911 Sunroof Cancelled

[germanwheels]

Do you prefer the look of an air-cooled 911 without a sunroof? Do you want one more inch of headroom? I do. But until now, I never had the courage to peal up a perfectly good 911 roof, especially on a car as nice as this car, a perfectly straight car that does not need paint and bodywork.

What triggered this move is needing a new liner. Replacing the headliner requires removing the glass. When I got to this point, I decided to go all the way and replace the roof too. The goal is to replace the roof with a FULL, perfect fitting steel skin and then paint it to match the rest of the body.

Below, I'm going to document the process as it goes and share how it comes out. Finger crossed, in 4 weeks, I'll have a beautiful roof and an inch more headroom.

This project is both exciting and scary.

I have asked Perfect Lines Restoration in Los Angeles to do this work.

Here we go.




At this point, there is no going back. The old roof is off.

[golfbuddy]

The 911 looks cleaner without the sunroof.

[75 911s]

911 sunroofs are the worst. I love my "cancelled sunroof"

[jpnovak]

sunroof delete.

Actually, Its probably easier to lower the seat rails than to remove sunroof. Gives you a better driving position as well.

Looking forward to your progress. I assume you are removing all the SR inner structure as well.

[Rodney Nelson]

Personally, I always thought this was crazy, to get rid of your sunroof.

My take on this is it started becoming a thing about 10 -15 years ago. Before that if you had an F body car you would NEVER remove your sunroof as it added value due to its rarity. I guess I could understand removing it from G Body cars as it is not so rare.

I think it started off with people really trying to lighten up their car.

If I had a sunroof I would never remove it for what I want out of my car.

I think it is now a benefit in the community not to have a sunroof, crazy. I'm restoring a 72 and was actually considering putting in a sunroof clip. I would still do it if one happened to appear in the phoenix area, and it didn't cost too much.

[MichaelSJackson]

My SC has a sunroof, but no A/C. Which is a good compromise in the Pacific Northwest. At some point I discovered how much better the heater draws if the roof is cracked an inch. (The low pressure area created as air flows over the curve of the roof just sucks air through the system. Much better than the heater fan in the engine compartment.)

Aesthetically, I've dumped the heater fan and all the extra hosing in the engine compartment as a trade off for the "blemish" of a sunroof. The extra weight up high is not ideal, but another part of the trade off. My headroom is tight but ok. A helmet might make me recline more than I'd like.

[targa72e]

Link below to someone removing sun roof on 964. Lots or work.

https://rennlist.com/forums/964-forum/1188624-to-slick-top-or-not-to-slick-top-that-is-the.html

john

[germanwheels]

Before removal.

[germanwheels]

[germanwheels]

Gulp.

The roof is off.

Note that the metal under the roof skin is not cut.

[germanwheels]

In four weeks, I'll have a perfectly straight uncut roof with the complete sunroof assembly for sale. It will be a great price. Perfect Lines performed truly great work to preserve the roof so it can be reused. They said they normally cut the old rook with shears and toss it in the bin. At my request (and with money) they carefully removed it so that it can go straight into someones g-bodied 911. It might fit a 72. I'll post some pictures and measure a 72.

Originally Posted by Rodney Nelson

Personally, I always thought this was crazy, to get rid of your sunroof.

My take on this is it started becoming a thing about 10 -15 years ago. Before that if you had an F body car you would NEVER remove your sunroof as it added value due to its rarity. I guess I could understand removing it from G Body cars as it is not so rare.

I think it started off with people really trying to lighten up their car.

If I had a sunroof I would never remove it for what I want out of my car.

I think it is now a benefit in the community not to have a sunroof, crazy. I'm restoring a 72 and was actually considering putting in a sunroof clip. I would still do it if one happened to appear in the phoenix area, and it didn't cost too much.

[germanwheels]

The new roof is trimmed, is in place, and is really starting to look excellent. The various alignments, numerous measurements, and tack welds are done. AND IT FITS! This is a huge relief.

Note how the rain gutter is peeled back to remove the old roof and make room for the new skin. [There is a tool for that]

Next, the gutters will be bent back into their original position, then the perimeter spot welds will be done, and lastly, the new to old seams will be welded and metal finished. After this, it's all paintwork.

The new roof is perfectly stamped. It will not require much filler. It honestly looks like it only needs primer and block sanding, but I'm 100% sure it will get some filler. Pelican, our gracious host has the roof panels here: https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/91150308712GRV.htm?pn=911-503-087-12-GRV-M350&SVSVSI=911M&DID=161998

I prefer this method because there is minimal welding, which means zero warping. This also reduces amount of metal finishing. The alternative methods warp, crack, and are too much work and money.

Note: The Pillars are NOT cut in this method. Only the skin is trimmed at the pillars and welded to the new full roof skin.

[germanwheels]

Yes. The whole roof skin, the attached inner structures, and the cassette etc came out in one lump. It is all 100% working and reusable.

And I think you are right about the seat rails. I'll be putting in lowered seats for even more headroom. All of this will be on another thread on redoing the interior.

Originally Posted by jpnovak

sunroof delete.

Actually, Its probably easier to lower the seat rails than to remove sunroof. Gives you a better driving position as well.

Looking forward to your progress. I assume you are removing all the SR inner structure as well.

[Flojo]

Originally Posted by jpnovak

sunroof delete.

Actually, Its probably easier to lower the seat rails than to remove sunroof. Gives you a better driving position as well.

but it doesn't save you 20kg...

[GH85Carrera]

The one part of my 911 that I find useless and wish it were gone is my sunroof. Shy of having a major hail storm, I can’t imagine I will ever reroof my car.

Just guessing that cost to find a good straight roof, and get it shipped to the body shop and installed and painted, and the new headliner has to be over 10 grand, and likely way more. It is a lot to put into a car that has a perfectly good sunroof. Just my opinion, and I would do it if the old roof were damaged somehow.

[Keithg]

WOW!!!!!!! Nice to be able to spend $$$$$$$$$$$$$

[eastbay]

Great post, nice to see the proper methods documented.

[germanwheels]

Alex and Joel at Perfect Lines Restoration do very nice work. The old to new metal alignment is spot on. The are living up to the company's brand promise.

[germanwheels]

[75 911s]

does anyone know the tool used to fold the drip rail back?