Sunroof delete options??

[RobTapps88]

So my sunroof leaks real bad and the motor is also on its way out.. Just wondering what my options are for keeping to stock panel in and filling the gap, the car needs rust holes filled also so its going to get painted eventually. Any suggestions?

[HooptE30]

bump for wondering the same thing. my roof is welded in, so ill have to figure out how to cut that out for paint.

[amcp]

When I removed the sunroof from my track car I cut out the structure that was welded to the roof. I then skinned the sunroof panel. It weighs nothing after which allowed me to use 3m window weld to "glue" it in place. Looks like a factory sunroof too.

[RobTapps88]

I saw a post recently of a guy who welded a rod around the edge of the panel then welded the other side of the rod to the edge of the hole in the roof to avoid warping the panel.. I have also read of people using 3M body adhesive but having to cut the rails to keep the panel flush with the roof.. I would like to avoid the later option as I would like to remove the un-needed weight from the roof area.. Just wondering if anyone here has ever attempted a sunroof delete before?

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[HooptE30]

I saw a post recently of a guy who welded a rod around the edge of the panel then welded the other side of the rod to the edge of the hole in the roof to avoid warping the panel.. I have also read of people using 3M body adhesive but having to cut the rails to keep the panel flush with the roof.. I would like to avoid the later option as I would like to remove the un-needed weight from the roof area.. Just wondering if anyone here has ever attempted a sunroof delete before?

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i haven't personally, however i know of people welding to the rails of the sunroof for sunroof deletes. I believe there may be some options for panels to weld in as well online, so that may be something to look into. just my 2 cents

[RobTapps88]

When I removed the sunroof from my track car I cut out the structure that was welded to the roof. I then skinned the sunroof panel. It weighs nothing after which allowed me to use 3m window weld to "glue" it in place. Looks like a factory sunroof too.

Thanks for input :) How hard does the glue dry? Hard enough to bondo over? In the end I would like it to be seamless from the outside.

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[e30davie]

if you want seamless i don't believe alot of the methods mentioned will help.

You are better off getting an entire roof off a non sunroof model and grafting it in. Issue you are going to have is welding so much thin metal is going to distort the metal quite easily. Carefully tig welding might do the trick, but its going to be very tedius. Trick is to keep the heat out of it while welding, brass backing on the back of the welds to get rid of heat and going veeeeeryy slowly. you don't wanna be filling gaps between your roof and your plug piece either, so the hole needs to be perfect to your welded in piece.

something like this:

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/filling-a-beetle-sunroof-hole.23449/

There are more pics of you scroll down.

[RobTapps88]

if you want seamless i don't believe alot of the methods mentioned will help.

You are better off getting an entire roof off a non sunroof model and grafting it in. Issue you are going to have is welding so much thin metal is going to distort the metal quite easily. Carefully tig welding might do the trick, but its going to be very tedius. Trick is to keep the heat out of it while welding, brass backing on the back of the welds to get rid of heat and going veeeeeryy slowly. you don't wanna be filling gaps between your roof and your plug piece either, so the hole needs to be perfect to your welded in piece.

something like this:

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/filling-a-beetle-sunroof-hole.23449/

There are more pics of you scroll down.

Yea I realize it would be super tedious.. Assuming the best way would be small tacks on opposite sides 1 at a time, this is the thread I saw on bimmer(Link Below) and to me seems like the easiest way... A roof cut is not an option.. Slick tops don't exist here... Or are very very rare.. (I've never seen one in person)

This Thread

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