I own an 86 sport with a sunroof and I'm looking into options for getting rid of it.

I thought of simply welding a metal sheet over the hole, but then I saw there is a metal bracket that encloses the sunroof hole. I dont think that it adds to any chassis stiffness so do you think it is ok to remove it before I close the hole?

Give me some options/ Pictures of what you guys did.

 

I'm removing the sunroof and welding sheet steel over the hole. I'm not adding any bracing since there will be a cage in my car.

 

I was talking about the factory reinforcment that encircles the hole for the sunroof. Its about an inch or two wide and keeps it in shape.

This is obviously not needed with a cage. I may just ignore it for simplicity.

 

well unless your planning on getting a cage you dont need it chances of you rolling over is slim so cut it

 

The extra metal around the sunroof is just to keep the contour of the roof the same as the sunroof panel.
I went to the salvage yard and found an RX without a sunroof and cut the roof panel out of it. I cut it as close to the edge as I could. A battery powered sawzall woud be best. There is an extra brace that runs from the middle of the top of the windsheild back to the extra bracing above the rear roof area IIRC.
You can see what you have to work with on your car when you remove the donor part first, just get more than you think you will need. I put the piece on my roof and marked where it covered then cut the roof leaving about an inch overlap. This made it so the seam is covered by the extra bracing all the way around(you'll see) and from the bottom you can't tell the roof was modified. I left out the front to rear brace.(full cage)
When you weld the new roof on be sure to do very small stitches because the roof will warp and make for tough body work later. Heat control in the metal is very important. I got a little carried away welding and ended up with some dips alone the front edge that were tough to fill and make look right. But mine's a race car and that is what stickers are for!

 

Basically, I asked the same question a while back in the ImprovedTouring.com forum (SCCA club racing). I think that the most straightforward suggestion was to strip everything out and secure the roof in place using the existing mounting studs. There a pic that one of the ITS guys posted showing hte details:

http://itforum.improvedtouring.com/f...showtopic=8386

Hope this helps,

-bill

 

thanks

 

I did exactly what you talk about. I took a section of sheet metal and welded it into the hole. I left the factory reinforcement to combat any heat shrinkage issues. Inj the end I had one corner pucker in a little (too much heat). A little bondo and it looks as good as new.

-Trent