Okay - I removed the glass panel from my assembly and test fit it in the RX7.

Results ?!?

Well first I want to note some more info that I found today while researching this sunroof. There was a 1992-93 Ford Escort LX-E 4-door sedan that was basically a clone / twin to the 1991-96 Mercury Tracer LTS 4-door sedan. Those sedans don't use the same sunroof as the 1991-96 Escort ZX2 GT 2-door coupe. Apparently the sunroof assembly that I bought this week was from the Escort sedan and not the coupe. The Escort sedan sunroof glass panel does not fit in the FC RX7 - the front edge is straight, not curved and the 6mm studs are not in the correct location. Not sure if there are separate Hollander numbers for these two sunroof assemblies (coupe and sedan), but there should be. The salvage yards seem to group both of these sunroofs together as one unit and they should not. So if you are out there looking for a glass sunroof assembly or just the glass panel, make sure you look for one from the Escort ZX2 GT coupe.

Hey it was only $50 for trial and error. Today I have tracked down supposedly a couple examples of the correct Escort ZX2 GT coupe sunroofs. Stay tuned for more updated details in a few days.

 

I actually have one and will take some dimensions if you need them. Its removed from the car and I can take some measurements if you needed me to.
This is from the second gen(91-96) escort GT

 

That looks very similar to the assembly that I have that came out of an Escort sedan. First, is the front edge of the glass straight or curved? The picture/diagram of the FC sunroof steel panel is shown below. The curved front edge is shown at the top of the photo.

Not sure if you have popped off the inside underside plastic trim piece(s) and gotten a look at the 6mm nuts/studs pattern that hold the glass to the tracks/sliders. But they should look like the photo below.

 

YOu are correct on the moon roofs. The GT roof that I have and the sedan roof that you have are the same and neither of the roofs have the curved front like the FC roof does.

 

First it was great that we were able to determine that the MX-3 and FC RX7 use the same steel sunroof panel.

I am really starting to wonder about if there is a glass sunroof panel that will fit. The panel in the assembly shown above by bomdoutscort is out of an '91-96 Escort GT coupe and it has a straight front edge like the one I bought this past week. The MX-3 / FC RX7 sunroof panel has a curved front edge. Also the mounting pattern of the 6mm studs is not the same between the Escort GT / Escort LXE / Tracer LTS panel and the MX-3 / FC RX7 panel.

What the Mazda 323 coupe / Protege coupe sedan folks have been swapping into their cars is the glass sunroofs from the Escort GT / Escort LXE / Tracer LTS, which seem to be in fact all the same units, which is contrary to what I thought before. All of those cars (both coupe and sedan) have a longer flat sedan style roof that this long sunroof assembly will fit in, where the panel drops down and then slides back below the roof, between it and the headliner.

On the other hand, the MX-3 like the FC RX7 has a very narrow roof line and both panels tilt up and then slide back out over the top of roof.

Base on what we have found out this weekend, the Escort / Tracer / 323 / Protege glass sunroof panel will not fit in a MX-3 / FC RX-7.

So it looks like we are back to either the Pacific Glass panel or the rarer still Saratoga glass panel for the FC RX7.

 

Dang dude nice efforts!! That's a bummer it doesn't fit, Argh!!

It KILLS me that some cars only came w/ glass sunroofs: IE, toyota camry, etc. But here we are stuck w/ the metal ones, which honestly isn't that big a deal if they didn't rust!! It's not even a question of if they'll rust, it's when. I think the only way to keep them nice is to never drive in the rain or anything, & always park it in a garage. Probably would helpto keep the roof cracked so moisture doesn't collect inside the cabin.

By the way- I went to 2 junkyards over the weekend- At the first one there were 3 MX-3's per the website, but due to my completely filled wheel barrow (manual rack, driveshaft, hatch, tail lights, cordless impact, HEAVY ~60lbs tool box, etc) I only looked at one.

between the 2 MX-3s I did see:

-Roof panel rusted just as bad as a typical FC one
-Roof panel TOTALLY RUST FREE!!! Was parked with the sunroof cracked. UNFORTUNATELY for me however, someone must have jumped on it or something, as it was about as wavy as could be.

Does give me hope for the next one though..

 

So if an mx3 setup is the only one that'll fit...does someone make a glass sunroof for them that'd be cheaper to get ahold of?

