Sunroof
08-27-2015, 02:08 AM
#2
Platinum Member
Join Date: 04-09-2006
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Posts: 7,032
Check with your local Auto Glass stores - many which sell and install aftermarket sun roofs. Otherwise you can check some of the local Auto Parts stores, Ebay, Amazon etc.. Unless you are very mechanically minded with lots of experience, installing them yourself is not recommended.
and Welcome to the forum - lots of good info here you hopefully will find helpful.
and Welcome to the forum - lots of good info here you hopefully will find helpful.
08-27-2015, 08:00 AM
#4
Platinum Member
Join Date: 12-06-2009
Location: Alabama
Posts: 11,097
A pop up sunroof might be feasible and affordable.
Going with a factory type tilt/retractable style could get costly. You would need to replace the entire headliner with the one made just for the retractable unit.
Going with a factory type tilt/retractable style could get costly. You would need to replace the entire headliner with the one made just for the retractable unit.
08-27-2015, 09:31 AM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: 07-17-2006
Location: Dallas, GA
Posts: 6,050
I installed one many years ago. Installation was pretty simple. I can only say measure, measure and keep measuring. Once you drill that pilot hole, you can't go back. Be sure to check for wiring under the headliner before you start.
08-27-2015, 11:21 AM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: 06-20-2011
Location: Savanna Illinois
Posts: 737
This would be a really challenging project so think really hard wither you want to tackle it on your own or not. There is a shop in the quad cities {fairly near me} that offers a tinted, powered, sunroof fully installed for only $199.00
An epoch or so ago when I had my body shop having a sunroof installed in your juggernaut was the 'happening' thing to do.
I installed a bunch of them. We did not have custom cut headliners back then so we had to cut that too.
JC Whitney sold the least expensive kits and a lot of folks would order one then either mess up the installation or chicken out when it came time to actually cut the roof and bring it to me or one of the many other body shops in the area.
A lot of the shops would turn them away simply because they did not buy the kit from them and had brought in their own kit and wanted it installed.
I charged by the hour and told them up front that it would take around 10 hours to finish the job so they were looking at at least $150.00. Some of the kits had electric motors to power the sunroof but most of the ones I did were manually operated. Routing the wires took more time so it cost them more.
I ended up with a few kits just sitting in my shop waiting for them to either come take them away again or to come up with the money to have them installed. A few sat long enough that they went in the big sale I had when I got divorced.
You can install one yourself but think it through really well. A jigsaw with hacksaw blades will cut through the roof tin and headliner pretty well. It would be better if you also had a sheet of thin plywood or Masonite screwed tight to the headliner to hold down on the fraying of the material. you must round the corners of the Masonite and round over the edges too.
Most of the time the Masonite would leave a mark in the headliner.
Having some one to help you is a must. You must measure several times to make sure you have it right. You can cut things off really well but,... it is impossible to cut things back on. If you mess up you could weld metal back in place but you would have to replace the headliner and repaint the metal.
One young fellow brought me his car with a hole cut in the roof that was big enough that the whole frame of the sunroof fit through. He had done a real nice job of cutting things had nice radius's on the corners and all that, he had just measured wrong.
I ended up buying a whole 'nother roof for his car and replacing it. That was a job.
The original interior was white and the replacement headliner was black, he didn't like that much but did not want to pay for another white one. since I had to weld in the new roof he decided to two tone the car, royal blue on top white in the middle to about half way down the door to the chrome trim then royal blue below the chrome strip, it actually came out pretty nice. He had me fix the small rust bubbles on the bottom while I was at it.
Most of the early kits I installed had bolts that went clear through the frame some had blind sex bolts with a little square that fit into the frame on the outside trim and regular Phillips head screws in the inside, that screwed together in the middle, and the last few had nut tubes welded to the outer side of the frame and screws that you tightened from the inside.
An epoch or so ago when I had my body shop having a sunroof installed in your juggernaut was the 'happening' thing to do.
I installed a bunch of them. We did not have custom cut headliners back then so we had to cut that too.
JC Whitney sold the least expensive kits and a lot of folks would order one then either mess up the installation or chicken out when it came time to actually cut the roof and bring it to me or one of the many other body shops in the area.
A lot of the shops would turn them away simply because they did not buy the kit from them and had brought in their own kit and wanted it installed.
I charged by the hour and told them up front that it would take around 10 hours to finish the job so they were looking at at least $150.00. Some of the kits had electric motors to power the sunroof but most of the ones I did were manually operated. Routing the wires took more time so it cost them more.
I ended up with a few kits just sitting in my shop waiting for them to either come take them away again or to come up with the money to have them installed. A few sat long enough that they went in the big sale I had when I got divorced.
You can install one yourself but think it through really well. A jigsaw with hacksaw blades will cut through the roof tin and headliner pretty well. It would be better if you also had a sheet of thin plywood or Masonite screwed tight to the headliner to hold down on the fraying of the material. you must round the corners of the Masonite and round over the edges too.
Most of the time the Masonite would leave a mark in the headliner.
Having some one to help you is a must. You must measure several times to make sure you have it right. You can cut things off really well but,... it is impossible to cut things back on. If you mess up you could weld metal back in place but you would have to replace the headliner and repaint the metal.
One young fellow brought me his car with a hole cut in the roof that was big enough that the whole frame of the sunroof fit through. He had done a real nice job of cutting things had nice radius's on the corners and all that, he had just measured wrong.
I ended up buying a whole 'nother roof for his car and replacing it. That was a job.
The original interior was white and the replacement headliner was black, he didn't like that much but did not want to pay for another white one. since I had to weld in the new roof he decided to two tone the car, royal blue on top white in the middle to about half way down the door to the chrome trim then royal blue below the chrome strip, it actually came out pretty nice. He had me fix the small rust bubbles on the bottom while I was at it.
Most of the early kits I installed had bolts that went clear through the frame some had blind sex bolts with a little square that fit into the frame on the outside trim and regular Phillips head screws in the inside, that screwed together in the middle, and the last few had nut tubes welded to the outer side of the frame and screws that you tightened from the inside.
08-27-2015, 04:47 PM
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: 08-22-2015
Location: Boston
Posts: 157
Don't be silly and try and install yourself, you're asking for trouble. Seriously, a power sunroof, installed professionally will cost $1-1.3k
I just had one installed. Pros will remove your headliner and re install it, you will have a sliding panel made with your original headliner.
My advice, call a few of your large dealerships and use the people that they use for aftermarket installations on base models. Its very common, and they wouldn't be using hacks.
Or just throw it in yourself and end up with a rusty, leaky hole in your roof with a sunroof that doesn't operate properly and looks like crap. Remember, you get what you pay for, if its big, complicated or important, thats not the time to get cheap.
I just had one installed. Pros will remove your headliner and re install it, you will have a sliding panel made with your original headliner.
My advice, call a few of your large dealerships and use the people that they use for aftermarket installations on base models. Its very common, and they wouldn't be using hacks.
Or just throw it in yourself and end up with a rusty, leaky hole in your roof with a sunroof that doesn't operate properly and looks like crap. Remember, you get what you pay for, if its big, complicated or important, thats not the time to get cheap.
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