I want to install a sunroof in my 87 GT. Since I think all Fieros were built with a cut out in the roof metal frame for a sunroof, this would "APPEAR" to be a simple job. :-) Has anyone installed an aftermarket sunroof and if so can you give me some information? Looking for photos of the project, the final installation, where did you purchase the roof from, price, what size sunroof did you install and how do you deal with the interior roof liner? Any information would be appreciated. Thanks
I want to install a sunroof in my 87 GT. Since I think all Fieros were built with a cut out in the roof metal frame for a sunroof, this would "APPEAR" to be a simple job. :-) Has anyone installed an aftermarket sunroof and if so can you give me some information? Looking for photos of the project, the final installation, where did you purchase the roof from, price, what size sunroof did you install and how do you deal with the interior roof liner? Any information would be appreciated. Thanks
There are plenty of after-market sunroof installers, but I'll be dead-honest with you... right now, there are enough spare parts and enough parts Fieros out there, that your BEST SOLUTION by far is to go ahead and fit a factory Fiero sunroof into your car. There benefit to this is:
1 - Removeable sunroof, can be stowed in the factory location under the hood. 2 - Parts will be cheaper than an aftermarket kit. 3 - Useability and functionality (and size) will be better with the factory kit.
All you really need from the donor car is the fiberglass roof piece. This can be removed from the donor vehicle by removing the windshield wipers, then the cowl cover, unbolting a few nuts from the tops of the front fenders to reveal the screws holding the A-pillar trim piece down. Then, you remove the dew strips, followed by the factory headliner so you can get to the screws you need to loosen so you can slide the roof section out from under the rear section.
Then you slip piano wire under the A-pillar sections and basically carefully pry off the roof.
Some people just rip the roof off and rip off the donor piece, and then just repair the A-pillar sections.
But then all you need are all the pieces for the sunroof, all of which can be purchased from The Fiero Factory www.thefierofactory.com
If you're going to do it, put in the extra effort and get the actual sunroof. There might even be someone out there who's willing to do a swap with you. There were a lot of sunroof cars out there, and with people wanting to race (SCCA), you can probably get someone who would happily swap out their pieces for a free weight-reduction.
what he said-- check out http://www.usedfieroparts.com/ he has them for 120.00--bolt off bolt on coversion---plus you can get the headliners that fit---did that back in 92!
------------------ Pat Jones
[This message has been edited by 88FieroGT TTops (edited 02-23-2013).]
I agree with the guys above. Id get the factory parts of a Fiero. I say this because you're cutting the hole in the SMC roof and in essence, that's all that will support the sunroof. I don't know it's flex too much, spiderweb, or crack over time? The factory sunroof smc is reinforced and designed for the sunroof. I've swapped a Fiero one and it wasn't too hard. Definitely going to be time consuming but it'd be factory, and it'd be easy to find parts if you later neeeded them.
If you don't want to go factory, I have had really good results with inalfa or hollandia (Webasto) sunroofs in my non-fieros. I cut a hollandia into my non-Fiero myself last winter.. It was actually pretty easy. I like the motorized spoiler types much better the manual typw or the ones that slide inside the headliner. You can find some kits of ebay for a fair price or get used from a junkyard. I'd stick to the big brands (Webasto, Inalfa) so you know you can get parts. Like I said, though, personally, I'd stick with Factory OEM on a Fiero.
Despite there being SO MANY Fieros that came with sunroofs when new, a good deal of owners for some reason or another that did not have a sunroof opted to have an after market unit installed. I've came across a whole lot of Fieros with after market sunroof units in them - I can safely say in the past fifteen years I've seen around a dozen Fieros with an after market sunroof installed. Additionally, a lot of Fiero kit cars got after market sunroofs installed also.
The thing is, most all of them were installed when the cars were either new or still relatively young. Now since twenty-five years give or take has passed, finding parts for the various after market sunroof units is nearly impossible. Think about it. You could go and install an after market unit into your car, then for some crazy reason the sunroof no longer be made, then shortly down the road you may need a new latch or maybe even break the glass somehow. No good would come of it.
The sentiment posted above is incredibly true. If you're really wanting a sunroof, just pull an OEM unit from another Fiero. Another thing you have to consider is that the channeling for water is set up for a Fiero with a proper sunroof installed factory. You can add the channelling by drilling holes even with you swapping a sunroof onto a non-sunroof car, but going with a pure after market unit may mean that the proper water channelling cannot be installed, since these sunroof are typically smaller than the OEM counterparts (holes for channelling could interfere with the actual interior). Plus, OEM sunroof parts are quite plentiful.
Thanks for the information. Your replies make it clear that I should stick with an OEM sunroof. And best to get one from a friend who has a Fiero with a sunroof, - when he goes on vacation. :-)
You should look into the sunroof Curley put in his silver choptop. It's an automatic roof with different opening positions and storage isn't a problem. It's a very nice fit and if I didn't already have t-tops it would be my aftermarket choice.
