sunroofs ???

J

John Buchtenkirch

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Does anyone have any first hand observations on how an American Sunroof Corporation’s sunroof stacks up against a BMW factory sunroof which I believe is made by Goldie ? Considering the roof skin rust problems prevalent with sunroof cars and the higher cost of sunroof cars it just might make sense to convert a non sunroof car. I’m thinking aloud here because I have never seen a converted CS coupe and I wonder how well the sunroof panel flows with the loft line of the roof ? I do recall seeing a slide back into the roof sunroof coupe on eBay one time and the headliner looked extra low for some reason :(. Thoughts anyone ??? and pro or con are both appreciated :). THANK YOU ~ John Buchtenkirch
 
Hi John Buchtenkirch!

Perhaps it's my glasses, graphic board or something else, but the font and color you use in the thread seems to "melt" the letters together and makes it hard to read.

Using standard font and color could be at bit boring, I know, but it works!

Cheers!
Stefan
 
Perhaps an aftrmarket roof would lower the value of the car and cause just as many problems if not more than a factory job.

Steve
 
oneills said:
Perhaps an aftrmarket roof would lower the value of the car and cause just as many problems if not more than a factory job.

Steve
Click to expand...

I have seen badly rotted sunroof coupes with the areas on the roof skin just above the sunroof’s water channels rotted thru. You could actually see the layout of the channels by where it was rotted thru on the skin. I haven’t seen a non sunroof skin rot thru yet so my thoughts are if you start out with a non-sunroof car you have a real good chance of starting out with a nice rust free skin. Also you could paint the underside of the roof skin with today’s epoxy rust prevention primers before the install.

This car http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0537546799&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT is supposed to have had a sunroof installed after it was sold. I don’t know if it’s an American Sunroof Corp sunroof or can you order the factory one in parts or as a kit and have a body shop install it. Another alternative could be buying a sunroof roof off a wrecked car or possibly a rotted out car if the roof is still good and using used parts. I would still like to see what American Sunroof has to offer and at what price :confused:. I don’t think I’m going to get involved with a coupe unless it can somehow be a sunroof car. ~ John Buchtenkirch
!1acoupe15.jpg

!1acoupe16.jpg
 
Stefan said:
Hi John Buchtenkirch!

Perhaps it's my glasses, graphic board or something else, but the font and color you use in the thread seems to "melt" the letters together and makes it hard to read.

Using standard font and color could be at bit boring, I know, but it works!

Cheers!
Stefan
Click to expand...

Stefan, it works exactly the opposite for me, I picked this because it’s much easier on my not so good eyes, not because I think it’s cool or cute. I started welding when I was only 14 --- I’m 62 now and have flashed myself thousands of times over the years and I guess I am now paying the price. I don’t even know how much longer I will be able to weld, sometimes I wonder right off the split in the sheets when running a bead. I hope you can bear with me or just skip my posts. Sorry :cry: ~ John Buchtenkirch
 
The Roof

Sure looks like a factory roof to me (Golde?) My guess would be that the entire roof came from a donor car. Manual crank to boot, which is nice. Spent many hours on the refurb of my own roof (electric) and it still needs a little help for the final "pop-up" There are other forum member owned cars out there with after market roofs. (decoupe?) who could give advise. Oh, and life long exposure to welding (flash burns) haven't helped my vision either. Gotta love the new auto-dark hoods...best invention for welders since electricity!
 
John Buchtenkirch said:
This car is supposed to have had a sunroof installed after it was sold.
Click to expand...

The ebay ad reads: "The next owner was Steve Jensen who moved the car to LA. Steve put in a new transmission and sunroof in 1982".

I interpret that to mean that the car was delivered from the factory in 1973 with a sunroof, then over the next nine years the original one rusted/broke, so Mr. Jensen had the roof repaired/replaced in 1982. As Pamp wrote, from the ebay photos the sunroof certainly looks like an original Golde - if it was added later, the addition involved welding on a roof clip from an OE sunroof e9 - not sabresawing a hole and pop riveting in something aftermarket.

IMG_0027.jpg
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s267/M-CARS/1973 BMW CS/IMG_0027.jpg
 
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Roofs

Indeed...The archives do not show the options on the cars as shipped, so a guess. I looked at all areas on my car and concluded that the sunroof was original. A very good body man could fake a later install and make it look as an original, but that would be an expert for sure.
 
Sunroof Coupes

My '02 cents worth: based on ownership of three sunroof Coupes--my original one #16 of the US spec cars has been in my care since February 1972 without rust issues in that area and has now covered 416,000 miles since built 9-5-1969.

