Silver79

So I've finally decided to try and get rid of the sunroof in my 82. My first thought was to buy a roof skin and weld that on. Unfortunately after checking at the dealer I found out that there are no more roof skins left. I also have read other posts saying that if I am planning on welding in the sunroof to pretty much forget it as I will have large amounts of warpage. The only other thing that I have read about that comes close to welding without the heat is SEM panel adhesive. Anyone with experience with this stuff think that it will work? Joe

F451

Just curious, why are you getting rid of the sunroof?

Silver79

I am fairly tall, six foot one, and the car is used more and more as a track car. I currently have a Corbeau Forza seat with custom made mounting bracket that lowers seating position about an inch. Even so with a helmet on I am still driving in a slouched position.

Mrmerlin

Is there any chance you could get a pinch welder to fix the top to the roof rails ,or drill small holes along the seam and weld or braze the hole to the roof edge if not you could always drill a few holes along the seam and use rivets and the bonding adhesive, In the aerospace industry I have used all kinds of adhesives to bond metal to metal and various other materials the parts then went into flight assemblies and then usually into space

JHowell37

Simply deleting the sunroof will not give you more headroom. You'll have to remove the inner portion of the roof to accomplish that. If you do remove the inner roof, then you should consider a roll cage since the roof is a stressed member and heavily modifying it will result in a loss of structural integrity.

The sunroof is a fairly heavy and thick piece of steel and I think it could be welded in without much trouble. The only way warpage would be an issue is if the welding was done improperly. I wouldn't do the panel adhesive. They work very well on the assembly line under perfect conditions when using brand new, clean, sheet metal.

Silver79

The plan is to delete the sunroof rails once the sunroof is welded in. I have looked at non-sunroof cars and the only difference between the two seems to be the rails to mount the sunroof. I know there is a thread on here where someone else reskinned the roof. My only concern with with welding in the sunroof is that once you remove the weatherstripping around the sunroof panel is that there is a 1/4" gap between the two. I also do plan on adding a roll cage. Joe

F451

That's what I thought. I'm 6'6" and have been considering options to get more headroom myself. I've got an S4 that I would like to keep, and possibly do some DE and track days in, but I'm not sure I can get it to fit me with the sunroof.

I recently got a Sparco fixed back seat that I'm going to install to see how I do with the headroom, but I don't think it will be enough to allow me to wear a helmet.

I'll probably end up buying a sunroof delete 928 one of these days. But I sure would like to keep the S4 if I could make it work.

F451

Keep us posted Joe, I'd love to see some pics of the process. -Ed

JHowell37

1/4" is a pretty large gap and I was thinking about that when I responded previously. I would remove the weatherstripping and push the sunroof panel back about 1/8". I would secure it with some butt welding panel clamps. They're basically clamps that secure two panels at the proper height and distance from one another for welding. I couldn't find mine when I did my quarter panel and rocker and I want to kick myself for not using them. When I replaced part of my floor I used them and the end result was much better and the job was a lot faster and required much less grinder time. For the sides I would place a copper backing strip under panel and just deal with the larger gap. 1/4" isn't too bad to deal with. On the front, shape a piece of scrap steel to act as a filler and weld it the roof. Once in place use the panel clamps to weld the front of the panel. Make sure you use a welding blanket for both your windshield and your interior. Also remove the LH and disconnect the battery.

If you're worried about warping and heat, you can switch to helium (I believe) which is much cooler then the standard 75/25 gas. Also, it's far better to make a few thousand tack welds all over the place then it is to try and run a continuous bead. When you grind the welds, keep in mind that they can generate enough heat to warp the metal.

Silver79

I will take pics for those of you that are interested. Right now I have just gound everything down. It might be a little while as the person that is going to do the welding (not me) is quite busy right now. I spoke to him and he says he will probably weld just a little in one place at a time to reduce warpage. Also, I plan to cut out the sunroof rail after the welding is complete. Joe