Sorry for bumping an old thread, however - the below is SO true, if anyone is thinking about it, read this again:
quote
Originally posted by Fiero84Freak:
Despite there being SO MANY Fieros that came with sunroofs when new, a good deal of owners for some reason or another that did not have a sunroof opted to have an after market unit installed. I've came across a whole lot of Fieros with after market sunroof units in them - I can safely say in the past fifteen years I've seen around a dozen Fieros with an after market sunroof installed. Additionally, a lot of Fiero kit cars got after market sunroofs installed also.
The thing is, most all of them were installed when the cars were either new or still relatively young. Now since twenty-five years give or take has passed, finding parts for the various after market sunroof units is nearly impossible. Think about it. You could go and install an after market unit into your car, then for some crazy reason the sunroof no longer be made, then shortly down the road you may need a new latch or maybe even break the glass somehow. No good would come of it.
The sentiment posted above is incredibly true. If you're really wanting a sunroof, just pull an OEM unit from another Fiero. Another thing you have to consider is that the channeling for water is set up for a Fiero with a proper sunroof installed factory. You can add the channelling by drilling holes even with you swapping a sunroof onto a non-sunroof car, but going with a pure after market unit may mean that the proper water channelling cannot be installed, since these sunroof are typically smaller than the OEM counterparts (holes for channelling could interfere with the actual interior). Plus, OEM sunroof parts are quite plentiful.
I have a Cars & Concepts sunroof. I believe it was a dealer installed option. And guess what? Yup - OUT OF BUSINESS. Even places that bought out C&C's remaining old stock of parts to do service work haven't been too much help for me.
I just got a "new to me" Fiero, finally... (have always wanted one since working at a Pontiac dealership while in high school and they were brand new and I was driving them off the truck) and was happy it had a sunroof. I thought it was so cool that you could put it in the "trunk" after reading that in the owners manual. And then found out, it's not factory. Not only isn't it factory, its the reason the headliner was toast. I figured hey, 25 something years.... so what, a new gasket? If only it was that easy. And after cutting out some of the old headliner to see what was going on above it, it doesn't look like a very professional installation job either. As much as I'd like a sunroof (that doesn't leak of course) if I can't fix the torrential downpour before it damages more than the headliner, I've considered removing the hole in the roof entirely. Thankfully, this thread has shown me that it's actually a do able undertaking, and not something I'll have to just take to a body shop and pay whatever it is they want to patch the hole in my roof LOL
This thread definitely helped me, I found it doing a search, but not on the first or second attempt. Just thought if I'd bump it, it'd get a few more comments that may be helpful and perhaps someone else will benefit as well. All of the other threads I've found that have offered leak solutions, while they may help, they do mostly concern the OEM sunroof. Once I dig into mine more, I may start my own thread looking for specific advice.
Very interesting thread. So if its possible to put a factory sunroof/roof on, would the same be true for a t-top car? Can the roof section of a t-top car be as "easily" installed on a sunroof or solid roof car? I miss my t-top Olds Cutlass. I have owned six of them and all had t-tops.
Adding T-Tops is possible, but is MUCH more difficult than adding a sunroof. There are several T-Top install threads around, but if it were me I would just buy a Fiero with the T-Tops already installed.
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: So when you use the piano wire to remove the a pillar section, does some sort of adhesive need to be used on the a pillars when installing the new roof panel?
There are plenty of after-market sunroof installers, but I'll be dead-honest with you... right now, there are enough spare parts and enough parts Fieros out there, that your BEST SOLUTION by far is to go ahead and fit a factory Fiero sunroof into your car. There benefit to this is:
1 - Removeable sunroof, can be stowed in the factory location under the hood. 2 - Parts will be cheaper than an aftermarket kit. 3 - Useability and functionality (and size) will be better with the factory kit.
All you really need from the donor car is the fiberglass roof piece. This can be removed from the donor vehicle by removing the windshield wipers, then the cowl cover, unbolting a few nuts from the tops of the front fenders to reveal the screws holding the A-pillar trim piece down. Then, you remove the dew strips, followed by the factory headliner so you can get to the screws you need to loosen so you can slide the roof section out from under the rear section.
Then you slip piano wire under the A-pillar sections and basically carefully pry off the roof.
Some people just rip the roof off and rip off the donor piece, and then just repair the A-pillar sections.
But then all you need are all the pieces for the sunroof, all of which can be purchased from The Fiero Factory www.thefierofactory.com
If you're going to do it, put in the extra effort and get the actual sunroof. There might even be someone out there who's willing to do a swap with you. There were a lot of sunroof cars out there, and with people wanting to race (SCCA), you can probably get someone who would happily swap out their pieces for a free weight-reduction.
