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-   -   How Do I Replace Rusted Sunroof Skin? (https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-gen-general-discussion-323/how-do-i-replace-rusted-sunroof-skin-1122519/)

Calabrio 01-17-18 11:01 AM

How Do I Replace Rusted Sunroof Skin?
 
I have an '87 Turbo II. The metal sunroof skin is rusting and I think it needs to be replaced. I don't think it's repairable.
The steel replacement sheets don't seem to be available any longer.

If I'm not able to find a used sunroof to replace the panel with, how difficult is it to replace the skin with one of the carbon fiber sheets?
What other parts (ie. seals, ect.) will I need to replace during the process? What kind of modification is usually required to make the CF work?

Is this a straightforward job, or does it take special tools, experience, and finesse?

(and if you have a used sunroof for sale, please let me know)

Gregory Casimir 03-30-18 08:01 AM

Do you have access and or skilled to make your own piece cause you might have to to do what I did which entails buying a carbon fiber/ fiberglass one from ebay.com. so far the best price I found was the one from vsr performance which is priced at 249.99 (free shipping) and used a coupon that ebay had for %15 which helped a bit. As a side note, the one I bought needs a bit of work to get the interior panel to fit so get ready to remove the older pieces off before you chuck it in the trash bin. The rear portion that has the has the interior panel slide in on the new carbon fiber/ fiberglass piece needs to be repaired as they cut it from factory to have the panel slide into which is incorrect. I took a spot weld cutter and removed the old metal tabs (surprisingly, they where I'm good shape) and I attached them with a rivnut and bolt. If you want pictures let me know. Hope this helped.

Jesus Eunos Vega 04-08-18 01:41 AM

It sucks doing. I did this also, if you sill got the fabric part on the inside. You have to force it forward. Like slide it forward till the plastic pins pop out of the key hole slots. The. You can bring it down, once that's off you will see the nuts that hold the metal skin to the motorized bracket. It's like 2 or 3 on each side(driver side and passenger side)

Relisys190 04-09-18 08:05 AM

Here's a video I found. Seems strait forward. Good luck!


Pete_89T2 04-17-18 02:31 PM


Originally Posted by Gregory Casimir (Post 12264363)
Do you have access and or skilled to make your own piece cause you might have to to do what I did which entails buying a carbon fiber/ fiberglass one from ebay.com. so far the best price I found was the one from vsr performance which is priced at 249.99 (free shipping) and used a coupon that ebay had for %15 which helped a bit. As a side note, the one I bought needs a bit of work to get the interior panel to fit so get ready to remove the older pieces off before you chuck it in the trash bin. The rear portion that has the has the interior panel slide in on the new carbon fiber/ fiberglass piece needs to be repaired as they cut it from factory to have the panel slide into which is incorrect. I took a spot weld cutter and removed the old metal tabs (surprisingly, they where I'm good shape) and I attached them with a rivnut and bolt. If you want pictures let me know. Hope this helped.

I'm in the same boat as the OP, and after searching everywhere for a RUST FREE stock steel sunroof panel which seem harder to find than unicorns, I'm thinking of going the CF route. I've seen the same $249 CF panel on Ebay, and a few others out there that range from $249~$400. Would appreciate it if you can share details/pictures on how your CF sunroof panel installation was done & how it turned out. Especially the part about reusing the old stock parts to make it all work, look & fit like stock.

LargeOrangeFont 04-17-18 05:54 PM

I have an entire working FC sunroof assembly for sale. No rust but it has a small dent in it. Easy to fix if you are painting it anyway. All seals are still good. It is red. PM me if interested.

Calabrio 07-16-18 11:31 AM

I was able to have a complete assembly shipped to me from Texas.
I'm going to try that route for now. Hopefully it was worth having it shipped.

Calabrio 01-21-19 08:49 AM

It's not sitting quite flat but it's water tight.
The wrecking yard removed the entire sunroof assembly. I was able to use and allen wrench to open it without electrical power.

There were a couple small rust bubbles so I sanded them down, then applied rust converter, and then painted the entire thing in rust reformer.

As I have the seal from my original sunroof on hand still, I might look into a carbon fiber replacement someday. Right now, the two do list is too long for that.


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