Sunroof installation to a previously closed roof.

GravyGraham · Post by **GravyGraham** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:48 pm

I'm in the market for a FHC (not a 2+2) and to quench my good lady's thirst for ruined hair (she wants an OTS you see) I'm wondering about sourcing a car and having a Webasto sunroof fitted. Apparently there's a useful chappie just up the coast from me at Sandwich who comes recomended for this sort of work.

My question is, is it right and proper to take a can opener to an E-type? Forgive me if I sound naive. Have any owners fitted ones in their pride and joys?

Graham

mike837go · Post by **mike837go** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 9:33 pm

As the former owner of too many sunroof equipped cars, I strongly reccomend NOT fitting one to an existing car.

They leak! It may not be in the first year or two, but it will. Aftermarket ones in 1/2 the time of original equipment.

Check the price of actually having one installed. Compare that to the difference in price of and OTS vs. FHC.

Then when you drive the OTS in less-than-perfect-weather, you can enjoy getting soaked as the rain passes freely through the top-to-windshield-header-gasket.

Keep in mind that when the sun is shining, you can not beat the absolute unmitigated joy of no roof or windows

christopher storey · Post by **christopher storey** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 10:03 am

Webastos generally speaking never leak . However, they have a grave defect in an FHC E type, and that is that the wooden frame is about 2 inches deep, and this severely erodes the headroom. I had to open the roof and put my head into the aperture to sit comfortably in my FHC ! ( I am admittedly a rather peculiar shape, with 30" inside leg but 6 feet tall i.e. a tall shortarse )

This was why when I rebuilt my FHC I had a new roof fitted without the Webasto

Incidentally my wife much prefers the FHC to our OTS because it does not ruffle her feathers - she also is quite tall at about 5 feet 10 and the wind is quite noticeable for her

malcolm · Post by **malcolm** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 11:07 am

One thing to be careful of that I discovered with after market fitted roofs.
I actually have a 2+2 with a factory fitted roof from new, (and it never leaks!), but before I bought it I was looking at one with no sunroof and made enquiries.
I was informed that very few people now have the correct tooling to go with the sloping roof shape of the E Type, and that most suppliers fit an alternative using wrong tooling which leads to bad fitting and leaks. He was a Webasto main supplier and fitter, and said he wouldn't fit one of his products to an E Type. He knew of no one he could send me to that he felt could do the job.
Maybe your man has the right tooling, but does he then have the sunroof to go with that tooling?
This is just what I was told, I have no personal knowledge, but I'm glad I ended up with a car that had an original fitting.
Incidentally, with the wind deflector raised, I get no buffeting with the roof open, and I'm 6ft 1.5ins (Which is one of the reasons I got a 2+2!)

Simon P · Post by **Simon P** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 11:23 am

I'm a big fan of them. Like Christopher says, properly set up they'll be the last bit of your E-type to let in water. You do lose a bit of headroom, true, but generally not from the place where your head sits anyway - and where your head goes the 'skin' follows the original roof line anyway.

Upsides: quick and easy to use, and the cabin of a regular FHC - which can be a somewhat claustrophobic place normally - is transformed by being able to let the light and air in.

Downsides: not everyone shares the Webasto-convert's enthusiasm and you just have to accept that a FHC with one fitted will never be worth the same as a FHC without.

If you're interested in having one done, R&S Coachbuilts in Sandwich (the people you'll be thinking of) are the people to talk to: http://www.tudorwebastosunroofs.com/index.html - there's also a chap called Peter Harvey who a number of people have used for fitting who seems to come highly recommended.

Gfhug · Post by **Gfhug** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 6:20 pm

Has anyone fitted a glass sunroof to a FHC?
To me a nice combination of making the interior brighter without having to open the roof, plus the benefit of the open roof when you want.

I'd certainly be interested in doing this, even putting up with all the comments from the 'purists'!

Simon P · Post by **Simon P** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 6:36 pm

Now you're just being silly

Flat plane meets curved surface, guaranteed to leak, needs a ton of structural reinforcement to mount it in place in the first place.....

Still, if you insist on having it done, Bernie and Mario will sort you one out

http://www.channel5.com/shows/classic-c ... uar-e-type

:D

Gfhug · Post by **Gfhug** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 7:53 pm

Simon P wrote:Now you're just being silly

:D

You say the nicest things!
Sounds like I should make my New Year's resolution not to ask silly questions.
Ah well :?

And Happy New Year.

Geoff

Post by **Heuer** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 8:11 pm

Simon P · Post by **Simon P** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 10:12 pm

Gfhug wrote:Sounds like I should make my New Year's resolution not to ask silly questions.
Ah well :?

No offence intended

(I will however take your keys off you if you insist on defiling that magnificent S2 of yours with a glass sunroof... :D )

SEJohnson95 · Post by **SEJohnson95** » Wed Dec 31, 2014 10:52 am

Forget heat soak from the engine bay, sounds like you'll be turning your E-Type into a greenhouse with a glass sunroof.

vee12eman · Post by **vee12eman** » Thu Jan 01, 2015 12:02 pm

Hi,

Here's my two penn'orth. I have a Webasto on a 2+2 Series 3. No leaks, creaks or restricted headroom, although of course the 2+2 has a slightly higher roof line.

I took mine out myself, but many of the screws sheared off in the wooden frame. I fitted plugs to those that broke, drilling out the frame with a plug remover (to go around the sheared screw, then fitted plugs for new screws. I can say definitively that the wooden frame is not 2 inches deep, more like 3/4 inch. They may be deeper in the FHC, if you want to ask, the man to speak to is Peter Harvey; I doubt anyone knows more about them than him.

I re-fitted the frame with brass screws and an adhesive/sealant, something like Sikaflex 221 - as recommended by Peter Harvey, who then traveled up from Kent to fit the mechanism he had restored (sent earlier by mail). The sealant/adhesive stops the wood frame moving relative to the car, prevents the creaking some others have reported with an original fit (and never removed) unit and this prevents the leaks too. I have been out in some pretty severe rain and the only leak in the car was from the windscreen - now cured I should add.

Peter's work was superb. That's all I have to say about that aspect.

All the best and happy new year all.

Simon.

GravyGraham · Post by **GravyGraham** » Fri Jan 02, 2015 10:32 am

Thanks for all your comments you good people. As is usual with internet forums there's a selection of credible arguments on each side of the topic!

Graham

christopher storey · Post by **christopher storey** » Fri Jan 02, 2015 10:37 am

Simon's remark is interesting that his is only 3/4 inch deep - this tallies with the frame in the 2+2 of a friend of mine . However,on my FHC the frame is definitely 2 inches deep.( I still have it, and like Simon I had to plug it to restore it). What I am now trying to remember is if mine is in fact Webasto or whether it is one of the similar ones which were around, the name of which I cannot remember

malcolm · Post by **malcolm** » Fri Jan 02, 2015 10:51 am

The frame on my 2+2 is just less than 3/4 of an inch, but the drop below the normal roof line is far less (some is obviously above) Mine is a unipart.

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