sunroof restoration

Paint, body preparation and modification, interior work and electrical
dat5102dr
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sunroof restoration

Post by dat5102dr »

Any structural advice?

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Dave Patten
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Re: sunroof restoration

Post by Dave Patten »

Welding at mid span on sheet metal usually ends up with all kinds of distortion and warping.

If this were me I would take the whole roof skin and replace it. Drill out the spot welds at the wind shield and rear window. Maybe along the gutters place the weld just below the vertical to horizontal crease.

Tyson is the roof magician, maybe he can chime in.
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okayfine
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Re: sunroof restoration

Post by okayfine »

Wow, that's not going to be a fun project. I apologize for whomever cut the hole in the first place.

Perchance was your donor roof removed at the (leaded) seams?
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Mattndew76
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Re: sunroof restoration

Post by Mattndew76 »

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:


What is the appeal of a sun roof? A place to leak water, or ruin the look of a car?
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dat5102dr
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Re: sunroof restoration

Post by dat5102dr »

leaded seams??
i cant grasp?
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Mattndew76
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Re: sunroof restoration

Post by Mattndew76 »

the leaded seams are where the roof and pillars are spot welded to the chassis, then lead filler is used to smooth over the connection.
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okayfine
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Re: sunroof restoration

Post by okayfine »

Yep, melt the lead out, drill the spot welds and it shouldn't be quite as much work to get the new piece back on relatively straight.
Because when you spend a silly amount of money on a silly, trivial thing that will help you not one jot, you are demonstrating that you have a soul and a heart and that you are the sort of person who has no time for Which? magazine. – Jeremy Clarkson
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two_68_510s
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Re: sunroof restoration

Post by two_68_510s »

DSC08395_zps4c503b00.jpg
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the grey, not rusty part
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okayfine
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Re: sunroof restoration

Post by okayfine »

There is a picture of the c-pillar seam somewhere here, but I can't find it. It is much lower down. I'd forgotten how high up the a-pillar seam is.
Because when you spend a silly amount of money on a silly, trivial thing that will help you not one jot, you are demonstrating that you have a soul and a heart and that you are the sort of person who has no time for Which? magazine. – Jeremy Clarkson
dat5102dr
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Re: sunroof restoration

Post by dat5102dr »

so in the end i am replacing the lead
with bondo?
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okayfine
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Re: sunroof restoration

Post by okayfine »

Weld. Bondo to smooth the finished product, but Bondo ain't structural.
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Three B's Racing
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Re: sunroof restoration

Post by Three B's Racing »

dat5102dr wrote:so in the end i am replacing the lead
with bondo?
No use Mar-Glas as it's much more flexable and stronger that bondo. I only use bondo for small easy pings and sealing both ends of a home made M80 for the 4th :shock: But if your good you could simply lead back over the area.
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Bike papa
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Re: sunroof restoration

Post by Bike papa »

the C pillar joint is where the vents are located ,you can see the two leaded areas just below the vent opening but i see that your new roof has been cut above the factory joint
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KoHeartsGPA
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Re: sunroof restoration

Post by KoHeartsGPA »

Three B's Racing wrote:
dat5102dr wrote:so in the end i am replacing the lead
with bondo?
No use Mar-Glas as it's much more flexable and stronger that bondo. I only use bondo for small easy pings and sealing both ends of a home made M80 for the 4th :shock: But if your good you could simply lead back over the area.
Yeah, I would use lead, its very easy to work with as long as you keep the heat at lead melt point, I did lots of lead on metal and for me at least it wasn't hard, I actually like it better than bondo ;-)
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Cmac
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Re: sunroof restoration

Post by Cmac »

Or you could use this. See below. By the time you purchase the proper tools to re lead you will be done and moved on to the next part of your build. Repairing with lead is cool and somewhat an art form that is not used by most shops because its time consuming and very few people really know how to properly use / install it anymore. Not to mention the health risks of using and being around lead. I am by now means a tree hugging safety monger but it is a consideration when choosing a product to use.

http://www.uschem.com/index.cfm?page=pr ... tail&id=54
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