[emh]

How hard is it to install a sunroof?
My car didn't come with one, and I want one. I'm pretty mechanically inclined.. and I'm not really looking to sell the car to make much (if any) money.

Maybe provide suppliers and or kit options? I don't care if it's motorized, prefer it not be. It just needs to retract such that you could stand up through it.

Anyone tried this?

 

[major]

The moonroof is not bolted in, it's glued in. It will not be easy. Consider how to form the big hole in the roof to fit the glass too.

 

[newbiestyle]

I've thought about doing this too. Why not go to a junkyard and take all OEM hardware from a donor taurus and install it into your own? You could even use the donor taurus as a template in order to see how big a hole you would need to cut in your roof.

 

[Mysterious101]

I've thought about doing this too. Why not go to a junkyard and take all OEM hardware from a donor taurus and install it into your own? You could even use the donor taurus as a template in order to see how big a hole you would need to cut in your roof.

Why not just get the top off a donor car and put it on yours? Sure you might need to paint it, but you don't have to cut that hole, or put in a new under cloth ect.

 

[djsho91]

Why not just get the top off a donor car and put it on yours? Sure you might need to paint it, but you don't have to cut that hole, or put in a new under cloth ect.

The only problem is you are also cutting all the necessary wiring! You could try getting all the needed parts from a donor car, but you better get a good set of wiring diagrams to go with it. Good luck!

 

[sheila]

Might be best left to a pro???

 

[jmoschetti45]

I've thought about doing it, but I'm afraid of cutting the hole.

 

[dbfruth]

The roof skin on the sunroof equipped and the non sunroof model is different. Installing a factory sunroof is not as easy as cutting a hole and installing donor parts. If you really have to have one I would take it to a professional shop. The last thing you want it to hack up your roof and have a leak.

 

[jmoschetti45]

Roof skin???

 

[dbfruth]

Roof skin???

The stamped piece of steel that is welded to the body sides to form the roof at the factory.

 

[Mysterious101]

The only problem is you are also cutting all the necessary wiring! You could try getting all the needed parts from a donor car, but you better get a good set of wiring diagrams to go with it. Good luck!

Yes but if you are good with a solder gun, and have the patients, along with some shrink wrap it would be possible. Though it just might be hell of a lot easier to just buy a new car all together.

 

[durasel]

IIRC, the roof is structured differently on a car with a sunroof because of roll over protection.

 

[mediarocker]

IIRC, the roof is structured differently on a car with a sunroof because of roll over protection.

This.


In all seriousness, there are shops around that will do a sunroof install.. they rip your headliner off, install the sunroof and SOME places add bracing and struts for strength.. however.. I have to question the stability of their work...:mellow:

In all honesty... find a car with a sunroof. You're better off that way... and safer.

 

[djsho91]

Yes but if you are good with a solder gun, and have the patients, along with some shrink wrap it would be possible. Though it just might be hell of a lot easier to just buy a new car all together.

You are talking about a heavy-draw system that you would be relying on a multitude of soldered connections. Not the most dependable situation.

 

[jmoschetti45]

The electrical isn't that bad, you can grab the harness from a donor car. You'll just have to pull the whole dash off to route and connect it. Per wiring diagrams it'll simply plug in instead of the non sun roof version. It'd be a pain to do though.

Didn't know about the structural differences though. Now that you point it out, I vaguely remember some sort of brace across the roof on non sun roof models where the sun roof would be. Cutting that out wouldn't be the best idea. Adding other bracing around the sun roof doesn't sound like a great idea. I think it'd be best to either replace the entire roof/side pillars if you want to do it safely, which isn't worth the chopping/welding needed to do so.

 

[rudedog]

You guys work too hard. Work smart. No reason to chop top. Sun/moon roofs are not that hard to install. The biggest part is measuring till you're blue in the face, and drilling the initial hole for the jig saw blade.
We used to sell them at Pepboys. I've installed more than a dozen in many model vehicles. Never had a leak. I even took one out of a vehicle that was done at another store. 87 or so Cutlass Supreme, the guy had it as a show car, leaked severely. They told him at the other place they couldn't do anything. He demanded they put a new roof on it .... on a show car!?!?! Nah ain't happening. I found the leak decided to try resealing the whole thing and found who ever did the job cut the hole too big. Took a look through the catalog and found one about 1/2" bigger, re-cut the hole, poof, no more leak. Guy still has the car, still no leak .... that was 1994. I took the old roof put it in my 89 Dakota, rode like that for 7 years, till I traded it in, still no leak.

North Carolina correct??
http://www.webastoshowroom.com/locator/NCarolina.html

I find it funny that this has been discussed many MANY times here. Practically verbatim. But since before the take over it got pushed in to some back-up archive, and is now no longer available. So much pertinent info lost over the lest .... ten? years .... sad, just sad.