Sounds more than doable with plenty of patience. There are a few problems with the roof, there is rust in the gutters which is coming from within the seams but also around the sunroof apeture it seems there is corrosion in a seam which has mishapen the edge around the sunroof opening. There are a few areas where it seems to have sagged also so rather than repairing it, although i think it would just rust through again, it looks like the best way forward is to replace the whole skin. Ive found one for 120 which only has one dent in and ive been told is rust free which sounds reasonable. Now i just need to work out a way of swapping them over properly and speaking to the bodyshop to see how they want to approach it.
Well after speaking to the bodyshop it looks like they wouldnt even attempt to remove it at the gutters as the metal will be too fragile to bend back into position with the new roof in place. This means that the whole roof would have to be chopped off which i really wansnt keen on but apparantly the guy doing it knows his stuff and has done them before. Ive also been thinking about trying to get hold of a roof skin from the south african citi golf. I have no idea at the moment if they are exactly the same but i believe they are?. Has anyone tried inporting parts from sa?
Probably distort quite a bit welding it there and the old skin has a few issues in different places so the whole lot will be best replaced i think. Looks like its just going to be cut close to the gutters along the length of the car and the spot welds removed from the tailgate and windscreen openings, then the gutters will get a good clean up before new skin is welded in. Unfolding it at the gutters isnt going to be an option unfortunately as it would create more problems than it solved. Im hoping the rust in the gutters is just superficial and that a good clean, etch prime, waxoil etc will prevent any further issues for a good while. Ive found a skin but its a bit pricey. If its as good as ive been told its worth it though.
Having looked into this some more, what do people think of using this as a means of attaching a new roof skin: http://www.bondtech.uk.com/cgi-bin/b...ing&pid=13.htm It looks too good to be true to me, surely there must be a downside to this?
By this I think you mean leave 15-20mm on the il roof above the original gutter, and in the 2nd roof, grind down the gutter and cut the roof at the bottom in the corner of the gutter? Then joddle the old remaining roof to accept the new one and go from there? Sorry for bumping old threads. Looking into this on my new project
This is the method the bodyshop im supposed to be taking my car too is going to use but rather than bond the new skin on they are going to spot weld it before slowly seam welding it all up. Bonding a roof skin on a modern car may be fine but ive been warned that doing this on a mk1 golf can be risky due to the fact that the roof skin can flex ever so slightly meaning paint/filler around the bonding could shift and crack. Not sure how likely this is but it put me off the idea. Im still looking for a good sunroof roof skin though maybe i need to start considering other options soon.
I'd have thought it might warp due to the heat from welding. Hope they're using TIG not MIG to do the seam welding. I dont think they're welded up the sides from the factory - not 100% on that though.
I've done it twice on my mk1's. Both times I have drilled out the spotwelds in the screen apertures front and rear and then ground out the bottom of the gutter to remove the old roof. In order to get a new skin I cut the entire roof off the donor through the pillars and again drill out the spotwelds in the screen apertures but this time I grind off the gutters from the other side.. effectively grinding the car off the skin if you see what I mean. Then it just fits straight onto your car. The only butt weld is a few inches down the A pillar. You need to invest in about 10-12 welding clamps to hold in place when rewelding..
Yes im not clear on what you mean along the gutters, sounds to me like there might be an overlap where the new skin sits on?
No, there's no overlap. I use a brand new thick disc in the angle grinder and VERY carefully run it vertically along the gutter. The only steel I grind away is a single thickness from the flat bottom of the gutter. When I come to prepare the doner skin I flip it upside down and effectively grind off the gutter, leaving in place the same piece of steel I just ground off the car. I wish photobucket etc wasn't blocked at work as I reckon a picture tells a thousand words! If someone has an email address that I can send a .jpg to who could then host it then PM me please. Its not that difficult to do. I was taught the technique by a time served bodyshop guy who did it a lot in the seventies and eighties for VW. One thing though. Grinding the old gutter off the donor skin is probably the loudest thing you will ever do in your workshop!!
I fully understand what you mean there buddy. And with the donor roof I get that bit. But once you have the new roof sat in the gutter how, then what, spot weld?
Yeah, with my MIG welder. I have a shroud that has been ground to fit perfectly into the gutter Looking from the underside of the gutter you can see when the weld penetrates..
