Sunroof in my 356 C-Coupe with problems

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OERTER Bernhard
356 Fan
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2016 5:52 pm

Sunroof in my 356 C-Coupe with problems

#1 Post by OERTER Bernhard »

Hello community - i own a 356 C-Coupe year 64 for restoration - the car was delivered as a sunroof-coupe (electrical) - my car came years ago from US to Germany - rthink about 10 years ago -
i do not know the history from my car - no pre-owners or sellers name i know - think it came from CA - the Problem is that the original sunroof was changed to a mechanic sunroof - think came from a VW bug which do not close correst - i want to bring it back to orig. sunroof - is there anybody who know this 356 and can help me? Kindest Bernhard
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Ben Wainscott
356 Fan
Posts: 196
Joined: Sat Mar 29, 2008 12:30 pm
Location: Southern California

Re: Sunroof in my 356 C-Coupe with problems

#2 Post by Ben Wainscott »

It appears that from the one photo that the original aluminum railing still exists, although the center cover does not fit flush. I am not sure if this is a result of fitting a different mechanical mechanism or? There is a tool to open and close the sunroof if the motor or driveshaft fails. This may have been the only conversion to make it mechanical.

To sort this out, I would open up the gear drive mechanism in the center front of the rail system and inspect it and see what is there. It should have the drive gear from the motor that engages the cables to move it open and closed. Are there still cables in the rail system? Is there still a motor inside the car? A switch to operate the motor? Flexible drive shaft from the motor to the gear drive mechanism?

I would then remove the sunroof panel and inventory what you have. The removal process is in the manuals and it is not difficult (although a bit confusing for the first time). There should be the last three digits of you cars VIN stamped on the panel. That will confirm that the top is original to the car. Inspect the aluminum cable railing for wear, missing pieces, etc. These are all shown in the manual.

Once you know what you have, you can start collecting the missing pieces. Some are available from vendors (seals, cables, switch, having a flex shaft made, etc.). Others are tough to find, and the 356 classified would be a good place to start.
Ben Wainscott
65 SC S/R coupe
89 911 Carrera
63 Vespa 150
80 Vespa P200e

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