Removable Roof Scoop - Sunroof Insert

[kmfdmk]

I have no AC. At the time I made a foolhardy decision to remove all the AC components from my car when installing the 7M-GTE. Made it easier and roomier for the engine & IC pipes, but now I suffer on a daily basis. It's HOT. And to combat that I finally made a roof scoop that's an insert.

1. Open sunroof fully
2. Drop in Sunroof Roof Scoop Insert
3. Flip out locking tabs
4. Enjoy fresh cool air forced into the cabin

Here are the pics.

Marking the centerline, as well as the opening for the vent.


The scoop cut and bent, ready to be installed.


Another side shot of the pre-bent scoop. It was made from aluminum sheeting, which was a bit too soft for my liking.


My front porch turned into a huge mess for about 6 hours.


Pre-Drilling the pilot holes for the jig-saw.


Hole cut & ready for the vent.


Vent installed (with fits angling up and forward.


Underside/Inside view of the vent. The control is on the drivers' side.


Sides of the scoop silicon'd & screwed on.


Next time I do this I will make more careful to have larger holes drilled out on the tabs for the rivets. Silicon'd & ready for the top of the scoop to go on.

[kmfdmk]

When drilling out the holes in the top portion of the roof scoop I was pushing too hard and broke the drill bit. I managed to punch the unbroken portion of the bit through my left thumb which was several inches down & away damn near to the bone. I have a nice hourglass shaped hole in my thumbnail now. It bled like a MoFo. and 2 weeks later still hurts.


Rivets in, and working on folding the leading edge of the top portion of the scoop over to reinforce and stiffen that edge.


The aluminum was pretty soft as you can see all the crimp marks from the set of slip-jaw pliers I used to complete the bend (I'm too cheap to get a set of Vise-Grip metal brake pliers).


Although I measured and made the left & right sides identical as possible it turned out that the passenger side is a bit higher than the drivers side. Oh well.


I had some trouble with the aluminum being so soft when drilling holes for the rivets. Apparently it pushed most of the tabs down as I drilled through the first layer.


I did a little better on the drivers side of the scoop.


A copmleted view. Of note. You can see how much I had to jig-saw off around the outside leading edges. I took off nearly the entire thickness at a very shallow angle (maybe 15*) or so to have it NOT stick up above the roofline.


Installed shot.


Doesn't look too bad. Still kind of ghetto, but it works GREAT. Though above 40mph it just makes more noise and doesn't really flow more.


Lower roofline shot along the same plane as the roof.

[kmfdmk]

Rear roofline shot.


LR 3/4 view


FR 3/4 view

[84ptype]

lol...
awesome...

my beater truck might be getting a similar mod for hot cali summer...cept it will be permanent and moulded to the roof...idk.

[Supra Ev]

Any pictures of the locking mech../ inside of the car? Any rattles at speed.... very cool idea.

[kmfdmk]

No pictures of the locking mechanism as of right now. I haven't taken pictures of them yet. It's very simple 1/4"x20 all thread, one of those threaded spikey nuts that look like the welded a nut to a washer, and then cut 4 spiked along the edges of the washer and bent them down.

That spikey nut/washer thing is driven into the plywood (fiber board) and there are washers that sit under it, with a 1 1/2" x 5" wooden tab that sits on top, then a coil spring, more washers and a lock-tite'd wing nut to adjust tension.

No real rattles at the moment, no wind whistling either. The only small annoyances are that it's pretty much impossible to completely stop air coming in, it's not water proof, as in rain gets in, and the stupid floor vent rattles a little in the buffeting wind, but it's not all that annoying. Usually changing the opening a little either direction stops it.

When I make my next one I'll hopefully have access to a router and can route out the underside of the leading edge to get the entire thing to sit lower in the front, and more level across the board. I also want to make it so that I can put weather stripping all the way around and have it waterproof.

The next one will probably be of a similar core. Something like 1/4" or 3/8" plywood, with a foam upper, wrapped in fiberglass to match the contour of the sunroof/roof line, as well as having a fiberglass scoop.

I'm also not thrilled with my locking tabs. They work, but they don't look pretty.

[pimptrizkit]

omg rusty i have a fiber glass scope for you from that parts car let me know if you want to use it i can bring it by in the morning.

[doug82supra]

Rusty, I was teasing you about the AC delete when you said you were moving to Bama. Was that you? Being a bomb tech, are you going to work at Resdstone Army arsenal?

Very strange but utilitarian mod, but I bet you'll find a better vent mechanism somewhere. Fits your setup if only I imagine you being on the salt flats. Anywhere else and you'd get too much rain. Reminds me of those strange louvered windows that still are in many homes along the Florida coast. They rattle and let wind in all night.

[walkerhiboost]

Rusty,

Are you moving to Alabama? I just got lucky and I am getting transferred back to Memphis, which is about 2h30m from home.

Let me know if you need anything in Bama.... I lived in Huntsville before.

PM about what you do... I have been trying to get to the bomb school..

[theWeezL]

with as many parts cars as there are floating around this community it would seem to me you could find a sunroof skin to hack up for your vent. That way it would have the same contour of the roofline which seems to me to be the biggest obstacle of making that fit right.