Alternative sunroof stowage

[zcacogp]

Chaps,

Slightly trivial one ...

944's have lovely great big sunrooves that come out. And very nice they are too. Snag is that once removed, the panel needs to be put somewhere, preferably in the car. (Leaving it behind is an option for short journeys, but if you aren't going to be returning within the known period of good weather you certainly need to take it with you.)

The panel fits in the boot, but takes up a lot of the boot space. (I am also careful to keep the front edge of the panel behind the rear seat back, so in the event of a crash the panel will be contained in the boot. If the leading edge of the panel is above the seat backs then there is a real risk that it would come forward in a crash and hit the driver and passenger on the back of the head; not nice.) If there are things in the boot then you need to take them out or re-arrange them, and it's a pain.

Has anyone managed to find a more convenient place to store the panel? It doesn't fit across the rear seats (the lump in the middle of the seats means it won't sit flat), and it's too broad to fit upright in the rear footwell. In my minds' eye I can picture some form of sling that holds it above the bootspace, but not to high above that it blocks the view out of the rear window, but I have never seen such a thing made (and it may not work anyway).

What other roof panel storage options are there? Any?


Oli.

 

[robwright]

They all came with a sunroof bag that strapped into the boot. Sadly they are all loike rocking horse poo now. You can get them off fleabay from around £100 plus

 

[zcacogp]

Rob,

Thanks, yes, I know about the sunroof bags. My car didn't come with one, so I made a soft canvas bag to protect the roof when it isn't in use.

Straps into the boot? As in, have straps to hold it down to the anchor points on the boot floor? Or does it do something more impressive in terms of stowage?


Oli.

 

[mr brightside]

I've always thought the loops on the bag were for attatchments in the boot somewhere but once the car's been through a few owners these things start to go missing. I keep all my stuff in the boot in a wide flat box so the lid can sit on top if needs be but i normally find myself just stuffing it behind the seats in the rear footwell, it's amazing how big it suddenly gets.

 

[robwright]

Never seen one in the flesh mte but I believe it is a kind of 4 way strap affair that attaches to the front and back of the boot to effectively suspend the sunroof and bag in position. Sure someone who actually has one will be along soon with a better description.

 

[david924s]

ORIGINAL: sc0tty


Later model 944s did not come with sunroof bags, they came with webbing straps to secure the roof to the metal loops in the boot floor (they protrude thru the boot carpet if you look closely...

All this strap does is secure the roof to the boot floor to stop it sliding around.

Dead right my 1991 S2 has this webbing in the spare wheel well and I always wondered what it was for until now.

 

[zcacogp]

Hmmm. Some pictures or description of this suspension system would be interesting. It would be the 'Porsche Approved' system, although I still wonder whether there are better ways of doing it.

ORIGINAL: sc0tty
What you need to make Oli is a boot shaped peice of MDF (or some lighter rigid board), then make that MDF stand clear of the boot floor by screwing some rubber door stops at each corner. In theory, the MDF now becomes the NEW boot floor for you to put your luggage onto, and the sunrooif can sit safely underneath the MDF with no risk of crushing [][]

Now that's an interesting idea. Thanks. Immediate snags are that MDF is pig-heavy (I can never understand why the in-car hi-fi boys always use so much of it; it must utterly destroy the performance of their waggons) and also if the sunroof is going underneath it, you'd need to lift it up to stow or retrieve the sunroof, which would mean emptying the boot ...

However, the idea is very sound and I'll be giving it some more thought. Neither of the problems are insurmountable, I suspect. Thanks.


Oli.

 

[TTM]

The webbing straps are rubbish as they offer no protection of the painted side. Worse, they may actually damage the paint with very small scratches as they are made of plastic.

 

[944 man]

ORIGINAL: zcacogp

Rob,

Thanks, yes, I know about the sunroof bags. My car didn't come with one, so I made a soft canvas bag to protect the roof when it isn't in use.

Straps into the boot? As in, have straps to hold it down to the anchor points on the boot floor? Or does it do something more impressive in terms of stowage?


