Ae82 Gokai - It May As Well Be A Wife.

[carbonboy]

I think plan B would have to be the easiest, but you'll have no sunroof - must have sunroof

 

And from what i know of roof conversions and such (plan C), the cuts have to be right on the money and not a somewhere close cut is good enough. And your talking about swapping one roof, above the pillars, from one car to another car. Thats going to be a shut load of measuring, re-measuring and re-re-measuring between both cars.

 

Plan D you could visit the wreckers for another roof, cut that one on the pillars and it'll be one less step that you'll have to worry about.

 

Plus you have a sunroof.....

 

I do want the sunroof...:blush:...I'm getting conflicting stories about motorsport officials getting cranky about cars with sunroofs (only plan on Club level racing, motorkhanas, hillclimps, track days etc, not a class/series) & structural integrity. I figure I'll just have a rollcage installed if that's the case, am also being told that it's not a problem, I just put it on my application form & off I go.

 

I'm only taking the roof 'skin', on these it's a sheet panel that's spot welded along the bailey (spelling? correct terminology?) channels, top of the hatch & windshield areas. The internal frame/bracing/structure stays put, does this make much of a difference? I realise I still have to measure, remeasure & measure again, but hopefully there isn't too much difference, both being AE82 TC. :hmm:

 

No visits to the wrecker required, I have Sudi (the original Twin Cam) sitting in the driveway ready to donate her undamaged roof sheet if required. That car won't be going back on the road ever, the plan was to cut it up once stripped, scrap most of it & keep the firewall-forward section for dummying up engines. :wink:

 

On the flip-side, I could go Plan C & cut a new hole the correct size for the sunroof... :bash:

[Kid-Ae]

Plan C for sure. Do it! Sunroof would be awesome to have!

[JJT036]

Sunroofs are awesome to have. Plan C. :yes:

 

Josh :cool:

[carbonboy]

You know, pulling the roof off before I have another go at getting this roof straight-ish would be stupid.

 

I'm either gonna get it good enough or f**k it trying. :yes:

[carbonboy]

A few carefully placed cuts & much bashing with various hammers later, things are looking better. Giving my neighbours the courtesy of finishing up for now & continuing on in the morning.

 

:guiness:

[carbonboy]

Progress pics, needs a few more tweaks (read: hammer taps) before I weld up the cuts I made to relieve stress I created. I'm not the greatest panel beater but I think it's better than what it was, good enough for me. :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

[carbonboy]

Have been doing a bit more thinking about how to go about this & spent some time making up a clamp arrangement. I really should've done something like this (or just paid attention) first time around. :( You learn!

 

 

Propped it up a little to get the shape I'm after (ghetto, I know), going to weld it after I make some dinner. Hopefully, it will somewhat retain this shape after I remnove the clamp. :hmm:

 

[carbonboy]

Everything involved in this process... :lol:

 

 

Got the cuts welded up, hadn't forgotten how to do this thank f**k!

 

 

Removed the clamp, kind of hard to tell by the pics but it's a helluva lot better than before.

 

 

Edited April 8, 2012 by carbonboy

[carbonboy]

A bit more tapping with hammers & the sunroof frame sits in like this.

 

Front

 

 

Rear

 

 

MUCH better!!! :)

 

 

With the bottom section of the frame screwed in, it looks like this.

 

 

Front

 

 

Rear

 

 

Roof still has it's natural shape/curve to it.

 

 

Have some adhesive backed foam-rubber to go under the horizontal support to stop the roof panel from flexing so easily. Not so much a worry when the frame's in (is quite stiff) but when it's not...for bog & paint.

[TOMsGPTurbo]

That looks great, clear use of a broom pole? lol - you forgot to include it with the photo of the tools!

For a sec i thought you welded that checker plate onto your roof, I started to get a little worried lol

[carbonboy]

Thanks Tom, very happy it turned out this good. :happy: More ghetto than a broom pole, a scrap piece of lagged copper tube. :lolcry:

 

The thought of having it as a brace crossed my mind, then I realised that it's aluminium. I thought it was stainless steel, but once I started cutting/drilling it, the realisation sunk in. That & it's too fully hectik cuz!

[Subaru_kid]

Looks like you did a great job, it looks good :D

 

makes me want a sunroof...

[carbonboy]

Cleared domestic duties backlog, finally got into the shed.

 

Ground back the welds & wire brushed the surrounding area.

 

 

Inside too.

 

 

Rust treated outside & inside. :blush:

 

 

 

Wire brushed the lot again.

 

 

 

Primer is applied, all the photos came out horrible, can't be bothered getting new ones as it's now dinner time! :D

[Ben-89]

Looking good Luke!

 

This and RollaBus are the pinnacle of ae82s!

[Subaru_kid]

You don't do things in half measures aye? haha

 

Looking real neat man!