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Hey everyone;
First time posting to this forum, so go easy on me. I’m stripping down my e30 and have a question about the sunroof.
I understand you can remove the sunroof motors, drives etc… that I believe make up what you call the cassette, but is the metal structure that is holds the cassette allowed to be remove?
Yes. You can cut the metal “cassette” out. Looks like we are going to have another CA car…:woohoo:
Hi Brad,
Looks like you’re in the San Jose area…welcome to NorCal SpecE30!
I had good results using an air chisel to remove the sunroof cartridge from my car. You can buy one for $30-$40 at Lowes or Home Creepo.
Good luck with your build!
Scott Neville
#44 NorCal SpecE30
http://www.norcalspece30.com/
PS…pick up some ear plugs if you buy the chisel…those things are very loud :blink:
Easy with the air chisel…it’s very easy to damage the roof skin very quickly using one of those. The roof is a bastard to get straight again.
Hmmm…how do I know this? 
Heat and persistence will get the sunroof carrier out. There’s no need to resort to an air chisel and plenty of reason not to resort to that (see above).
I have a big long post here somewhere on how to do this. Get lots of cutting disks for your grinder. I had to do lots of cutting forward of the B piller, but there are only 2 places that you need to cut behind the B piller. And don’t cut thru the B piller at the corners, even tho it kinda looks like you have to.
Protect the glass from flying steel and carbide particles. Wear noise protection. The roof is indeed thin and easily marred.
There’s a couple solutions for plugging the sunroof hole. That’s also covered here elsewhere, and the Black’s have nice pictures. The most elegant solution is to separate the 2 layers of steel that make up the sunroof and then fab some clips that will support the origonal sunroof’s outer layer of sheetmetal. I ended up riveting a piece of sheet steel over the hole.
Re. “First post, be easy on me”. You’ve been hanging around BF.Com too long. Except for TeddyM3, we’re adults here. And he doesn’t count because he doesn’t really exist (a theory I heard over the weekend that I’ve since bought into).
Ranger wrote:
[quote]
There’s a couple solutions for plugging the sunroof hole. That’s also covered here elsewhere, and the Black’s have nice pictures. The most elegant solution is to separate the 2 layers of steel that make up the sunroof and then fab some clips that will support the origonal sunroof’s outer layer of sheetmetal. I ended up riveting a piece of sheet steel over the hole.[/quote]
Here’s a link to the photos that Scott mentioned:
http://web.mac.com/natblack/Black_Site/The_Race_Car.html#grid
This is the entire build, the sunroof shots are on the first page…
Cheers!
Suggestion - be careful on the spot welds at the front of the cartridge - where the seal for the front of the sunroof rests.
There are 3-4 spot welds you should drill through to prevent damage to the roof.
Don’t ask how I know!
jperine wrote:
[quote]Suggestion - be careful on the spot welds at the front of the cartridge - where the seal for the front of the sunroof rests.
There are 3-4 spot welds you should drill through to prevent damage to the roof.
Don’t ask how I know![/quote]
Bummer. Beating you when you’re down isn’t kind, but for future readers…that issue too is covered in previous sunroof threads.
After removing the sunroof motor and front inside trim/roof section near the windshield: All the wires left coming up from the drivers “A” pillar: did you just cut them near the dash or what?
I just coil up that bundle (most of which are associated with the Check Panel) and tie wrap it out of the way under the dash.
I wish I had videoed the removal process for posterity. Holy grinding action batman…
Anyway, aside from all that, the sun roof is spot welded in place, time to caulk it up and get on with the rest of the install.
You going to bring it to Cal Speedway this weekend? I’m sure Dave will want to take a look at what you did.
Are you going to be at the Willow Springs NASA event on the 22nd and 23rd? It’s good to hear that another car is in the works!
No, I won’t be out in the car for a few months… After the cage is finished - it is being done in my own spare time with a welding friend/cousin - I will then go through the interior of the car with the goal of making it a legal, clean, comfortable and safe place to race and drive…
I also have to do some suspension work to get the to the point where it’s not only SpecE30 legal, but won’t chew the tires up like it did back in March.
Then when all that is complete I’ll head to an HPDE or 2 and then the Driving Concepts school in November.
After I have saved a few more pennies I’ll start my search for an “i” motor to replace the eta with… I have the diff already.
The road is still long… But I am thinking long-term, I suspect once finished I’ll be a SpecE30 fixture for 5-10 years.
Now that’s a plan. I’m glad I’m not the only one with a long-term plan. I am 100% commited to racing SpecE30 for a long time once mine is done.