ELPORSCHA

Is there a way to remove the sunroof option on a car, say 993 TT. I am working on shaving weight off my car - starting with total revamp of the interior - light weight 993 RS version - no Airbags, no electirc stuff. no fancy/comfort seats, etc . Also replacing the rear glass with light RS glass- rear wiper delete, etc.

Asked Porsche tech man, wana let go of the damn heavy weight sunroof, rarely used. Said, can do many thing to take weight off the car, but the sunroof to delete is VERY difficult, awakward job, that might render the car useless - reason: technically hard to make exact cut and paste! sort to speak to the solid galvanized, unionized, etc...body shell of Porsche cars, let alone a hand made Porsche like the 993 TT.

Anyone ever attempted this sunroof delete thing! Beside those working at the Porsche AG assembly line....in Stuttgart..!

murfysflaw

I don't have first-hand knowledge, but I'd expect you'd pretty much replace the roof, right? If so, Thaddeus had it done when he went hunting awhile back. It wasn't pretty while in process, but he can say how the end-result turned out. I don't think he did the sunroof delete, but it'd be the same to replace it w/ a non-sunroof top I'd think.

993Maineiac

A few racers have done this. It involves, in the best case, getting the roof piece from a dismanteller and replacing the roof unit and appropriate hardwear and wiring.

mr_bock

I would think an expert welder could weld in a sheet of metal that was curved to match. Maybe use the sunroof as a pattern. This is after you remove all of the workings.

I had the whole roof replaced with a whole new one after the original got a bit crushed. I had the rain gutters deleted as the folded joint could not be unfolded and then refolded. This was a lot of work, and probably not worth it for a track car. Mine is show and go. Oh yeah, I kept the sunroof in.

Good luck.

viperbob

Get a new roof, and cut the old one off. Actually easier than it sounds. A new roof is like $300 from Porsche. Now the bad part. You will need a new headliner. The turbo leather headliner is like $2000.

jscott82

There are three ways to go about this...
1) (Most factory like) Cut off the outer skin and replace with a non-sunroof version
2) (Cheaper) Remove the inner roof structure, strip of all brackets and sound deadening and weld/finish the sunroof panel back in.
3) (Free) Remove everything as in option 2 but rather than welding and painting to hide the panel, just bolt the old gasket and panel in place… Gets rid of the weight, but costs nothing.

For my race car I opted for option 2, worked out very well...

future

Have a quick look here at a 964: http://www.911aircooled.com/Page13.html This company are also in the US.

A roof skin in the UK works out £800.00 ($1200 USD) new from Porsche. I'm budget $1k for the cut and weld plus $400 for the paintwork plus the factory panel cost.

It's not really that bigger job in all honesty but it's no DIY task either. I will be covering this task shortly if all goes to plan.

jscott82's method is a bit hit or miss and I'm glad it worked our for him and obviously the shop that did the work knew what they were doing as welding in this method can lead to serious roof distortion meaning a load of filler then needs to be added which WILL crack over time and also add a lot of weight back so a false economy.

The secret to jscott82's method is to tack weld one side followed by the other like you would torque up head bolts. If you just try and run the weld all the way round in one go after a few tacks your roof will look like a dog bowl guaranteed

993_Pilot

I did option #2 on my car too, but it wasn't easy. The difference in the size of the hole vs. the sunroof panel is about 1/8" all around, and they had to cut thin strips to weld in. I think it took them about 12 hours of time just for the fitting and welding. Then it still had to be prepped and painted!

928 Leather, can make a custom headliner in alcantera or leather. IIRC, they have good reports and are much cheaper than OEM. Unfortunately I didn't find out about them until after I paid about $800 for the factory vinyl headliner.

Bergamasco

How about just leaving the gorgeous the car the way it is and buying a 993GT2? :-)

ELPORSCHA

Thank you guys for the feedback. Berg, think you are right about leaving the toy alone....Consulted couple of Porsche tech garages - happy to do it, but do not advise such drastic body change, results can be un-predictable (irreversible), and for that reason alone - it aint worth the try.

Cheers.

NP993

There are many weight-saving things that can be done before cutting up the car. A fiberglass hood and lightweight battery will save you at least 40 pounds -- surely more than removing the sunroof will accomplish. Remove the windshield washer system, install an RS America manual steering rack, light seats, remove the rear seats and belts, etc -- and you can bring the weight down a fair chunk. Anything more, though, and you have to start heavily modifying the car.

ilko

I wouldn't remove the sunroof for weight savings alone, unless you've exhausted all your other options. The correct way of doing it is to weld in a new (or used) roof. It is not difficult to do if the body shop knows what they're doing. Sounds like the people you're dealing with are uncomfortable with it, so I wouldn't trust them with the job.

As far as the headliner, I've seen cars that have had the sunroof delete done and they've glued alcanatara on the roof skin, it didn't look bad.

My car came without a sunroof from the factory and I love it. Mostly because it gives me extra head room. Every mm helps when you have a helmet on.

NP993

If anyone's looking for a non-sunroof roof, a friend of mine has one from an RS America that hit a tire wall at the track that I believe he's willing to part with.

Don Plumley

Aside from weight, to expand on what Ilko said, it enables you to put in a cage and get it as far away from you as possible. That's always a plus, even for short guys like me. I did option #2 and glued on a piece of vinyl on the roof.

ELPORSCHA

Thanks Noah - and others here. As you mentioned, I am gona go that route without touching the sunroof/body. I am placing order for Lighter wieght hood, Recaro seats/Pole Position, 993 RS dash - AB delete, RS door panels, RS steering, gear ****/shifter, brake handle (if it makes any difference, beyond cosmetics ), and finally light weight rear glass. Havent thought about battery, since I only know of standard size/wieght batteries from Porsche!

BTW, as I am deleting Rear Seats, I needed to change entire carpet (rear seats delete configuration) just like 993 GT2 / RS. Factory aint interested in GT2carpet queries! None. As to RS carpet, they got it. Problem! it has name/logo all over the back side: "Carrera RS". The car is 993TT, can't have CRS name all over (wish I can attach page file from Porsche catalog so you see what I mean...couldnt attach here..

What I was gona ask: anyone know a good shop, to do entire Porsche 993carpet (rear seat delete) with TURBO name in place of rear seats! Been allover Google, Yahoo.....,......there arent any such shops, I guess!