Wagon bracing ?

[robb007]

This forum does not seem very active so I'll probably duplicate this post on tffn.

One of our projects is a 63 2 door wagon. It has terminal rust beneath almost the entire run of the drip rail. Big Rusty has a 5inch by 2inch gash in its roof line above the drip rail on the rear drivers side just before the curve (the drip rail curve is pretty much toast) Like alot of these ole' birds she sat for a very long time. I am not terribly concerned about the above metal work that is all pretty manageable. However the support rails that run along the sides of the roof on the interior from the third post to the fourth are in bad shape. I feel like we are going to have to remove the drip rail from about the second post back and have to remove the cross braces that run across the roof as well as the two rails on the sides described earlier.

Now for the questions, what type of bracing will we need to ensure that the roof line will remain in place as the new metal is added in? Will the drip rail simply fall off if we remove the lead that holds it in? Has anyone else attempted this repair and do you have pictures of it?

The owner does not want to shave the drip rail off.

Thanks for your help
Robb in VA