removing sunroof structure JOB DONE

i'm looking to fit a roll cage designed for a non sunroof model to a mk2 gti, so i need to remove the sunroof and its internal support structure to get the clearance required,

i've not pulled down the headlining yet to get a good look at the structure,

anyone done this before or know if its spot welded in or seam welded to the car, and esy to remove?

cheers
Edited by: steve r

 

I've got part of my headling down at the momment...the sunroof tray is spot-welded to the roof panel.

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Take 'em round the clock, run 'em til they drop.

 

cheers, i think i'll pull the headlining down and have a good look at it.

i've recently got rid of a shell i stripped for bits, if i'd known i would have cut off the roof and used it to practice on

 

a mate of mine was breaking a golf for spares then scrapping the shell so i went round on sunday and cut the roof off it to practice on,

with it home in the garage i went to work on it and found that the internal structure comes out quite easily, a load of spot welds on the lip around the sunroof cut, and a few tacked welds inside and it was out,

so i'll def' be doing it to my track car and fitting a multi point cage for a non sunroof model golf

 

And what ya gonna do with the sunroof hole thats left?

Get a plate welded in to fill it?

 

was going to cut an oversized plate and rivet it to the roof to cover the hole until this was suggested to me by chris eyre:

i'm going to use the original sunroof panel. remove all the brackets etc from the inside of it, hold it in the sunroof hole and spot weld it back onto the car in several places, then use a black sealant to seal up the gap,

from a distance it will look like a std sunroof is fitted so will look neater than a riveted on panel and save me having to do any paint work.

thats the idea anyway

 

started this today, got the sunroof panel out and drilled out the spot welds, then used a high speed grinder with a carbon fibre cutting disc to cut the welds at the sides and then pulled the internal structure out,









then bent the lip that had the spot welds in it up to support the roof panel ready to weld it in tomorrow

 

Steve, you are a nuttah!!

 

nice work!

 

nice work!

I was planning on doing similar but I've found a cage designed for Polos with sunroofs now so I can keep it. Glad because I like my sunroof.

 

I'm looking forward to the result...

 

Props to the proper heavy metalwork.

 

cheers,

had to help my mate fit his cage today so only got the roof panel spot welded in at the front and sides and made some brackets to secure it a the back, will get it finished tomorrow and post some more pics.

 

removed the extra metal from indside the roof panel:





panel welded in, masking tape applied after to stop sealant dropping through





finished and sealed:






just need the cage to arrive now.............

 

You will hate fitting it - lol

 

Nice work!

Oh, and you see that silly bit of metal going from one side of the roof to the other? You've got rid of one already. You may be able to lose the other depending on the amount of support you think this sunroof panel may need.

Chris
Edited by: Chris Eyre

 

cheers chris,

thanks again for the idea, def' looks a lot neater than a riveted on plate.

the black cross member in the photo is one a kept from the roof panel i practiced on, without it the roof flexed a bit too much, fwd of that it a thinner cross member but i chose to keep that and weld some plates to it to add some more support to the roof.

tub: we fitted a 6 point cage to my mates car at the same time as doing my roof which wasn't too hard, but mines a 14 point so i think thats going to be a bit more tricky, the dash has to come out and extra plates have to be welded to the A & B pillars

 

that roof was crying out for a WRC vent!!

 

What cage u going 4? weld in I take it.

 

i thought about that, a mate used to have a limited edition scooby with a vent at the front of the roof, might see about fitting one once the cage is in and i can see how much room i've got, and depends on ho hot it gets in the car,

14 point safety devices, classed as a bolt in but you have to weld brackets to the car first then bolt the cage to those.
Edited by: steve r