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The interior panel that attaches to the underside of the exterior sunroof panel commonly gets loose and rattles - especially if it's been disassembled and the retainer arms get bent and lose tension.
this is exactly what's happening with mine... every bump i go over is like teeth rattling above my head...
Windows down, sunroof open, loud catless exhaust turbo whistle, curvy mountain road. Can't beat it. I love the open air experience. I'd consider getting a roofless car sometime, maybe a Ferrari 458 Spyder.
Well I was able to order the replacement roof panel from Gaudin in Vegas, but looked for quite a bit before finally finding the headliner
from Auto Atlanta……nobody else I could find showed this available….all list as “discontinued “, so may have gotten lucky.
Also ordered windshield removal wire and handles….could be an interesting project.
Could you just scavenge a roof and the needed liners from a junkyard C2 car? There has to be tons available.
Not in the US. I got my headliner from a junkyard/breaker in the UK. A new roof panel is cheap enough from the usual parts dealers. Price on new headliners was ridiculous ($2kish).
Could you just scavenge a roof and the needed liners from a junkyard C2 car? There has to be tons available.
Don’t know for sure what the percentage is, but the number of 996’s exported to the United States without a sunroof is vanishingly small……GT3’s, yes,
but regular Carrera’s……extremely rare.
The problem with the CF roofs is the fact that you can't weld them but rather have to glue them into place. As a result you will not get the same structural rigidity as you get with a steel panel welded into place.
A bonded roof provides a continuous joint just like a perfect weld but has nothing to do with the stiffness of the final roof..... the way the CF roof panel was engineered does.
The work was done by a local body shop in Denver that specializes in Porsches. They have done a number of the sunroof deletes. I removed the headliner, the A, B, and C pilar linings, and seats before dropping the car off so they didn't have to spend any time on the removal of the interior. The labor was about $1700 which includes removal of front and rear glass, removal of existing sunroof panel, welding in the OEM solid roof panel, prep, paint, and reinstallation of the front and rear glass. Front glass has to be replaced with new while rear glass is reused. The whole process is actually very straight forward as the old roof panel is removed and the new roof panel is welded into the exact same location as done at the factory. I needed to have my windshield replaced anyway so this was a perfect time to do this. All the parts used in the conversion are OEM Porsche:
Front windshield: $480
Windshield seals: $40
Roof panel: $450
Headliner light panel cover: $50
Alcantara Headliner: $1650 (ouch, yeah I know. Lol!)
I could have had a new Alcantara headliner custom made at an automotive upholstery shop for about $600 but I wanted a perfect fit and finish and since one was in stock at the Atlanta warehouse I just opted to go that route. There are certainly cheaper options though.
I know this is not a necessarily cheap mod but considering my car is mainly a track toy, I never used the sunroof, liked the idea of shedding 26+lbs from the highest point on the car and liked the look of a smooth roof, well, it was worth it to me. Additionally, non sunroof turbo cars are very rare with only a tiny percentage ordered like that from the factory. I certainly feel that a non sunroof option ads to the value of the car. Just my $02...
Well, I took the plunge and started the sunroof delete project... Just wonder @powderhound where did you find the headliner?? Not having any luck with that, but the roof panel and window stuff is no problem.
The windshield actually was not too bad to cut out with T-handles and some removal wire...just a bit of elbow grease!
Well, I took the plunge and started the sunroof delete project... Just wonder @powderhound where did you find the headliner?? Not having any luck with that, but the roof panel and window stuff is no problem.
Hard to come by anything used in the US since sunroofs came standard on everything non-GT3. Look on eBay UK or start googling "UK breakers" (i.e. junkyards). I got mine from Douglas Valley Breakers. If looking for new, 996 part numbers are all superceded to 997.
After my post I did find a used headliner at teile.com in Germany for “ only” 900 euro’s. I’ll get the quote on shipping today…..thanks, I wondered if a 997 would work as well.
After my post I did find a used headliner at teile.com in Germany for “ only” 900 euro’s. I’ll get the quote on shipping today…..thanks, I wondered if a 997 would work as well.
Wow. I paid about $350 for a grey Alcantara one in Feb 2022 (shipped to a buddy in the UK who then brought into the US when relocating home).
10-02-2023, 08:53 PM