There are three or more major underlying causes of rust that I have observed with sunroof coupes;
1) neglect by owners--especially to promptly replace sunroof seals immediately upon failing.
2) practice of running large volumes of water over the top to clean them--BAD PRACTICE!!--and when practiced on a #1 car sure to trigger rust.
3) carelessly leaving the car outside in wet weather or snow with nose of car aimed uphill even with good seals--simply not the place for a sunroof coupe.

There are other reasons but observing the above would prevent most of the rust problems--there are also a few Coupes with factory sunroofs that are as mine--no rust issues ever.

You just have to look in the right places--Eastern US is not the right place. American sunroof was originally established in Southern California by some German guys who did good work--but not the same quality as the factory installed Golde sunroof.
 
sunroof? better not.

The rigidity of the whole structure of the monocoque is compromised by the addition of a sunroof. (Possibly why there was never a factory soft top E9). The strength of the shell, although more than adequate for normal use, is compromised by corrosion or sunroofs. I understand the factory compensated with extra strengthening for sunroof cars . The rust proofing at the Karman factory was "limited".
 
Sunroof cars "compromised"

I'll question your logic of a sunroof equipped car being "compromised structurally" as the BLUMAX has endured 416,000 miles since its build date of 9/5/1969 while wearing a sunroof and traveling roads few cars ever sample here in North America--nary a body shake or rattle yet. Of course the shiney side has always stayed upright--so maybe your statement has merit if "wheels are pointed up".

Also, just completed the near 1,000 mile round trip run from Newport Beach to Monterey--for the 36th anniversary of its first trip in 1974--and the running about there combined to close on to that mile mark.

I"d also venture to suggest he is robust enough to make that trip again next year, plus a variety of outings before that future date.

Inquiring minds want to know--is this an example of a coupe being "structurally compromised" by having a sunroof??
 
Sunroof thoughts from someone with nearly 40 years in the auto body & metal shaping trades --- yes, me. Blumax’s 3 tips all make sense but he left out the most important one, mainly keep the 4 drain tubes cleaned out. Whether you it with air pressure or flexible wire you have to keep the drain tubes clean so that water can get out of that roof area quickly. I can’t tell you how many VW bug drain tubes I unclogged but believe me, quite a few.

I highly doubt the reinforced sunroof hole causes much of a loss in structural stiffness, certainly not nearly as much as the much larger openings for the windshield and the back window. While I’m a fan of rubber gasket set windows (for easy removal & replacement) modern glue in windows do add much more to uni-body stiffness. Having said that the biggest loss in the handling on sunroof cars comes from all that weight being added in the worst place, right at the very top of the car. Anyway I’m certainly willing to give up that little bit of handling for the miles of smiles a sunroof would give me. I’m an old body man that had to put up with dust & fumes for years, having a little clean fresh air blow across my face feels good now.

I asked about an American Sunroof installation because I have a very sharp friend that saw one and was highly impressed. Being able to install one would increase the number of potential coupes I could afford to buy by quite a bit which can only be a good thing. But to be honest I can’t ever recall seeing their installation myself so till I do it’s a questionable route for me.

The other avenue and the one that probably makes the most sense for me because I have the skills & equipment is installing a used sunroof from a parts car. There are 3 ways to do it. #1, Cut the roof off thru the posts (sort of like chopping a roof) which can be made structurally sound with fish plating. Measurements and alignment are critical but doable. #2, Cut the opening plus a few inches out of the donor roof skin and graft / weld that into the skin of the recipient car. Once all the weld shrinkage is planished out transfer and weld in all the under skin reinforcements and track channels. Planishing and correcting that welded skin would be hell but is doable. #3, cut the hole & fold the flanges down on the existing roof skin and then weld in the reinforcements & channels from the donor car. Most likely the way I would go but I’m not quite ready to write that in stone without having the car & donor roof in front of me. So what are decent donor sunroof roofs going for these days :confused::confused::confused: ? ~ John Buchtenkirch
 
Drains

For sure a good tip regarding keeping the drain lines clear. When I did the roof rehab on "Seina" I found that the original drain tubing for the rear had gotten pinched off when they were pulled through the body to the terminus at the rear wheel wells. I replaced both sides with tubing from our local pump / pond supply store. I used a slightly smaller O.D. so as not to have the same problem as existed prior to. Something other sunroof coupe owners might be on the look out for. Only way to blow these tubes out would be from the bottom, rear drains cannot be seen without the head liner and catch panel removed...probably why they get neglected.
 
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