Topic: Sunroof Hole

[y88rick]

i say doing that much body work on a roof is pointless i'd reskin it which if you are willing to spend that much time on body working the center and welding you can tackle a roof skin only job on your car this is not as hard as you think putting 3 gallons of filler on a warped roof seems harder to straighten out to me than a roof skin replace and even if not any body shop can replace that roof skin for you call around ask how much for them to just replace it and you do the body work i bet if you pull the glass and have it ready for them and supply the skin they can do it for under $200 its just a skin you can do it.plus drilling out the spotwelds and leaving the inner structure will give you so much refference that you wont need to worry about being off if your dad can weld this is seriously easy enough for two guys to tackle on a saturday afternoon.

[Shakin]

So your saying I could leave the structure intact and remove the skin of the roof and replace the skin with the hole in it? Well, the main member that runs the center of the roof is cut for the sunroof so isn't that just the same thing as cutting the roof off to fix?

[RENOVATIONS]

You need not be concerned with the 2 layers/"skins" of the roof panel...since the sunroof hole is cut through both layers obviously.
Besides the fact that attempting to separate those two layers for any reason would be LOT of work...and unnecessary in this case.

The 2 options you now know you have are doing a complete roof-swap (not that hard if it's done right...also gives you the option of switching to a t-top roof, if you choose) OR patching your current roof(which can also be done IF you are careful/patient and know to alternate/stitch your tack welds instead of trying to do a complete weld. If done correctly, and if no warpage occurs from concentrating the heat in single spots for too long, you can smooth your welds with a finishing disc and finish with a skim coat of filler.) I'd recommend using patch panels from a donor car to insure you have not only the right gauge metal but also the correct contours for the panels.

I wouldn't recommend that you try either unless you are experienced with metal working and finishing or practice ALOT beforehand. You should be able to find a local shop anywhere that can handle either task but do some checking around first.

[y88rick]

i' still say changing roof skins is the easiest for your case.

[Shakin]

I think we're going to take the route of patching the hole, as we have all winter to do it.  We to thought it would be better to take a chunk off a donor car and stitch it in with a wet cloth on the metal around the weld. I trust my father with this because he's done body work for most of his life. He actually replaced the rear quarter on his Chevelle in high school and it came out great with all contours matching. Either way, it's got to go and if we mess up, I'll just have to wait a little longer for paint and send it away to a specialist. I just finished fixing my beater P.O.S. honda (quick strut, half-shaft, and a new brake. god that blew) this weekend so I couldn't work on removing the sunroof yet, looking to start on Friday next week. I'll take some pictures and throw em up here once it's open and I can see the damage from the inside.

[Shakin]

I decided to take advantage of one nice day in Ohio and begin removing all the ground effects. It looked so funny I decided to take some pictures and while I was at it, a few of the sunroof. Here's a few pictures.







Based on what you see, how big of a donor patch am I going to need? I'm still worried that the sunroof warped the metal around it to conform to it's curve so we may need to make a bigger patch.

[Shakin]

CRAP THEY ARE HUGE!

[Shakin]

Ok, I took out the sunroof yesterday to make an amazing discovery worthy of the late Christopher Colombo. THERE ARE TWO LAYERS TO THE ROOF. Now that I've seen it, it makes total sense why there would be two layers. Something I've always wondered about was why my car seemed so low in comparison to other T/A's. Well, I must have pulled out 20 pieces of wood that the last owner used to shim the area around the sunroof. Granted, he did a good job and the headliner is new but it's got a big friggen hole in it so I've got to get a new one. It astonished me how easy the roof flexed behind where the "skyport" was. Now I see what you guys were talking about when you said it would be too difficult to patch it without warping the metal. We are going to have to brace the crap out of it. One last thing I noticed. I had always thought there was a brace that ran front to back in the roof, in opening it I found there was practically no bracing in it at all and it surprised me greatly. I always thought the roof was an important part of the f body car and added a lot of strength.

[pat]

they cut the bracing when the put the "skyport" in there megilan

[y88rick]

the inner layer of metal is supposed to be your bracing and it doesnt run through the entire roof so your partially correct columbus.

[Shakin]

Well I don't know anymore famous explorers or GPS navigators so I'm just gonna say this:
Crap, I'm going to murder the person who did this to a Trans Am. Friggen Dilders.

[RRR76TA]

Looks like mine did ,wait till you see the bottom layer

[pat]

just hang in there garmin

i have a t-top roof i will sell you with tops and i will even let you cut it off

[y88rick]

hey ben franklin, you would be suprised at how many received this ultimate modification back in the 80's when they were super cool along with really wide cragar's fuzzy dice and air shocks.

[Shakin]

Yeah, about that. My car had air shocks lewl, the tubes are still kinda there. MY GAWD THAT CAR MUST'VE ATTRACTED SO MUCH a**! Sunroof+Air Shocks=ultimate fet

Ok, I'm probably going to throw up a new bullitin or something for a flat top roof. Pat, if I bone this thing and have to switch the roof, it's going to be t-tops and I'll probably be giving you a call.