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Save Weight On El Sunroof


volflo

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i want to lose some more weight...(who wouldnt???)

since i hate diets, my sunroof has to go. but its not that simple.

How can i remove all the mechanical parts without giving up the sealing?

Can i use the 850 oem steelroof instead of the glass?

Any other ideas??

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well you could probably take out the motor, and make it a hand crank. You could probably take off the glass shade(fabric). IM not sure how much weight you would lose there though. Maybe 5lbs at the most.

I would think you could probably get the steel roof, but that probably weighs alot the same as the glass one, maybe a few pounds off.

Good luck

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that is the biggest waste of time.. instead of losing weight that way.. go to subway or something.. lol jk, well i wouldnt suggest the sunroof thing, it's somethign that's there to enjoy, maybe some interior parts, i know air conditioning weighs ALOT, maybe a carbon fiber but, i say thumbs down for the sunroof.

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that is the biggest waste of time.. instead of losing weight that way.. go to subway or something.. lol jk, well i wouldnt suggest the sunroof thing, it's somethign that's there to enjoy, maybe some interior parts, i know air conditioning weighs ALOT, maybe a carbon fiber but, i say thumbs down for the sunroof.

Hehe.... you havn't seen this car before, have you? There is no interior, or AC, or any of that. It's all already been stripped for weight reduction.

That does remind me, Volflo.. did you already strip out the power windows and the like? I don't remember, but if you havn't, that might be another great spot to shave weight (so I think you already did this :P). You could just prop the rear ones up with rods or something... in fact, I've been thinking, do you really need those rear doors? You could probably hollow them all completely, and just weld them shut. You'd have to repaint the sides, granted, but if you put in a steel plate for the sunroof, it sounds like you already have paint work, neh?

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All three of the cars in his sig, do. So I guess he must, also :)

only the bmw torque monster is mine. (365 ftlbs.....i almost kill the drivetrain :D )

the beautiful blue 1978 opel kadett c coupe (2.7 liter manzel engine 185whp 2000lbs roll cage bla...) is a friends car.

lexan would be a good idea but how do make it slightly curved in shape so it will really SEAL using the orig rubber?

what about aluminum? would that be easier/ lighter?

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That does remind me, Volflo..  did you already strip out the power windows and the like? I don't remember, but if you havn't, that might be another great spot to shave weight (so I think you already did this :P). You could just prop the rear ones up with rods or something... in fact, I've been thinking, do you really need those rear doors? You could probably hollow them all completely, and just weld them shut. You'd have to repaint the sides, granted, but if you put in a steel plate for the sunroof, it sounds like you already have paint work, neh?

in the rear: all of the el window has been removed. Fo fix those doors i need a roll cage first to prevent the cracking of the seals/welds round the doors would crack. also the interior (an aluminum plate) of the door holds the window pane. so its not that easy. but closing the door somehow and removing the door latch and its counterpart on the body could be a solution.

where can i find something to replace the front motors by normal manual handles?

are ther 850 OEM parts? will it be an easy job then?

can i remove the el sunroof motor without risking anything?

thanks all of you guys for the very good ideas and input. i really appreciate that. :pizza::pizza::pizza::pizza: for all of you. ;-)

my friend took my around in his 2003 gt3 yesterday. O M G, what a car. but im getting closer. :)

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in the rear: all of the el window has been removed. Fo fix those doors i need a roll cage first to prevent the cracking of the seals/welds round the doors would crack. also the interior (an aluminum plate) of the door holds the window pane. so its not that easy. but closing the door somehow and removing the door latch and its counterpart on the body could be a solution.

where can i find something to replace the front motors by normal manual handles?

are ther 850 OEM parts? will it be an easy job then?

can i remove the el sunroof motor without risking anything?

thanks all of you guys for the very good ideas and input. i really appreciate that. :pizza::pizza::pizza::pizza: for all of you. ;-)

my friend took my around in his 2003 gt3 yesterday. O M G, what a car. but im getting closer. :)

Sorry, I thought you had a roll cage already. Once you do, I suspect you shouldn't have a hard time cutting out the innards of the rear doors (since what purpose do they serve?), and you could probably just weld a brace in that holds up the rear windows (instead of what's there now). They wouldn't be moveable, most likely, but it keeps them shut. Then it would probably be straightforwards to weld the doors shut. With the roll cage in place, I'd imagine you wouldn't have to worry about stressing the welds overmuch.

As to replacing the front electric windows with manual ones, I don't know that the 850s had that option, so you may not have an OEM route on that. You could probably canibalize the parts from another Volvo without a huge hassle, or you could just rough a setup in using parts from just about any car. I'd imagine that it would take a bit of work with some cutters and maybe some welding to tack bits in place, but I don't think it would be a hard job.

For the electric sunroof motor... you probably could sack that, yes. You might have to find a way to prevent the sunroof from moving, though. Again, cannibalism is an option... your best best would probably be to fasten down whatever connects the motor to the sunroof (my understanding is the motor is not close to the sunroof, but I may be wrong). I'm sure you could get someone to cut lexan to fit the opening if you wished, or aluminum (any metal worker shoudl be able to, it shouldn't be hard) for when you decide to remove the large piece of glass directly over the driver.

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I think I'd find a better way to shed some weight...I mean, who doesn't enjoy a sunroof?

Me. I rarely ever use my sunroof/moonroof in any of my cars so equipped.

I don't like sunroofs for two main reasons: 1) Reduces chassis-rigidity, and 2) Adds weight to the highest point in the car. In the C70, my sunroof really doesn't serve a purpose other than adding a few rattles and making the already flacid chassis even less-rigid.

Here is some info on a Sunroof Plug Kit which supposedly drops 48 lbs. on a 5th Gen. Prelude, which is pretty significant considering where it's coming from. Neat idea, if you ask me.

http://www.macqc.com/raceplates/newProducts.htm

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