924Board.org

[Blas Costagli]

For all of you with the removable sunroofs on your 924's...at the back of the sunroof is a small leather strap...refereed to as a securing strap...does anyone see the real function of the strap? I had a friend who used to drive around with the sunroof propped up in the back on the latches, and he said the strap kept the roof from flying off when it was propped up...but it certainly did not look like a wise thing to do to me...any ideas out there?

[friskynibbles]

yeah i think that's the purpose, that's what i use mine for. doesn't *really* offer that much additional security though...

[Smoothie]

Mine was in two pieces when I got the car. I made a new one out of a piece of cloth belt and keep it snapped - haven't even lost the sunroof once.

[Blas Costagli]

Smoothie...do you just prop the back of the roof up on the plastic latches"

[Smoothie]

Yes. They're meant to be used that way. I just went and opened the sunroof then pushed up with the little strap attached. It holds good and tight - actually I don't think there's any danger of it breaking loose - in normal driving, over average potholes...

_________________
'82 924T

[ This Message was edited by: smoothie on 2002-06-20 14:40 ]

[Smoothie]

My owners manual has this on Pg.42:
"To prop up roof at the rear -
1. Unlock and fold down both rear clamps.
2. Push up roof and insert lower edge of each clamp in rain gutter.
3. Secure propped up roof with center holding strap.
The two front holding clamps must remain firmly locked.
Caution: Never drive with a propped up roof unless the center holding strap is securely fastened. The roof would fly off and cause injuries."

The vinyl on the bottom of my sunroof is black while the rest of the interior is brown, so I wonder if the previous owner had a bad experience with this.

I made my replacement strap without the slack the originals have. It's a snug fit, so the roof won't bounce on bumps.

[gohim]

Sunroofs do fly off! ! !

The primary reason is lack of proper maintenance, or failure to replace the front sunroof hinges and latches, when they become cracked or broken.

I have even read posts from some people on this Message Board trying to sell others "slightly cracked" hinges, stating that they will work fine. Cracked is broken fellas. New replacement hinges are expensive, but isn't buying and painting a replacement sunroof even more expensive?

The strap provided by Porsche on the later models will not prevent the sunroof from coming off of the car should both highes break. It is there to, as another Poster wrote, help keep the sunroof from bouncing when the sunroof is proped open.

[Blas Costagli]

Interesting...thanks
Odd to have 2 different colors on the interior...may have been a problem at one time....

[Joes924]

I havent got a strap.

_________________
JoeD. Denver native in Oregon-1979 924
MSD6 rev control/big bore TB/P&P.head
Bursche header/Schneider cam


[ This Message was edited by: Joes924 on 2002-06-23 03:41 ]

[cathy]

My strap was rotted...it was made out of the same material as my seats. I replaced the hinges and latches when I first got my car (as well as the little pieces that secure the visors... they were all broken). I have never propped up the sunroof, I just take it off and put it in the carry case (which is in excellent condition, by the way... as is my tool kit).

The only thing that bugs me when I take off the sunroof is: the little plastic visor doesn't do anything to make the interior noise quieter, or to prevent air from rushing into the rear of the car. I put it up,it just looks stupid. Is there anything out there to replace this part that works and looks better?

[Rick MacLaren]

Naw Cathy, you've gotta change that attitude! When you see that little black piece standing up like that, just tell yourself "that looks so cool". Repeat if necessary.

The visor does both: It flows the air nicely over top of the compartment, removing pressure on the hatch, and also makes rear hatch rattle and other rattles go away. So it helps for quiet too. Try lowering it, flattening it, at speed, and you'll hear the car get louder.

Interestingly, if you remove that plastic piece that stands upright, you'll take more air into the compartment. Result? If your hatch isn't closed properly, or even if it is, the pressure inside will force the hatch to move UP at speed. Right around 120 KPH, on days when I was lazy about closing the hatch properly, I've noticed the hatch actually RISING, as if commanded by God.

Not a good thing. The hatch is held on by 4 screws and can easily come off at speed. The replacement cost for a new hatch for my car is in excess of $2500 CDN.

[ This Message was edited by: Rick MacLaren on 2002-06-25 05:11 ]

[924RACR]

OTOH, if you keep the rear hatch struts weak and worn out, the hatch will close itself. Had that happen to me; spun out and backed the car into a concrete wall... as I sped off, the hatch closed itself due to air pressure. Really cool, allowed me to continue without even pitting or DNF'ing... though it confused the heck out of the flaggers, who called it in as an open hatch/trunk, but then were countered by those who said it was closed... apparently it created enough confusion to allow me to continue and finish the race when I in reality should have been black-flagged for spinning out again...

_________________
Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype

[numbers]

Well Smoothie, I am like you in that I have a brown interior (actually biege and brown), but a black sunroof liner. Of course, my steering wheel and my guage panel are also black. And Joe, I am like you in that I do not have a strap. Anybody know when the straps were first fitted? Can they be retrofitted?

[cathy]

Well, I always put the little visor thingie up... I just wish it looked better. I did notice that when it's down it's noisier, but not much!!!

If my car goes above 80mph on the highway, I'm thrilled. I think my husband had it up to about 100 a few weeks after I bought it... but I have the US speedometer (85 is the limit). I'm not much of a speed demon (okay, just a little bit)... I'm more impressed with it's cornering ability and how fun it is to drive on a day to day schedule. I was driving an 88 Cavalier while it was in the shop this past week - BLERGH!!!

And I haven't had the sunroof off yet this season... hmm, maybe this weekend, if the weather is good!

[Smoothie]

Numbers - Check the inside roof of your car at the center-rear of the sunroof opening. If there's a snap attached there, your car probably had the strap at one time. They're easy to make - with a small length of leather, nylon or cotton belt. Punch a hole in it and attach a snap. Well, easy for me as I already had some snaps and set of hole punches...