, made more difficult by the fact there is at least 2 paint jobs up there. Replacing the roof would be a monumental task, and you'll never find one. Clunker legislation made all the junk yards crush anything older than something like 1978. Be patint with the one shop that actually agreed to fix it. Bill

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QUESTION: JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I REALLY APPRECIATE THE INFO. PATIENCE IS SOMETHING IM SHORT OF ALWAYS HAVE BEEN BUT YOU MADE SENSE IN WHAT YOU SAID. I WILL WAIT AND SHOP AROUND MORE AND MAYBE FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN JUST DO A LITTLE OF THE BODY WORK AT A TIME. ONCE AGAIN THANKS FOR YOUR TIME. BUTCH

Answer
Hey' I'm here to help. I don't know when the body shop busy season is in your area- but i bet you're in it. Here in Ohio, we're just getting into the deer rutting season, and harvest season- so deer are rrunning into traffic like it's some sort of banzai charge. We'll be doing that untill juat after thanksgiving, then the snow will start. That one is self expalnatory. it'll start tapering off about the end of february, then be spotty untill graduation party season. It all sorta goes in cycles. You need to figure out when there's a lull in your areas body shop cycle. Hope this helps. Bill