BC

Its tempting. I guess maybe welding the roof into the sunroof area to close it off may be easier, but it seems like making a mold of the roof may not be that hard. Carl made it look kind of easy.

You could fill in the grooves where the sunroof sits, and then do it. But how would you bond the FG to the metal roof frame?

I don't know if its a good idea, but I really have to get rid of the sunroof and all that stuff up there.

Benton

Definitely feasible. I got (apparently) one of the last factory non-sunroof roof panels for my race car about 3 years ago, and it really was pretty easy to replace. I really wish I would have made a mold of it while it was off, but it still wouldnt be that hard even when on.

RyanPerrella

Doesnt sound like a good idea honestly. I think your best bet is to just weld in the sunroof hole and remove all the parts from the moving sunroof.

Not sure if you wanted to just plug the roof hole with CF, or you wanted to remove the steel roof entirely and put in a carbon fiber roof. The later would be impossible without HUGE money and would likely end up weighing more then had you just simply welded in the hole.

Look at the size of the 928 roof, ITS SMALL! How much weight do you really think you would save going from steel which welds into the rest of the car, to CF, which you would have to devise soem way of rigging and mounting that would no doubt end up weighing more in the end.

I think there is 20 or so lbs to be removed from the roof by eliminating the rails and the motor and all other parts, and you can do as Ken did and put in a plastic panel or just weld it up. A good fabricator can weld up the sunroof much easier then what you would end up doing with some entire new roof. Not to mention the car could be destroyed if you cut the roof out.

Interesting idea but it has no legs if you ask me.

RyanPerrella

This is the problem that makes it cost prohibitive

You would most likely ruin the car by doing so, the car would creak and moan like crazy, you could stiffen it with a cage but then your weight goes up and your worse off then when you started.

If you want the roof to LOOK like CF, just weld over the sunroof, and use one of those overlays that the honda guys use. You would be better off finding a CF matt and bonding it to the roof IF YOU MUST have that look.

Jim bailey - 928 International

The roof skin weighs little but is far better protection than a sheet of fiberglass if you were to get upside down !

hacker-pschorr

Talk to the Chevy C6 ZO6 team first. They had a hard time figuring out a way to keep their CF roof panel on.

Benton

If it is exclusively for weight savings, I think you are pretty close to splitting hairs unless you have a top-tier pro race car or the like. The advantage I see is having a simple non-sunroof roof panel as opposed to the hacked up panels when you remove the sunroof. Also, the supply of new non-sunroof panels is questionable, so this would be an easy option.

The actual roof skin doesn't weight that much. I haven't picked one up in years, but it's probably only 20 pounds for the plain-jane skin without the sunroof crap spot welded on.

Edit: Jim beat me to the punch.

BC

Protection is important. I wouldn't want to weaken anything.

I just need that sunroof out and all the framing like I did on the other car body I had. I want to go on track, soon, and I need more helmet room.

Where does one cut if they want to replace the skin with a non-sunroof skin?

hacker-pschorr

Unless he has a good roll cage.

I say go for it, put a hinge on the front, make it a pop up roof like they have in NHRA in case you cannot open the door.

Benton

There's about 50 or more spot welds around the perimeter of the roof skin that have to be drilled out.

Tom. M

Brendan, If its just a track car (aesthetics don't matter), you can cut all the sunroof stuff out of the bottom. With the help of John D and Ken O, we cut a piece of aluminum just a bit larger than the hole, used 1/2 inch wide double stick (super stick) tape and slapped it down on top of the roof. About 8 sheet metal screws are there for security but you can use rivets or bolts too. Not the best looking solution, but it works..made it through the rain without a problem and can be painted to match the color of the car, and I've got the room now on the inside for helmet, cage, and myself

Here's the best pic I could find of John's

Carl Fausett

We are cutting out the sheet steel in the center and replacing with aluminum. Probably llighter than fiberglass, but not as light as carbon fiber, for sure.

Not sure what the weight savings will be yet, but it is weight up above the Center of Gravity, and thats good to get rid of.

We purchased a bead roller machine so we can roll some ribs in it for ridgidity. From the outside, we will slap a coat of paint on it.

This is race-car stuff - not meant for pretty cars or 928s that want to stay that way.

Jim M.

Brendon,

Sounds like you need to make a call go Jim Bailey and have him sawsall the roof off of the next non-sunroof car that comes in. Drill out the spot welds and re-install on your car.

BC

I actually found a sunroof free 80 in San Diego sitting in a yard. He said if I bring him the roof I have, he will swap me, so the car does not go without a roof. I didn't know if this would be the easiest, but now that I see that skin truly is a skin (THANKS for those pics red), I will attempt this probably, as long as this guy is still game.

It looks like you have to remove the hatch (no problem) and the windshield (new one is already in, maybe easier to remove with "younger" sealant).

Specific drill bit I assume? Some sort of "spot weld drill piece" or something?

That would save tons of time cutting out the sunroof pieces. It looks like maybe the skin would come out all with that?

BC

I did the cutting out part on one car. It was a bitch. And it leaves places I would be concerned about leaving my head near, even behind the fiber-board panels.