MTFCA Forum

What would normally have been used for the roof covering for a light delivery
or depot hack ?

Cobra vinyl or a light rubberized canvas are the two that are commonly used today.

johnr wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 27, 2026 12:33 pm

What would normally have been used for the roof covering for a light delivery
or depot hack ?

Catalog page details top construction.

John,
When I did my depot hack, I used the long grain cobra, (Snyders A-47300). I built the roof out of lath that was beaded to resemble wainscoting from the inside. I then routed the out side edge with a 3/4" rounding bit in the router. I covered this with a piece of 1/4" closed cell foam I purchased from a local upholstery shop. When I purchased the foam, the guy gave me a tip to leave the foam hanging about 1/2" over the edge of the top, and then take a razor blade and chamfer the underneath side of the foam. When you pull the top material over the edge it creates a nice smooth transition. I finished off the project with hydem-welting.
On a side note, the day I stretched the fabric, I hosted our local Model A club to help pull the fabric while I stapled. Many of the members that helped are no longer with us, but the memories we made that day were priceless.
Hope that helps. Kevin

Most of our Colonial built car bodies had light coloured canvas tops rather than black vinyl type covering. I used canvas over cedar laths on both my 1912 van and 19 17 shooting brake. Modern canvas fabric contains a percentage of polyester fibre in the yarn which makes it longer lasting, stronger and less liable to shrinkage. The one one my van is 33 years old now and is still as god as the day it was fitted.
My motor trimmer advised against using foam as an underlayer because some types decay under hot conditions. He put me onto the dacron sheeting used by quilters. It is stable, does not shrink, is not affected by moisture and is available in multiple widths. I used 1/4" thick stuff so the top does not look padded out on the sides where it is finished.
Allan from down under.

Have no idea where the photos other than the van came from!
Here is the shooting brake.
The laths are spaced with equal width gaps between them. A natural coloured burlap goes over them, stapled at the edges. The dacron is llightly glued at the edges to cover the burlap, and was trimmed with a 1/4" lap over the sides. The canvas went on next and is finished with an aluminium C molding. There is enough give in the canvas to be able to pull it tight, even over the valley behind the curved front

Hope this helps.
Allan from down under

I used light weight canvas then painted it with the rubberized stuff they sell on the famous commercial. You know the one that builds the boat out of window screen. LOL Lasted for quite a while before needing a recoat. It does fade pretty quickly but I didn't mind.

Re-treating a treatment is not needed if the first treatment is not applied. Canvas wets, and then it dries. Damp canvas on Dacron sheeting is not a problem like using old time cotton waste sheeting. Even if it gets really wet through to the hessian/burlap, the cedar laths remain unaffected.

Allan from down under.