Fiberglass or CF roof? Carl's CF clip thread gave me ideas.
#16
Drifting
Since I wasn't concerned with the original skin's condition, I just used the largest drill bit I could find so as to minimize the damage to the body. I think there are special spot weld drill bits, so you might want to look into that. Also, make sure you use a weld-thru primer when re-welding the pieces, or else you will get some nasty rust between the panels.
#17
Plasma torch .. worked wonders for all those awkward spots..and left a decent edge that could be ground down.
#18
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I have a friend that offered his plasma torch. I imagined things on fire though.
#19
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Even with a good roll cage the steel roof welded in place will keep more stuff from potentially coming into the car. Fiberglass or carbon fiber tends to shatter and break into jagged pieces . Go upside down into soft dirt or gravel and the metal panel keeps the roll cage tubes from digging in as easily...... I saw a open wheel car with a single hoop in Portland bury the hoop into the sod luckily the driver was short......before he went over
#20
Nordschleife Master
you dont need a plasma cutter (use that for plate steel or frame rails or something) , that roof skin is like paper thin, you can do it with any number of air saws and likely get a much finer, and cleaner result
#21
Drifting
There's still nasty edges that I wouldn't want close to my head or helmet. Maybe filling in the sunroof is good if you are putting in a headliner, but in a race car, I don't want that stuff up there.
#22
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#23
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Brendan , Dwayne came by my house and took some photos of the wide 928 in my garage....the one I took the roof skin off so the cage could be welded properly on top. I will see if I can get him to post some photos or if you are going to be in the Newport Beach area let me know and you can come over and look at it your self. When I drill the spot welds I ONLY drill the top layer which leaves more to weld to when going back together.
#24
It is nice to see that the roof panel removal is fairly straight forward though. I was under the impression that it involved more "structural" cutting.
#26
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Brendan , Dwayne came by my house and took some photos of the wide 928 in my garage....the one I took the roof skin off so the cage could be welded properly on top. I will see if I can get him to post some photos or if you are going to be in the Newport Beach area let me know and you can come over and look at it your self. When I drill the spot welds I ONLY drill the top layer which leaves more to weld to when going back together.
#27
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#30
Race Director
Mark A has a stock non sunroof roof in his (he ordered it from Germany!) He said it wasn't that heavy...& that is coming from the guy with the lightest 928 racer around!!
As for headroom...how tall are you? Race seats sit significantly lower in the car than normal power seats...on the Widow the sunroof was welded in and filled, I'm not real happy with it, but in my ractech mounted on a slider (1/2" higher than no slider) I clear my helmet by more than an inch and I'm 6-1, if your ever in norcal you are more than welcome to try the fit for yourself!
The owner of my race shop is probably 6-3 with a long torso and he fits in the widow without hitting his helmet? The same guy had his spec miata modified with a helmet bump made out of CF to clear his helmet!!
Once my cage is done, I am considering cutting off the roof and rear hatch and replacing it out of CF...since there is a great custom CF shop across the street from the race shop where the Widow lives....it all comes down to $$$$$
As for headroom...how tall are you? Race seats sit significantly lower in the car than normal power seats...on the Widow the sunroof was welded in and filled, I'm not real happy with it, but in my ractech mounted on a slider (1/2" higher than no slider) I clear my helmet by more than an inch and I'm 6-1, if your ever in norcal you are more than welcome to try the fit for yourself!
The owner of my race shop is probably 6-3 with a long torso and he fits in the widow without hitting his helmet? The same guy had his spec miata modified with a helmet bump made out of CF to clear his helmet!!
Once my cage is done, I am considering cutting off the roof and rear hatch and replacing it out of CF...since there is a great custom CF shop across the street from the race shop where the Widow lives....it all comes down to $$$$$