windscreen/backlight/roof removal tips

[DR1665]

Peeling the roof off 195/2000 to make life easier for Kent when he installs the cage here pretty soon. (Almost there, Kent. Promise!)

1. Snap roof trim out of drip rails.
2. Use two slotted screwdrivers to remove trim retainer clips.
3. Mark, center punch, cut spot welds along both sides of roof skin.
4. Carefully remove trim around windscreen.
5. Use special tools to cut through the Window Weld sealing the glass in place.
6. Get to the last corner and crack the glass.
7. Switch to pry bars and forcibly remove fubared windscreen.
8. Mark, center punch, cut spot welds along front of roof skin.

More pictures, comments onTarmac & Gravel.

I still need to remove the rear glass - the back light. I've disconnected the defroster connections and removed all the trim. The little green clips that hold the trim in place seem to be glued in with the glass. This is original glass and I'd prefer not to f*ck it up removing it. With homologated seats running $300 and up, I'm already pissed that I'll have to drop $200 on new glass up front. Don't want to stick stock seats back in the car with a cage because I had to spend all my cash on replacement glass.

So, anyone have tips for removing the back window without breaking it? Any areas to be particularly careful of while doing this? I've got the one tool with the handle and pull bar, but it pretty much sucks.

We had some luck with a stainless steel cable saw slipped through... until the cable snapped. It's tricky to get a razor blade between things at that angle.

Just looking for some insight if anyone has experience with this project. Thanks.

 

[toybreaker]

Quote:

1. Snap roof trim out of drip rails.
2. Use two slotted screwdrivers to remove trim retainer clips.
3. Mark, center punch, cut spot welds along both sides of roof skin.
4. Carefully remove trim around windscreen.
5. Use special tools to cut through the Window Weld sealing the glass in place.
6. Get to the last corner and crack the glass.
6.a Insert $14.75 into swear jar
7. Switch to pry bars and forcibly remove fubared windscreen.
8. Mark, center punch, cut spot welds along front of roof skin.



Quote:
Don't want to stick stock seats back in the car with a cage because I had to spend all my cash on replacement glass.



empty swear jar, problem solved /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Quote:
So, anyone have tips for removing the back window without breaking it? Any areas to be particularly careful of while doing this? I've got the one tool with the handle and pull bar, but it pretty much sucks.



Go to a glass shop and get the cool guy wire. Not cheap for the real stuff, but it's stranded, and will cut the adhesive like magic.

A little wd-40 sprayed on the wire every now and then will increase it's service life significantly.

 

[belize1334]

Or you could just find a mobile glass-repair company and have them come out and do it for you. They're experts at pulling and later reinstalling glass without breaking it. That's how they make their living.

 

[DR1665]

WD-40! I hadn't thought about that!

I bought a simple wire saw at Harbor Freight for two bucks. It got almost all the way around the windshield and the only problem was that it was terminated on both ends. I just cut one handle off, threaded the wire through, and had at it. Might just pick up a couple more and remember to spray them. The cold knife I've got sucks donkey balls. Most of the time, you have to stand in the engine bay, grip it with both hands, and then fight it side-to-side to get it to work. FAIL.

I'd call up a glass pro, but that costs money. Yes, cheaper than replacing the busted glass, but I'm trying to do this on the cheap. As tricky as things are, it's just cutting some urethane. The right tools make all the difference in the world. Appreciate the feedback, gents.

Swear jar? LOL. The most frequently used tool in my garage is the word "f***."

 

[toybreaker]

^^^ That's a 50 cent'r right there! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif

 

[14u2nV]

our local glass shop only charged me like $45 to come out and pull a window for me and swap in a blem at my house. (blem was around $125)

 

[DR1665]

Thanks for the tips, gents. Managed to get the back light out last night without much fight. Just took a lot of passes from the inside with a sharp blade. Next time I need to pull glass, I'll see if I can't get a small piece of pipe tacked onto the end of a Harbor Freight razor knife. Seems to me that's all the pipe knifes are anyway.

GREAT SUCCESS!
I've got to get ready for a camping trip this weekend and put together a couple interviews for Gearbox before I go, but next week 195/2000 becomes a convertible. From there, it's an interior clean up, surface prep with the wire wheels, and I'll be calling Kent to come pick up the beast. Fuckin' a. I'm getting excited. This is why I bought the car in the first place back in 2005.

 

[boostedinaz]

Well done Sir!

Can't wait to see it go under the knife.

 

Yeah good job dude. I can't wait to see this car go to Kent's and even moreso sliding around a corner sideways at its first rally. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[DR1665]

Yeah. Super stoked. I'm going to try to stop in and visit Kent's shop Thursday before INO if you guys wanted to meet up there. I hear he's working on a sick WRC-style cage in a WRX these days. Would be sweet to check it out!

 

[DR1665]

Thought I would update this thread, as I have removed the roof on 195/2000 and am *damn near ready* to show Kent the money!

After the front/rear glass was out, I used a spot weld cutter to drill out the spot welds holding the roof skin on the car. Mike (3of1000) helped out.

With the spot welds cut, I took an old screwdriver to the tracks to both scrape out the adhesive and begin testing separation.

I had to go back through a couple spots to further cut spot welds (or drill out one or two we missed), then slipped a pry bar under the edge, gave it a slight lift, and POP! The roof skin was free.

Here's the roof skin, chillin in the driveway. I have to put the roof back on before I can install the front and rear glass, so if anyone had a non-sunroof roof skin they wanted to trade for a factory sunroof panel (cough-mikewitdaspike-cough), let me know! Otherwise, I'll be covering this sunroof opening with a panel and a roof vent.

With the roof off, I focused my attention on removing the sound insulation from the floorboards where the roll cage base plates will be installed. I did one corner with a rubber mallet, chisel, and wire wheel on the drill. This took about two hours.

Eff. That.

Since I'm not stripping the entire shell down, or worried about the undercoating, I passed on using the Rally Anarchy Liquid Nitrogen Deathray (there is such a thing, by the way), opting to use dry ice instead.

A single, 4lb block of dry ice lasted plenty long enough on a 90* Phoenix afternoon, even after I broke it into 4 pieces for more cooling surface area.. If you didn't already know this, the dry ice super-cools the insulation material, making it brittle and weakening the bond between it and the metal beneath it.

I let the pieces sit for a few minutes, getting things nice and frosty, then rearranged them and took an old ball peen hammer to the insulation. Most of it just shattered and came loose. The little bit that didn't came free with a few gentle taps with the mallet and chisel.

I ended up removing most of the insulation in front of the front seats because it was working so well.

A couple notes, if you decide to use dry ice for super cooling something on the car in the future:
- It's pure carbon dioxide, so make sure you use it in a well-ventilated area (same goes for bringing it home - leave your windows down).
- You *can* handle it with your bare hands, but only momentarily, unless you want freezer burns (freezes tissue to death). I used a pair of cheap leather work gloves, and my hands were nice and cool, not cold.
- YMMV, but I had the dry ice sitting in the car for a good three hours while working and taking breaks, and I had plenty left when I was done. Was about 88* in the shade, lower humidity.

Hope this helps someone in the future.
Getting stoked to hand the car off to Kent for the cage!

 

[steve]

Good work, and thanks for documenting things with great pics.