General Forum : glass sunroof

gerbob

Posted Sunday, Jul 23rd 4:39am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]

Member
Post nr. 2

British Columbia, Canada
1978 320i (american) 1982 320i (american)

does anyone know if there are glass sunroof panels available for our cars?

BruceH

Posted Sunday, Jul 23rd 2:34pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]

Member
Post nr. 967

Atlanta, GA USA
81 323 Baur, 85 745

There was not a factory glass panel offered.

Bill in MN

Posted Sunday, Jul 23rd 5:38pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]

Member
Post nr. 18

Minnesota USA
1988 735, 1986 535 turbo, 1981 Baur 323i

Saab sunroofs will fit in the e28. I have no idea as to whether or not the e21 uses the same roof but it's worth checking in to.

BruceH

Posted Sunday, Jul 23rd 5:55pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]

Member
Post nr. 968

Atlanta, GA USA
81 323 Baur, 85 745

I am *fairly* positive that the e21 sunroof is shorter in overall length than the e28. I want to say that it is a Webasto whereas the Saab/e28/e24/e23 are from another OE supplier.

gerbob

Posted Monday, Jul 24th 4:31am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]

Member
Post nr. 3

British Columbia, Canada
1978 320i (american) 1982 320i (american)

did no one jump on the bandwagon and create an aftermarket version? I thought I had seen specs on one somewhere and the owner was boasting a glass sunroof. Can't remember where though.

gerbob

Posted Monday, Jul 24th 4:38am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]

Member
Post nr. 4

British Columbia, Canada
1978 320i (american) 1982 320i (american)

I am following up on the Saab lead though

BruceH

Posted Monday, Jul 24th 2:37pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]

Member
Post nr. 969

Atlanta, GA USA
81 323 Baur, 85 745

Go measure an e23/28. That will tell you if the Saab or BMW glass will fit.

All of the glass e21 aftermarkets where the pop-up variety. These where fitted to non sunroof cars and where fugly. Ask Joe Gallo.

Bill in MN

Posted Monday, Jul 24th 3:23pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]

Member
Post nr. 19

Minnesota USA
1988 735, 1986 535 turbo, 1981 Baur 323i

The e28 glass roof is 35x19.5", give or take a little. The Saab roof has a slightly different curve to it but not pronounced enough to worry about. If for some reason it does fit, Saab roofs are cheap. It's a popular retrofit and can be found through several of the e28 boards.

li-engineer

Posted Wednesday, Jul 26th 4:01am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]

Junior Member
Post nr. 4

New Yawk, U.S. of A.
79 323i, 94 530iT

I looked into getting a glass sunroof back in
the early 90's. It turned out to be the same
as the E30 and, at that time, a glass sunroof
was available from the dealer. I don't think
the glass roof was factory, but an aftermarket
piece that replaced the steel panel. I kind
of doubt it's still available from the factory,
but maybe it's still available aftermarket.

Eric

gerbob

Posted Wednesday, Jul 26th 6:00am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]

Member
Post nr. 5

British Columbia, Canada
1978 320i (american) 1982 320i (american)

thanks eric, bill and bruce, that'll give me something else to scrounge around at "pick n pull" for. I don't know if you guys are familiar with auto wreckers like this but it's great for guys like us. All fenders (wings) are $35 all engines are $149, all transmissions are $75, seats are like $17 etc etc. And then ther's half price special days. Plus you go in and pull all your own parts so you can scope out the treasures from the trash. An lsd cost the same as an open rear end. I notice that all you folks live in different parts of the world. I'm curious as to how it works in your neighborhood.

gerbob

Posted Wednesday, Jul 26th 6:07am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]

Member
Post nr. 6

British Columbia, Canada
1978 320i (american) 1982 320i (american)

the e21 roof measures 19 1"2" x 33 1/4"

bmw_m_320i

Posted Wednesday, Jul 26th 7:02am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]

Member
Post nr. 702

Helena, Montana
none right now :(

gerbob wrote:

there are a few yards like this that I know of, my favorite one is the Pick'N Pull in Daytona Florida. They have really good prices on parts, and I usually see at least one, and sometimes more E21's, and usually quite a few other BMW's there too. I found my Volvo 4 piston calipers there, and paid $7 each for them. By the way has anyone seen any E38's (95-01 7 series) or E39's (96-04 5 series) I'm looking for some cheap rear hub carriers to play with for fabricating a multilink rear suspension

BarryA

Posted Wednesday, Jul 26th 9:38pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]

Member
Post nr. 164

Sacramento CA
81 320

li-engineer wrote:

A while back, in the process of adding an E30 sunroof pop-up wind deflector to my sunroof, I pulled an E30 sunroof apart to run a trial install on an E21 @ Pick & Pull - everything including the sliding panel matched up, so an E30 glass panel (if you can find one) should work great (the popup deflector works fine too, if the proper brackets are added).

Finding a BMW glass panel will probably be the challenge - according to a long-time parts guy at the local dealer, glass panels were available as an accessory on E30's, but they sure weren't cheap. He said he remembered ordering just the roof panel sometime in the early 90's - retail at that time was somewhere north of $600 (probably why there are so few around).

I've only seen one, ever - it's on an Alpine white 4 door in my end of town but the folks who own the car aren't interested in selling the panel.

redmist

Posted Wednesday, Jul 26th 10:30pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]

Member
Post nr. 912

NY USA
357i , 325i e30 turbo

How about pulling out the sunroof and installing a snap on tonneau cover.

gerbob

Posted Thursday, Jul 27th 6:50am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]

Member
Post nr. 9

British Columbia, Canada
1978 320i (american) 1982 320i (american)

Uh ...no!