Moon roof delete project (1 Viewer)

[dodored]

My new acquisition is a 1988 Pickup 4WD that was very solid but worn out. Going through the list of problems I studied how to get rid of a moon roof that was 20 years past its 5 year life span and was a huge source of water ingress and the start of something we all hate - other than mud - RUST! I decided one afternoon to make it go away, so here are the steps on how I did just that. First here are the photos of what it looked like initially:

 

[dodored]

The first step was to cut it out - literally. I did this with a cutting wheel which took a minute, and here is what it looked like when that was accomplished. I cut along the edge of the moon roof trying to keep as much of the cab's metal intact as possible.

 

[dodored]

Now you could butt weld a piece of 18 awg but the heat warping would be extreme, and metal that thin does not like to retain its shape when heat is applied to a single spot. So I decided to create a step in the cab steel and cut a piece of 18 awg to fit the hole GLUING the metal in. The new gluing products from SEM are amazing and truly as strong as welding the panel together. Best thing about it - NO HEAT. Here is the process:

 

[dodored]

Now this part takes some time, so you have to be patient. I cut a fresh piece of cold roll 18 awg and kept cutting and grinding it until it fit the basic shape of the hole (fitting within the step I made with the tool) Once that was done is was a slow process of bending the corners until the panel wanted to sit perfectly flat on my roof panel. After I got the edges to lie flat the best thing would have been to roll the panel on an English Wheel to form a crown in the center of the panel as the cab roof is not perfectly flat. Not having an English Wheel handy I elected to just put it in with some bends to it - Not perfect but much better than having the leaking panel.

The next step was to glue the panel in with the Sem product. They make it with various set up times so you can adjust to fit the application. I chose the 10 minute set up time, but you can go all the way up to 90 minute set up time. The Sem product is not cheap (around $65 in my area) and you may have to rent/borrow the gun to squirt it down. You have to have 70 degree temperatures to have it cure properly, so I took my contractor LP heater and blew it in the cab to heat everything up nice and toasty. You apply the goop to both sides of the parts and put them together with minimal pressure. Additionally I elected to prime the panel before putting it in as that would save some time.

 

[dodored]

I put some weight on the panel as it was curing, but not so much to bend the cab's roof panel. Its important not to over squeeze the panels as you will squish out the adhesive and compromise the bonding of the panels. After bonding I literally had to grind the excess glue off the top of the panel as it was hard as a rock. (this was after only 30 minutes) I applied a little filler and primer and there you go. I am no body man, so I will leave the final finishing to the professionals, that is if I ever actually paint the truck.

Now on the the 22 RE motor rebuild....

Cheers!

 

[Capra]

And here I am, wishing mine had a sunroof haha! Nice job though.

 

[msahr]

Wow this is impressive. Did you happen to see the fairly recent episode of Wheeler Dealers where Ant removed a similar sunroof from a 70s Celica and welded in a new panel? Of course he has every tool in the known universe including an english wheel, and I believe he also stepped the metal as well.

 

[dodored]

Thanks for the complement. I don't have a ton of tools, but I make up for it with practice.

 

[Manhattan]

dude... I bolt on a bumper and pat myself on the back. That's impressive. Looking forward to seeing the finished work!
Isn't it ironic - that it takes more work to eliminate a sunroof than put one in.

 

[dodored]

The truck was kind of a toad when I bought it, but I only paid $2400 for it and it actually ran - at least for a while. I scored a parts truck for $500 that has saved my butt on the build. I highly recommend buying one as getting all the parts that you need off of ebay will nickle and dime you to death. I have attached the list of stuff that I have harvested from the parts truck and what I have sold, so far.

 

[greatscott]

Thank you for this! I have what looks to be the same moonroof on my 1980 and I've been dredding the thought of welding a panel in. Good to know there is an alternative.

 

[KLF]

That's an aftermarket sunroof, ya they generally all eventually leak. Especially ones from that vintage. Nice work.

I actually almost went the other way with my red truck, but I was going to try to install a factory OEM sunroof. I had the cab totally stripped, and I had the entire roof harvested from a 4Runner (including the uber-rare sunshade insert). I was gonna cut and flange the roof, then drop in the sunroof "tub", do a bunch of very small plug welds around it. I even did some practicing with some 0.023 wire in my mig, it was an easy weld and nothing warped. In the end the local body shop that did the paint talked me out of it, they insisted that the cab didn't have the structure to support the weight and it would likely crack the filler.

 

[dodored]

I would vote for what the body shop told you. Forcing the sheet metal of your cab to flex will eventually work harden the steel and crack. I have done a few more difficult projects like that, and there is always the risk of an after fact of "I wish I had done this rather than that" thing. Sometimes its so bad that you begin to hate the car as your eyes always are drawn to that imperfection. Here is an example of a '32 Ford that I "unchopped" two inches so you could actually drive it. I didn't have any welder regrets on this one, but there have been others....

 

[dodored]

Pulled the engine from the $500 truck I bought and it turned out to be better that the one in the blue truck. The blue truck cam shaft was badly pitted and the crank was close to being unusable. Surprisingly the rear axle center section was better than my truck as well. After all that harvesting the parts truck was sold for $300 and dragged away.

 

[KLF]

Voted Like for the traffic light alone. Double like for the helper.

 

[dodored]

That was the first time she ever got her hands greasy - a great learning experience.

 

[dodored]

Slow progress continues on the '88. My local interior guy did a jam up job on the re-do of the seat. The motor(s) have been in machine shop jail for over a month. The result - decked, bored, honed, and generally messaged block with a new head. Both decks on the blocks were about as level as a Pizza Hut personal pan supreme. One was chosen and the chips started to fly. I was in sticker shock when the bill came back, but at least I know that it is done RIGHT.

 

[dodored]

The seat much improved over the OEM, but still the the OEM flavor. The bottom portion was well past it's life span, so the padding was replaced and the concept of lumbar support was introduced. The result was actually a very comfortable seat with enough support that you could drive across country and not spend the next 3 months at the chiropractor.

 

[Toast]

Feel your pain on the sunroof! Some jackass did the exact same thing to my single cab. I did body work for about 3 years and was super close to doing an entire roof swap but settled on replacing it with a new modern sunroof. In 5-10 years I’ll probably replace it again lol. Great idea on panel bonding the roof! Looks great!