Sunroofs have come a long way in the last decade. The leaks are gone, the styling has improved greatly, and the quality is up. One company that is pioneering the movement toward putting a hassle-free hole in the roof of your mini is Webasto Products. Webasto offers a full line of sunroofs to suit any size roof, giving your mini a great-looking product that will let in all the sunshine you can handle. The Stratos line of sunroofs feature full-power operation, which means that it will lift, slide, and close completely at the touch of a button. The Stratos 300 sunroof, which we'll be installing into a Chevy S-10, boasts an automatic rolling sunshade and a generous opening. Webasto offers an extensive warranty program with dealers all across the nation. We visited Advanced Specialties, a custom interior shop right in our backyard, to watch as the experts installed this awesome new product. For more information on any of Webasto's or Advanced Specialties' products and services, use the information listed in the source box at the end of this article.
1. Here is our victim: an...
1. Here is our victim: an innocent-looking roof belonging to a Chevy S-10.
2. Jeff, Advanced Specialtie's...
2. Jeff, Advanced Specialtie's sunroof expert, begins by removing all of the upper interior panels. This includes the plastic headliner trim, the domelight, and the sun visors.
3. After removing the trim,...
3. After removing the trim, the headliner is pulled downward from the inside of the roof and set aside on a workbench. It's a good idea to put the headliner in a clean area because it will be reused once the sunroof is installed.
4. The box the sunroof comes...
4. The box the sunroof comes in contains a template for the hole that will be cut into the roof. Before making any cuts we might regret later, Jeff places the template on the inside of the roof to position it between the roof supports.
5. After figuring out the...
5. After figuring out the best place to mount the sunroof, Jeff measures the outside of the roof from front to back and side to side. This is to determine the centerline of the roof.
6. The template is then taped...
6. The template is then taped to the roof and an outline in masking tape is made. The template is then removed from the roof; we now have a perfect outline to guide our cut.
7. Jeff planned on using an...
7. Jeff planned on using an air nibbler to cut the hole out of the roof, but first he must create a starting point. To accomplish this, he punched a hole in the roof using an air chisel. A drill will work just as well in this situation.
8. After the starting hole...
8. After the starting hole was made, Jeff cut the roof section out using he air nibbler. The nibbler cuts through the sheetmetal like butter and leaves a nice, clean cut that doesn't need to be filed afterward.
9. Don't look now, but someone's...
9. Don't look now, but someone's truck has a hole in its roof. There's no turning back now.
10. In addition to the hole...
10. In addition to the hole in the middle of the roof, the inside supports must be clearanced to make room for the frame of the sunroof. A die-grinder with a cut-off wheel works well for this situation.
11. The frame is then placed...
11. The frame is then placed inside the hole. The fit will be snug so that there are no large gaps around the frame.
12. The frame is then secured...
12. The frame is then secured to the roof with an inside frame that clamps to the main frame with screws.
13. The motor and switch for...
13. The motor and switch for the sunroof is built into the frame. The black wire in the photo is the ground wire and it is screwed into the sheetmetal of the roof with a self-tapping screw and lock washer.
14. The sunroof is powered...
14. The sunroof is powered by a low-amperage motor and an appropriate 12-volt power supply can be found at the fuse box in the dash. In the S-10, the fuse box is on the driver side of the dash. Once the wiring is completed, the sunroof is operational and it's just a matter of putting the interior back together before we are finished.
15. The stock headliner will...
15. The stock headliner will be reused, but first a hole must be cut for the sunroof. A carpet knife is used to cut the hole after the headliner is measured and marked.
16. The headliner is reinstalled...
16. The headliner is reinstalled and secured to the inside of the sunroof with pinch molding. The installation is now complete, and the interior looks just as good as it did when we started.
17. The exterior of the truck...
17. The exterior of the truck is a different matter. This truck now has a kick-ass sunroof that looks great whether it's open or closed.
Sources
Advanced Specialties
Dept. MT
831 E. Lambert Road, Ste. G
La Habra, CA 90631
(714) 529-4637
Webasto Product North America Inc.
Dept. MT
7963 Lochlin Dr.
Brighten, MI 48116
(800) 860-7866www.webasto.com