welding sunroof

[FRpilot]

i have a 91 SE fastback and the sunroof is getting annoying. im trying to look for a basemodel but prices aree insane and clean 240s are kind of hard to find. my other option would be to weld the sunroof.

is welding the sunroof w/ some sheet metal wise? since i know 240s w/ no sunroof its just basically a thin layer of sheeet metal. will the structural integrity be weeaker than just a reegular 240 w/o sunroof or even stiffer? should i do this or should i keep looking for a 240 w/o sunroof?

[ridebmx]

there is structual difference between the sunroof, and non sunroof. simply adding sheetmetal instead of the sunroof wouldnt really make it stiffer.

*depending on how much you care, either get a roof from a non sunroof, and weld it on, or you could throw a roll cage in, yes its probably overkill for your use, but im sure that would stiffen up the car enough, that or buy another 240 without sunroof.

[9524tee]

i agree it wouldnt make it stiffer if it was just a piece of sheet metal it would either be the same , or worse actually .

[mixxamike]

If you weld a piece of sheet metal onto your roof, it will do nothing to benefit or take away from the existing structural rigidity of your car. Your car already has extra supports in the roof to compensate for the sunroof gap. The only benefit of welding your sunroof would be purely aesthetic.

If I had the funds, i would do this to my s14...i just really don't like sunroofs...but if you have the cash...go for it!

[Kain_Pabyeda]

It may not be the cheapest route, but it's definetely not the hardest. For all the fans of CF out there: http://www.macqc.com/raceplates/SPK.htm

[Ghettokracker71]

if it wasn't for the lack of rigidity,I'd love a sunroof....I've been in plenty of cars for long loooooong periods of time with sunroofs and loved them! Oh well....

[Daemos]

Hmmm how do you compensate for a sunroof? Make the rest of the car more stiff.

Have you concidered a Nismo powerbrace?

Has anyone *acctually* tested the ridigity of a non-sunroofed car vs a sunroofed car? I bet you'd probally be surprised that the diffrence isn't great, although it's there, it can be easily balanced out by an extra brace somewhere.

[mixxamike]

I highly doubt it's very noticable...either way my s14 will be hella stiff after my custom cage :naughty: :rawk: :rawk:

[INeedNewTires]

i bet welding would be hard to get smooth.... if it were me (and im considering it) i think im going to leave the glass in but scrape all the rubber off that makes it a lil bit higher than the rest of the roof. then get a flat piece of sheet metal and just rivet it on top, i dont really care about looks, actually i think the rivets would look sweet. then ill just put that piece of carpet over the sun roof on the interior, or change headliners from a base model.

[ridebmx]

welding a piece of metal in the place of the sunroof is not hard. but if you arent a very good welder with body work experience i wouldnt recommend attempting the weld. make sure you set money aside for paint and bodywork after the welding. This might seem like a no brainer. but its good to set money aside

*half of my car is welded together, and you cant tell. and alot of cars on the road have been repaired and required welding of body panels. hell ill show u a picture of my brothers truck that is being completed, let me find the pic

[NISMO_drift]

welding a piece of metal to the middle of your roof will warp the shit out of the whole thing. another option is to take it to a body shop, have them weld the entire roof from a 240 w/ no sunroof. if new parts are too much, go to a junkyard and have them cut the whole roof off a junked car. that way you'd get the interstructure and headliner as well.
cheapest way would be to go buy a new rubber seal around the inside, usually that's what flattens out and causes all the iritating air to blow threw.

[black s13]

i have an aftermarket sunroof in my s13 hatch, every speed bump i go over the sunroof creaks and moans. if it was metal, it wouldnt be able to move. this seems to prove pretty positivly that it kills ridgity.

just my $.02

[ryan hagen]

i think they compesate for a sunroof, the rear portoin of the "frame" was bigger on my friends sun roof fast back than my non sun roof.

[nismo2491]

noticed one time while parking in some grass which had about a 2 inch drop I went over at an angle. when the car is twisted like that the roof moves almost an inch vs the sunroof. yes this is more stress than you normally see but....
KEvin