Good morning all
I am at the stage of making the sun roof good on the inside of the panel, adding a wood frame for the headlining, installing a rubber seal etc, however when I took the sunroof out it just lifted straight off the roof which did not seen correct to me, looking at the operation of the bracketry I don’t see what holds it onto the roof channel( The cars away having some work done so cannot take measurements at the moment) I am assuming it is the two brass components that swivel up and down, but it seems that they don;t move with turning the handle, however if I pull them up manually then turn the handle they then do back down again, need to know how to fit it back in the the car before I take it for a re trim, anybody got a good explanation/ drawing of how the mechanisms work ?
Thanks in advance
The clips you turned open are for holding the front down as when closed, those clips are under the rails in the car. There is a very Heath Robinson system of sharp points through headlining to unclip those to get the sun roof out.
The handle should be turning two bars at front and reducing / increasing the height of the back through a wire frame on pivot points so closed, the sunroof flush with roof; open, the back of sunroof drops into the roof void so can be opened
The brass quadrant things do not operate with the handle. They are opened for removing the panel but need to be closed permanently to secure the panel only has freedom to slide and not lift up.
Peter
It’s some ten years or so since I did mine and I did not take photos of the rejuvenation work, so I can only write a description. (A few photographs saves paragraphs.)
The brass blocks are like claws and turn through 90° to grip the rails. They lock in the open or closed positions by an over-centre spring mechanism. To lock them to the rails, you just give the panel a sharp tap downwards on each front corner when you should hear a ‘click’ as the block rolls over. The unlocking is done by inserting a slim pointed tool through the headlining onto a contact point and giving a sharp upward tap which throws the claw back the other way.
This is a crude system and while you are wiggling the tool about to find the release spot, you are spreading the fabric and probably leaving a dirty stain. Carefully note where the unlocking spot is with the panel out, for future reference.
While you have the panel out, note that there are low friction pads located at the front and rear. These were leather and are held on with rivets. They are also for silent running but they wear down and the rivet heads start running (grinding) on the slides. You might be able to make alternatives from nylon.
My car was in very good overall condition but I wasn’t sure if all details were original. I say this because I was a bit irritated by the ugly gap under each side of the panel visible inside where you could see the slides and handle locking mechanism. I made a thin skirt panel fitted to the side frame of the sunroof trimmed in headlining material.
Another hint is to ensure the four drain tubes are clean and clear and in good condition otherwise there will be leakage behind the internal trim.
Thanks for all your input, much appreciated, so the roof will have to be in the car for headlining fitting, what about the frame work supporting the headlining, attached is a photo of a friends car with wood work in the sunroof does it look correct and how does the trimmer support the head lining longitudinally on the outside edge without there being any wood there ?
Cheers
Mike