Oli.

Very late series two cars didnt come with a sunroof bag, you just get a webbing strap-down. Ive added an earlier bag to my later car for ease. You can hold it in the rear of the cabin by the seatbets in a bag, if you need the boot space. I always used to take a spare roof out in circumstances like this, so damage wasnt an issue. Roof panels are worthless now, so someone like Paul Higginson will sell you one for next to nothing...

 

[sawood12]

What are you intending to carry in your boot? The sunroof's are chuffing strong (have you felt the weight of them?!). I'm sure that once in a bag to protect against scratches then whatever you put on top of it will not cause any damage to the roof panel itself - unless you've done a run to the garden centre and have half a ton of flags to get home!

I never bothered removing the roof panel. It is a nice idea but at speeds over about 35mph the noise and buffeting was unbearable even if you crack the windows open. I think I only removed it once.

 

[Mark_Bennett]

ORIGINAL: sawood12

It is a nice idea but at speeds over about 35mph the noise and buffeting was unbearable even if you crack the windows open.

You can adjust the angle of the little deflector and it stops all that...

 

[TTM]

ORIGINAL: Mark Bennett
You can adjust the angle of the little deflector and it stops all that...

Except that the deflector is supposed to be vertical all the time when the panel is removed and the springs in the pins that keep it vertical have an annoying tendancy to go soft, causing the annoying wind buffeting at any speed above 50mph.

 

[robwright]

I absolutely love getting the roof off. It is practically a cabriolet when you take it out because it is so chuffing big!!! My kids love it even more than I do. Just seems that every time I do take it out it bloody chucks it down []

 

[sawood12]

ORIGINAL: TTM

ORIGINAL: Mark Bennett
You can adjust the angle of the little deflector and it stops all that...

Except that the deflector is supposed to be vertical all the time when the panel is removed and the springs in the pins that keep it vertical have an annoying tendancy to go soft, causing the annoying wind buffeting at any speed above 50mph.

Never worked for me - even when I pushed it up vertically with my fingers. It improves the situation but is still too noisy and buffety.

 

[Frenchy]

Sorted my Kalahari 220 car has the bag and the securing straps, Result though i have not had a ride around in it yet with the roof out.

Black One..............what sunroof [:-]

 

[Mark_Bennett]

ORIGINAL: TTM

ORIGINAL: Mark Bennett
You can adjust the angle of the little deflector and it stops all that...

Except that the deflector is supposed to be vertical all the time when the panel is removed and the springs in the pins that keep it vertical have an annoying tendancy to go soft, causing the annoying wind buffeting at any speed above 50mph.

Really? Strange - I found it worked best at about 45 degreees. Never really had a problem with either of mine.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Really? Strange - I found it worked best at about 45 degreees. Never really had a problem with either of mine.

45 was about where I found it to be the least buffeting at motorway speeds, but still too much for the boss to accept. Hence the roof has only been out once in six years. [&o]

 

[zcacogp]

Scott,

I'm surprised. I remove the roof on my car as often as I can. Come cloud or shine (although I tend to keep it in when it rains.) Buffeting can be helped a lot by adjusting the angle of the deflector strip, as has been said.

The roof may be strong (it's actually plastic) but I worry a little about damaging it, and hugely about it coming forward in the event of an accident - as described. Hence my desire to keep it low, behind the seat. And, no matter how tough it is, the space issue remains. (FWIW, to try and avoid damage to the roof I put it in the boot upside-down, thus keeping the shiny outside surface towards the carpet.)


Oli.

ETA: Paul, Mrs zcacogp was quite happy in the passenger seat with the roof out the other day .... and the speedo needle tickling quite a large number. Well over the legal limit. I guess it's all a matter of perception and having something to take your mind off things; she was painting her toenails at the time ... []

 

[TTM]

ORIGINAL: zcacogp
she was painting her toenails at the time ... []

So what colour is the dashboard now? Red? []

 

[zcacogp]

>Ahem< The splashes of toenail polish cover the cracks ... []


Oli.