bashbymk2 Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 I need to get rid of the sunroof on my escort and am thinking of just doing a roof chop and getting a new one from escort-tec How hard is it and is it just a case of cutting and welding the new one on? Any response would be very helpful! THanks!
countrybumpkin Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 take a look at my resto topic in my signiture, but its really easy to replace a roof, clean the new roof back so all you have is the skin then cut the old skin off and grind the remainder back to the spot welds drop the new skin on and reweld, i done mine in about 4 hours its no where near as scary as it first looks
hotrodholty Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 seal it with mastic and fit a vynle roof if you can by the skins it must be do-able, im sure some of the rally cars over the years must have had roof skins rather than a reshell a mate of mine did a manta roof years ago, once he grinded it back and found all the factory spot welds it was pretty straight forward, just make sure you weld in some braces across the body before you start cutting
omj624p Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 I had mine done at a body shop. Photos of the work here... http://www.steve-john.co.uk/escort-site ... of%20Work/ http://www.steve-john.co.uk/escort-site ... 20Camera2/ Steve
bashbymk2 Posted February 27, 2009 Author Report Posted February 27, 2009 Thanks guys! looks pretty scary but if its that easy happy days!
omj624p Posted February 28, 2009 Report Posted February 28, 2009 i done mine in about 4 hours its no where near as scary as it first looks It took a professional bodyshop about a week to do mine, and they needed special spot welding equipment to go the welds down by the gutter rail. From what everyone else tells me it's a HUGE job, not for the faint hearted.
countrybumpkin Posted February 28, 2009 Report Posted February 28, 2009 definatly not a huge job, the spot welds down the gutter are tricky but can be done with a normal spot welder, what i had to do is grind the contacts down so they fitted into the gutter (i phoned the manifacturer to make sure this was safe to do first) along the windows i mig pugd as the spots had been drilled and in the corners i mig'd round
JAY PS Posted February 28, 2009 Report Posted February 28, 2009 Is not a Diy job ,should only be completed by proffessional people with the correct tools Ive been doing bodywork since i was 18 and i can tell you any good bodyshop will take a day -day and 1/2 to just remove the old and replace the new without painting it etc Do it wrong and you could end up weakening the shell and if involved in a crash killing yourself and passengers Do it right and it will be as good as new
over_head_cam Posted February 28, 2009 Report Posted February 28, 2009 Is not a Diy job ,should only be completed by proffessional people with the correct tools.... Does this mean we shouldn't work on our OSF's at all? Should we farm it all out to 'proffesionals' and just hand over a wad of cash? Discuss
Fiesta Steve Posted February 28, 2009 Report Posted February 28, 2009 Is not a Diy job ,should only be completed by proffessional people with the correct tools Ive been doing bodywork since i was 18 and i can tell you any good bodyshop will take a day -day and 1/2 to just remove the old and replace the new without painting it etc Do it wrong and you could end up weakening the shell and if involved in a crash killing yourself and passengers Do it right and it will be as good as new You could say the same about all MOT repairs, fitting of brakes, suspension, seats, wheels
countrybumpkin Posted March 1, 2009 Report Posted March 1, 2009 how is doing a roof skin stuctual? its the frame arround the skin that the structual bit the skin is just a cover basicaly, once youve had a skin off you'll know its only a flimsy bit of tin hence why you can cut a full lenght sunroof into them without any adverse affects, if your confident enough to weld a sill on then a roof skin is well within your skill as its less stuctual
herb capri Posted March 1, 2009 Report Posted March 1, 2009 this is very much a structural part of the body! just try removing the skin and jacking the corner of the car up,the diagonal measurements across the roof change right from first pump! ok this is flexing ,but without this ridgidity you are in a high speed open topped box ! the diy guy will do fine with guidance and the right kit .it is not the job for a no-gas mig and begginer welders! HOW ABOUT FIBRE GLASS WINGS?THESE ARE FITTED MORE AND MORE BY OSF OWNERS AS THE STEEL ITEMS GET HARDER TO FIND and the overall strength of the car is affected dramatically, ridgid inner wing / outer wing construction goes out the window,and who talks of bracing or additional support?and do all f/glass wing fitters tell thier insurers? deep thought is needed on that! mike
steve mk2 Posted March 1, 2009 Report Posted March 1, 2009 fitting a new roof in a rx8 at work at mo its dead simple never done one to a escort tho cant be that hard just make sure you have a proper welder not the gasless ones as its a v structual part make sure the car is on flat level ground too would be a good idea to borrow a spot welder too
PlopPlop Posted March 1, 2009 Report Posted March 1, 2009 I'm an ex panelbeater and all I can say is that its not as hard as it looks but if your not sure or confident that you can do the job leave it to the pros, but if your feeling competent then go for it mate.
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