I'm prepping my car for a cage and the next step is to have my sunroof removed and welded shut. Is there a way to weld the top piece in place w/o ruining the roof exterior paint? Any tips/advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

I'm prepping my car for a cage and the next step is to have my sunroof removed and welded shut. Is there a way to weld the top piece in place w/o ruining the roof exterior paint? Any tips/advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Just weld tabs on the inside... then caulk around.

I'm prepping my car for a cage and the next step is to have my sunroof removed and welded shut. Is there a way to weld the top piece in place w/o ruining the roof exterior paint? Any tips/advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

I don't know about welding...but the person that did my cage did a spectacular job of riveting an aluminum panel in place. I get lots of compliments on the job he did. So, maybe you should check into riveting. It didn't ruin the paint and he used some kind of gasket material to keep it sealed.

Ken

use a bag of ice on the top of the roof where you're welding it'll keep it cool while you weld. and of course the tab idea is great too.

I'd love to see pics of how they rivoted the sunroof in, have any?

Structurally bond in a carbon panel;)

use a bag of ice on the top of the roof where you're welding it'll keep it cool while you weld. and of course the tab idea is great too.

I'd love to see pics of how they rivoted the sunroof in, have any?

Yep, I'll gladly take some pics tomorrow. The rivets are tiny...but there are a bunch of them. You'll see tomorrow. The panel does not sit flush...it does sit on top of the roof as it's just a bit oversized. I dunno, but it works for me and I like it.

Ken

Just weld tabs on the inside... then caulk around.
he said caulk...uh huh huh...

anyways, thats what i did, welded in some round bar pieces to hold the panel in place then sealed it all up with silicone...

Structurally bond in a carbon panel
not legal for IP ;)

I don't know about welding...but the person that did my cage did a spectacular job of riveting an aluminum panel in place.
Dennis is building for IP so he has to use the original sunroof panel

Dennis is building for IP so he has to use the original sunroof panel
Is that part number 41 31 8 122 211? Shown below as number 1, although that's obviously the sunroof version pictured.

Structurally bond in a carbon panel;)

And yet another useless comment from Steve

Is that part number 41 31 8 122 211? Shown below as number 1, although that's obviously the sunroof version pictured.

No.. it means he needs to retain the actual rectangular sunroof piece....

How about autobody panel adhesive? (google it) It's how they're putting cars together now anyway...

How about autobody panel adhesive? (google it) It's how they're putting cars together now anyway...

Thats part of the reason the new c6 Vette's roofs were, uh, coming off at high speeds, isn't it? ;)

We take 1/2" square tube and cut off one side to make a poormans C-channel it's deep and wide enough to span the gap in the roof. Use about 8-10 around the roof and your good to go. I've done it a few times without taking the paint off. I like the Ice idea I may have to try that.


-Rick

Thanks - lots of great ideas. Any pics of how folks did there sunroof would be appreicated!

Some pics of the riveted sunroof panel. Again, this is aluminum so I don't know if it's legal for stock and prepared classes.

Ken

Another vote for the round bar welded in the seam. Dennis, that car is too pretty to weld on. You need to start with a POS like the rest of us.

I welded mine in also. I used some 3/16" steel as filler, welded it in several places around the perimeter. Then I used clear packing tape to seal the inside gap, then filled with JB Weld. Used clear tape to be sure the JB flowed into the gap completely. Filled the gap to be even with the surrounding metal, and then after some sanding, finished with a skimcoat of normal body filler. Pics are attached.

-Tom

The bag of ice on the roof is a brilliant idea...it should work.

My dude tack welded it in...I think he did 8 welds. He used some kind of caulk on the inside and windshield sealer on the outside...looks stock from the outside. Absolutely no leaks.

The way I was saying to do it with the c- channel you can put the factory seal back in. It will leak some under hard rain, but it looks alot better than filling the gap with caulk or something. JMO


-Rick

I welded mine in also. I used some 3/16" steel as filler, welded it in several places around the perimeter. Then I used clear packing tape to seal the inside gap, then filled with JB Weld. Used clear tape to be sure the JB flowed into the gap completely. Filled the gap to be even with the surrounding metal, and then after some sanding, finished with a skimcoat of normal body filler. Pics are attached.

-Tom

That's nice work! Looks really good (for those that care about the looks on a race car :) ).

I welded and rivoted mine in (because I'm a crappy welder) i wanted something mechanical to hold onto the panel too. It looks like total crap but then again so does the rest of my car right now too. I sealed it with black RTV silicone because it's cheap and easy. Works well.

I just did mine and it what I did seems to work great ... with no welding and no need to repaint anything. Take the gasket off of the roof opening and clean it up very well. I got three strips of 1/8" thick x 1" wide aluminum stock (very light). I then screwed these strips (running from back to front with one in the center and one on each side about four inches in from the sides of the opening) securely to the perimeter of the sunroof opening. At least two of these aluminum straps could be attached to the car using the same threaded holes and torx screws that held the sunrooof cassette originally. The other attachments were easily made to existing roof reinforcement panels using self-tapping sheet metal screws. Be careful though, if you use too long of a screw you will put a bump in the top of the car! Oops. I then positioned the loose original sunroof panel in the opening, shimmed the +/- 1/4" gap on all sides to center it both ways, shimmed above the three aluminum straps (and below the loose panel) as necessary with 1" fender washers, and screwed through the aluminum, through the washers and into the similar reinforcement panels on the underside of the sunroof panel with the self-tapping sheet metal screws. At this point the panel is now secure, flush with the surrounding roof and has an equal gap on all four sides. I then put black electrical tap over the entire length of the gap from the underside (this prevents the sealant from dripping into the car). Mask the edges of both the roof and the panel with painters tape (the blue stuff). Fill the +/- 1/4" wide gap completely (all the way down to the electrical tape) with black GE Silicone II window and door sealant. Tool the joint with the cap from a felt tip pen (nice even concave joint and better than your finger). Remove the painters tape immediately. Let it cure for at least 24 hours. Remove the electrical tape (being careful not to pull too hard as it may be adhered to the sealant in some places) and you are done. It looks great and from five feet away it looks like the original gasket. It is very clean and does not have much depth at all on the inside to conflict with roll cages. I can get you pics later if you would like but the car is outside right now in the pouring rain (no leaks).

could you not just do what you did except use the existing holes for the sunroof track and leave the original seal in place? seems like you went an extra step..hmm it gives me an idea.

There are no holes for the sunroof track along theback of the opening (at least not on my car) becuase the cassette extended well over the back seat. The srews need to be near the perimeter of the opening to avoid sagging in the straps. As for the gasket, you are still going to have a +/- 1/8" wide gap between the gasket around the opening and the loose sunroof panel that needs to be sealed. I discovered my opening gasket was not terribly well sealed to the edge as I removed it ... and why would you want to have three seams (roof to exisitng gasket, new sealant to gasket and new sealant to loose panel) with two of them using aged rubber when you could put in all new sealant against two clean surfaces?

Here are some pics of the no welding / no filler / no painting sunroof panel re-install that I described above.

162008

162009

162010

162011

162012

looks great!