zixxerpilot

My car came with one of those old aftermarket popup sunroofs and I want it GONE!! It doesnt leak or anything, but it is FUGLY!!

Anyone ever replace a sunroof with a weld-in panel of some kind? What did you have to do?

gcgarner

Sounds like a PITA.

I'd say you COULD weld in a panel ... but you would have to replace your entire headliner board, headliner, get your car painted, etc.

The previous owner (or dealer) should be shot.

zixxerpilot

Well, the headliner needs replaced, the car needs paint, and the sunroof is hideous. I figured I'd do it all at one time.

Codename 47

iTrader: (4)

Hey your on WSD aren't you? I've seen you on there. I think you've got a red Z28? I've seen that sunroof. Agreed, deal with it lol

zixxerpilot

Yup, I'm 1badtgp on WSD.

1991Camaroz28

your in luck my friend! i had the same problem! here is what i did. the car was in bad shape afer a pretty bad wipeout. so it was time for some bodywork anyway. so i got a car tent from sam's club to work in gutted the roof and trashed the whole moonroof. it was full of mold rust ants dead leaves from years ago.i forgot how many rivits i had to drill out. took me a whole day getting rid of all the rtv **** and clean up the rust round the opening. i got a piece of sheet meal after that and with self tapping screws secured it every inch.start from the inside out so you don't flex the roof. i suggest trying a rivit gun cause cutting the 200 screws takes a while. if you have a welder(i didn't) use it carefully too much heat on the thin metal roof could warp it. i substituted jb weld for a real weld i used 1 and a half things of industro weld. (jb weld in jumbo pack) and put it round the opening before i drilled the screws in i suggest drilling holes first jb weld run's out the holes.but efectively sealed my roof. then i mixed up some more jb weld and smothed the gap between the metal of the roof and the metal i just put in with it and sanded it out smooth. as well as using some 36 grit on my belt sander to get the screws even lower. then comes the part that that takes the most time. i used some cheap dyna-de-lite from advance auto. start at the middle and as evenly as you can start laying out the bondo. the key to getting it to look right is to se 3-4 big cans of the stuff and apply a layer and then sand it smooth and then apply another layer. when it looks perfect then your done. the middle is the hardest part of the job. the sides blend into the car a lot easier mine was time consuming. expect to take a few days on the bondo... i took a while myself and when you finish sue some self etching primer because you have to take a portion of the roof to bare metal. they should have it at advance or napa in the rattle can. i am not a pro. i just can't afford one. either they laughted at me and told me to get a new car or quoted about $5000 for the job. to me that kind of money is better spent on the motor. my car is my toy. it was my first car (not my only car or my daily driver) and it has sentimental value to me. my grandparents got it for me and yes they were good at spoiling me. that's why i spent so much time on it. so if it's worth it for you try doing what i did. if you have some money to spend then spend it on the pro to weld in the metal so you don't have to drill all those holes. here is a pic of what it looks like now. and the other one i have on myprofile is what it looked like before it got in an accident in virginia on I-264. i think that the person that did such a sloppy install of the sunroof should be draged out into the street and beaten to death with the glass from my sunroof. my sunroof leaked because of body flex made "pop" out around the edges of the assembly. not the weather strip around the glass. the assembly wasn't installed properly. i hope my pic's help out too. wish i had pic's of the sunroof but didn't have a digi camera then.

zixxerpilot

Thanks for the idea!! I was thinking of something along those lines. However,I am lucky enough to have access to essentially a full professional body shop(it's a hobby shop for a retired body shop owner now). I have some other minor work to do, but even he suggested just leaving it in.

Someone else mentioned cutting the roof panel out of a car from the yard to fill it too.. One way or another though this thing is history.

1991Camaroz28

i am glad you feel as i did. every one i talked to kept telling me to "get a new sunroof" especally the body shop's and i thought yea $600 later i would have a new leaky sunroof down the road. also if your going to spend the trouble of "chopping" the top and replacing the whole thing. i looked into that too. but i couldent find any decent t-top cars in my local junk yard. i am pleased with my new non leaking car but still kinda wish i had t-tops. it's not really hard to replace the whole roof but requires skill and a welder. 2 things that i don't have. with the help of that body shop a complete replacement roof sould be a breeze. here are some pics i found of a t-top conversion. of course you gotta get a new set of t-top seals if your daring enough to convert in the first place. the last thing you want to do is trade one leak for another.