Need help with sunroof

87mk3

umm...
Jan 30, 2008
88
0
0
philadelphia
I just got a sunroof today that i bought from member 87supra and it turn out its to small to fit in the whole that the old owner cut out is there any way i can make that hole smaller ??
 
Sep 10, 2007
482
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39
Virginia
87mk3;1022199 said:
I just got a sunroof today that i bought from member 87supra and it turn out its to small to fit in the whole that the old owner cut out is there any way i can make that hole smaller ??

that doesn't sound very promising...did the old owner simply cut a hole in the hardtop, and put nothing in its place? You may be better off having a metal fabricator patch up the hole and keep it hardtop.
 

Facime

Leather work expert
Jun 1, 2006
2,716
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Corvallis OR
long story short, yes.

You could cut a piece that fits the hole in the roof and weld it in, then cut a new hole for the sunroof, fill, smooth and paint to match, then install the new smaller sunroof. I personally think the old school flip up sunroofs look...well, oldschool. You are better off finding a sunroof that either fits the current hole or is a little larger. (or find a Targa donor car ;))
 

DegreE

Banned
Jan 11, 2008
500
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Memphis & Miami
theWeezL;1022234 said:
long story short, yes.

You could cut a piece that fits the hole in the roof and weld it in, then cut a new hole for the sunroof, fill, smooth and paint to match, then install the new smaller sunroof. I personally think the old school flip up sunroofs look...well, oldschool. You are better off finding a sunroof that either fits the current hole or is a little larger. (or find a Targa donor car ;))

I love those.

My '89 240sx had it. The next best thing to Targa becasue you could remove it completely and toss it in the trunk. :D
 

87mk3

umm...
Jan 30, 2008
88
0
0
philadelphia
88mkIIIproject;1022228 said:
that doesn't sound very promising...did the old owner simply cut a hole in the hardtop, and put nothing in its place? You may be better off having a metal fabricator patch up the hole and keep it hardtop.

The old owner cut the whole and ghetto fitted in a sunroof. The thing about that sunroof is its not made for a coupe so it only open 1/4 of the roof so i pull the shit out and got one from 87supra thinking that it would fit
 

87mk3

umm...
Jan 30, 2008
88
0
0
philadelphia
theWeezL;1022234 said:
long story short, yes.

You could cut a piece that fits the hole in the roof and weld it in, then cut a new hole for the sunroof, fill, smooth and paint to match, then install the new smaller sunroof.

I think thats my only option if I want to use the sunroof that I just bought its a manual one that open and slided back. I never did any welding of any kind befor so Im kinda scared to f**k up the whole roof
 

Facime

Leather work expert
Jun 1, 2006
2,716
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60
Corvallis OR
yes if you dont know what you are doing you will probably end up warping the roof panel badly and make the whole issue worse. I would suggest taking the car and the roof you have to a body shop and just asking then about options and costs.
 

87mk3

umm...
Jan 30, 2008
88
0
0
philadelphia
theWeezL;1022258 said:
yes if you dont know what you are doing you will probably end up warping the roof panel badly and make the whole issue worse. I would suggest taking the car and the roof you have to a body shop and just asking then about options and costs.

Yeah that bring up another issue. lol! My car is currently gutted no motor and just painted the whole interior black and the car is pretty much grounded becuase im working on the rear camber arm and looking for the bolt for the camber arm because i had to cut the old one off so if any one know any tip or trick on cuting and welding sheet metal please help me out
 

87mk3

umm...
Jan 30, 2008
88
0
0
philadelphia
DegreE;1022260 said:
Fuck.

That sucks. I would just weld in a piece of sheet metal and forget about it.

yeah but I really like to have a sunroof lol or a targa lol :icon_razz Is there any way to do that?? Turn a hard top in to a targa humm ??? Thats a whole new thread right there lol
 

Facime

Leather work expert
Jun 1, 2006
2,716
0
0
60
Corvallis OR
anything is possible with the right amount of money. Turning a hardtop into a targa would leave you with a very squishy feeling targa. The ones built from the factory and braced accordingly are squishy enough as it is.

Seriously, put the old roof back in, weld in a new panel to make it a proper hardtop again, or find a different roof to fit the hole you got.
 

87mk3

umm...
Jan 30, 2008
88
0
0
philadelphia
theWeezL;1022282 said:
anything is possible with the right amount of money. Turning a hardtop into a targa would leave you with a very squishy feeling targa. The ones built from the factory and braced accordingly are squishy enough as it is.

Seriously, put the old roof back in, weld in a new panel to make it a proper hardtop again, or find a different roof to fit the hole you got.

i think the roof the dude put in was from a suv cuz that shit is huge
 

SupraDreamPDR

Boost-a-holic!!
Feb 3, 2006
1,140
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Springfield, OH.
Wow... :nono: The previous owner... :3d_frown:
I think you are probably just better off keeping the SUV sized sunroof.
That being said, do you have pictures of said carnage?
 

charlesshen

New Member
Jun 5, 2007
256
0
0
orlando
their should or well be a part number in or on the tracks or motor use it to find out what vehicle it originated from and see if there is a model or kit to covert it to slide up and out style. now that would look pretty dam hot when it is open.
just a suggestions its what i would do for my self if i were in your shoes any way good luck on making it smaller thats a lot more difficult
 

87mk3

umm...
Jan 30, 2008
88
0
0
philadelphia
SupraDreamPDR;1022340 said:
Wow... :nono: The previous owner... :3d_frown:
I think you are probably just better off keeping the SUV sized sunroof.
That being said, do you have pictures of said carnage?

here a pic of wat it look like now after i scraped off all the silicone/bubble gum/tar/nasty sticky shit lol
 

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charlesshen

New Member
Jun 5, 2007
256
0
0
orlando
Zumtizzle;1022402 said:
Good God!

holly crap thats a big a$$ whole man
option :1 find up and out sliding hinges for existing track
option :2 cut and weld and hope it comes out smooth repaint pray you never have expansion problem from weld and never get rust
its like two girls and a cup what has been seen can not be unseen( in your case what has been done can almost not be undone unless you got lots of $$$$ or some serious skills in fabrication,tig welding,body work and paint if you just if you just want to open the top all the way try option 1 first. if its not made for that sunroof then go option 2 im sure theres a kit for it since in truck'in its so popular to do
 

87mk3

umm...
Jan 30, 2008
88
0
0
philadelphia
charlesshen;1022424 said:
holly crap thats a big a$$ whole man
option :1 find up and out sliding hinges for existing track
option :2 cut and weld and hope it comes out smooth repaint pray you never have expansion problem from weld and never get rust
its like two girls and a cup what has been seen can not be unseen( in your case what has been done can almost not be undone unless you got lots of $$$$ or some serious skills in fabrication,tig welding,body work and paint if you just if you just want to open the top all the way try option 1 first. if its not made for that sunroof then go option 2 im sure theres a kit for it since in truck'in its so popular to do

yeah it is a big hole lol on the inside there still some of metal shit that the dude weld to the roof and its going to be and ass geting out i mean the hole side to side is 32 3/4" and front to back is 17 1/4" corner to corner is 35"