Sun roof delete mess

[Reiver]

I purchased a carbon fiber sun roof delete panel from an advertiser (posts type) here thinking I could do diy deal.....I had already mounted front/rear FG bumpers that came out peachy...fabbed up the mounts etc.

Anyhow, I followed his instructions and used the SEM product he advised, bought the factory gun that mixes the epoxy evenly and applied as per instructions...removed all paint yada yada…

Car is painted and guess what...the SEM works fine....the carbon fiber panel contracts in heat and expands when it cools...leaves a perfect 'imprint' of the sunroof.

I mean it contracts and expands like you would not believe...whatever they used for a carbon fiber medium was crappola…..maybe I got a bad batch product...maybe not....

Going to weld in a panel.....what a pita...the paint job is beautiful too.

Oh well, it'll be done right then.

We can pull the windshield and drop the headliner past the seats and work from there.

Another teaching moment to self.....

[Iciclehead]

Sorry to hear, I did the sunroof delete, only way I was going to go was metal for exactly the reasons you describe.

I ended up seam welding it followed by a little lead filler to make it permanent.

Dennis

[Reiver]

Originally Posted by Iciclehead

Sorry to hear, I did the sunroof delete, only way I was going to go was metal for exactly the reasons you describe.

I ended up seam welding it followed by a little lead filler to make it permanent.

Dennis

Yup, I listened to some others who said they'd used these panels...the damn panel actually buckled in the center.....got sold a bill of goods.

Doing just that

[911tracker85]

glad to see this post.

in this case did you finish the outside to a smooth non-sunroof appearance? sounds like that.

I had been considering doing this for my sunroof delete. but my intent was to have the sunroof exposed on the outside, so it would still look like it had a sunroof. but clean on the inside.

wondered about expansion/contraction and thinking of using an adhesive that stayed flexible.

still thinking and reading.

[Reiver]

Yes, it was professionally finished before painting....smooth. Then it (carbon insert) buckled in the sun (Phx, Az) when parked outside...so we tried again with fiberglass over the damage...did not work.

I am welding in a steel insert.

I'd be very careful of dissimilar materials but if you are going to epoxy the original roof in place should be no issue.

[Iciclehead]

I would love to hear the results from someone who has glued a steel sunroof replacement into the car. I must admit the welding was scary and difficult, hard to control distortion and I would not have been able to get a good result without using lead (which is a permanent filler) as opposed to using bondo (which will crack in a roof application).

If I was a better welder/sheet metal guy, I would aim at a zero filler solution. As it was I needed only a very thin skim of lead in a few spots, but more than I wanted (zero)

Dennis

[75 911s]

Wow that's awful. Sorry to hear you had to go through this. I bought the Helion panel and then sold it. I figured it would be best used as a track car replacement and not bondo'd over.

As it stands, I have the metal panel, but it was not lead filled, and there is a fair amount of filler on the roof as my magnet testifies. Born in raised in Arizona, don't ya know, so I've seen the sun and heat destroy a lot of things. Glad to hear you are going to move forward and lesson learned. Pics would be great for the greater good of the community, but I understand if you don't want to post them.