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Hi all

I am restoring my '77 FHC and it is coming on well. It has the small three-quarter length sunroof (approx 25"x34"), which I understand might have been a Weathershields dealer-fitted option. I removed the roof and all fittings many years ago, but am now at that stage where the body is nearly done and my thoughts have turned to what-to-do-about-the-sunroof. It has splits in the top cover.

So, any advice, folks?
Thanks, John.

When faced with the same on my MGB several trimmers answers were "bring it in and we will see what we can do".Being a pauper I bought some sunroof vinyl and recovered it myself,a fiddly but not too taxing a task.It does not look like a pro job admittedly but it works and is leakfree.Steve.

Hi Steve,

Fair play to you sir, exactly what I would have done, far too many people give up to easy and pay someone

Hi John,

Welcome to the forum.

As far as spare parts for your roof, Robsport stock some and at guess so do S & S Prep -

https://robsport.co.uk/

http://www.ss-preparations.co.uk/

Cheers John

ACG5 has a small sunroof installed (by Unipart when it was in their hands) - it has been recovered and looks great.

I do not have the skill-set (or time) to do most of the jobs so I tend to have them professionally done and if you choose the right workshops then they normally do a great job.

My reasonable collection is definitely 'bought not built'!

Hi all and many thanks for your replies, most helpful. The welcome to the forum means a lot.

Not sure I have the confidence to "DIY", although I did just strip and rebuild my seats so I'd value your comments on whether recovering the sunroof is easier or harder than that job.

Rugbyref1: Many thanks for the photo. It could be my imagination, bit the distance between the rear screen rubber and the rear edge of the sunroof on ACG5 looks greater than on RJW307R (my car), but I'll measure up. Could it be that there were different 3/4 lengths?

Finally, has anyone used http://www.littleportboathaven.co.uk/br ... unroof.htm and if so what are your reports?

Best wishes

John

I just found some old photos which show the size of sunroof I have - the second one shows it better! Rugby ref, it seems slightly longer than yours.

Hi folks

Just resurrecting this post. I can't believe how quickly time flies!

I'm still working on the Weathershields sunroof and am at the point of fitting it, but I need the rear seal. Some old dealer fitting instructions and a parts list I found show the rear seal was originally made of "Butyl", which I think is a kind of pliable, Plasticine-type thing.

Rimmers list ZKC2275 for a very reasonable £5, but it just looks like a roll of some bog-standard self adhesive foam.

Anyone got any thoughts on the robustness of the Rimmer product, compared with the original spec seal?

Many thanks

John

Glad to see you're still at it … looking forward to seeing it at a Show or two

Butyl is a synthetic rubber. Some of these tapes are now being used fir windscreen instillation. There are quite a few different ones in tape form, some reinforced & others not.

My windscreen was installed with one of them, sorry no idea which, about 10 years ago, & it is still fine in our sun. It is not reinforced, & did struggle to hold the windscreen trim in tight. I added a few spots of Sikaflex to secure it to the glass, & the butyl has held the screen quite happily.

Hasbeen

Thanks Guys

@RugbyRef Yep, still at it and too late to stop now! The car is looking really good and, once I get the sunroof and headlining fitted, it's just the engine/box to go in.
@Hasbeen Thanks for the info about Butyl. I did manage to get some via ebay, a brand called "Snake Tape" which is really good. Very much like the original rear seal on the Weathershields roof.

Back to the roof...I can now get it back in, but my goodness is it tight in its runners. It just doesn't want to slide back and forth and would take Popeye to open and close it. I have swapped the side channels about just in case they are handed, but to no avail. Likewise some grease on the runners.

It is particularly puzzling as it is the original roof and framework, so I can't work out what's changed.

Any thoughts gratefully received!

Thanks

John

Finally, the sunroof is in and looking good.

John

What car did the Dutch number plate belong to?

Ha! Beans, I thought you might spot that. It was a DAF YA324.
Cheers, John.
p.s do you like the sunroof?

Always have loved the old military DAF trucks, but especially the YA328 .
Though the YA 324 will probably make for a better camper van

As for the sunroof, I am not a fan of any of these. I have an original "full-length" Edrose sunroof on my blue FHC.
Thought it would be nice but it turned out to be noisy and leaking. That's why it has been taped off for more than 20 years already.
It turned out to be more noisy in comparison to the DHC. And the wind buffeting at higher speeds wasn't brilliant either
So it will be removed (hopefully) in the not to distant future. Two solid roofskins are waiting just for that to happen!

Hi Theo

I bought the DAF YA 324 from a guy in Breda/Roosendal and brought it back on the ferry from the Hook of Holland to the UK. I loved that truck so much and used it as an amateur radio vehicle. Now I think it is the only YA 324 in the UK, but in a bad state after I sold it. That makes me sad!

Regarding the sunroof, I like having it and it was certainly a benefit when I took the car to Greece in 1994.

Best wishes

John