I for one have never had problems with rusty anything except for in the dash area, the lids are painted so there's no real reason for it TO rust really...however a glass roof would just be bitchen.

 

i was thinking, since ford and mazda shared parts. maybe the ford probe might have the same sunroof. maybe someone can check it out

 

The Ford Probe and Mazda MX-6 were the same car. The '93-97 units are a tilt-up and open back over the top of the short roof design. It does appear that the panel has a curved front edge. But I believe it may use four (size?) mounting studs instead of 6 like the MX-3 / FC RX7.

Here is a fiberglass replacement panel for the Probe from the UK:

Ford Probe Fibre glass replacement sunroof | eBay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mazda-MX6-MX-6-Sunroof-Assembly-Frame-Tracks-93-94-95-96-97-/380495885269?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item58975273d5&vxp=mtr

 

Slight update- I've managed to find one rust FREE mx3 roof and 2 lightly rusted but very useable roofs since april. That's 3 more than what I wouldve had!

 

i happened to notice, because i have no headliner, that it says webasto on the sunloof motor.

webasto is a german company, and make sunroofs for all the germans, famously the sliding canvas roofs on the VW bug and and 50's and 60's mercedes

furthermore the Rx8 ALSO has a webasto roof, so i would be willing to bet that the sunroof interchange is much more broad than we might think.

also since its german it explains why its broken, rusty and leaking...

 

die bitch!

that is german for:

die bitch!


kidding aside, i'm sure there are options. all you need is a glass roof panel with the curvature of similar or larger shape where the studs either match or are close to matching the FC slider mechanism to mount to with brackets, it doesn't need 6 mount points, most glass roofs only use 4.

take the glass and the stock FC panel to a glass shop/water jet facility and have them trim it to the same outer dimensions.

question is, what glass meets that criteria?

FBs commonly have moonroofs. has anyone even tried to see how similar they are?

if someone worked at a glass shop and had an index of moon roof dimensions that would be perfect. often i kick around the idea of a lexan moon roof but glass is more practical and durable.

 

I have no idea what a sunroof/moonroof/moving doohicky thing is.... but I want to watch the "fallout mechanics" at work

 

I thought the Pontiac Regatta was a match for the second gen RX-7

 

The GLASS FB moon roof i had attached at the front and back and was manually tilt-able and removable more like a t-top panel, also quite big, bigger then the fc.

 

WHat the Hell is a pontiac Regatta?

 

An autosport usually held in WalMart parking lots.
Much like NASCAR but with more handicapped parking.

 

Buick reatta??

 

figured it was worth a shot, the FB does have a much larger area to work with(since the FC doors do take up part of the roof line) and i do remember the tilting glass moon roofs to be rather large compared to the FC sliding sunroof.

 

This...

Buick Reatta sunroof components are a swap to the FC.

Reatta Owners Journal - The Buick Reatta Community

Reatta Owners Journal - The Buick Reatta Community

Reatta Division of the Buick Club of America - Technical Advisors & Articles

REATTA SUNROOF PROBLEM

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...hicles-926496/

Webasto is a contract company like TRW (Manufactures seatbelts and body components for many makes.) Nippon Denso, Mitsubishi, etc.

 

Definitely not.

Also the glass FB moonroof is rare as hell.
The three that I have were hard to come by.

I've got the original dealership option "Finish Line" FC plexi sunroof.
The frame is similar, if not identical to the stock FC frame. The panel is plexiglass.

I'd be happy to remove the panel if anyone knows of a glass or lexan fabricator that'd duplicate it.

 

From looking at my friends RX-8, the sunroof panel would not fit correctly in an FC because of it's profile curvature. The glass on the RX-8 panel actually curves down on both sides toward the center of the panel to match the shape of the RX-8's roof panel.

... However I have not seen sunroof track on the RX-8, it might be a possible fit for the FC but I seriously doubt it. My guess is that it would probably be expensive as well.

 

Webasto has parts all over the place. If I remember correctly, the manual flip up roofs on FBs even have a "W" right on the **** you spin to open it. I work at Hyundai and whenever I see Webasto stuff in the roofs on those the guys roll their eyes because I mention the "W" thing... EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

I'm in agreement with DaBrkddy - I have an RX-8 and the sunroof glass definitely has a curvature that looks like it wouldn't match up to the FC roof very well, if at all.