66 Volvo P1800 Custom Build ( Pro-Touring Ls1 V8, Body Mods, and Flush Mount Glass) by Iamtheonlyreal1

9 minute(s) of a 136 minute read

I figured I would share some updates on the Greenhouse Roof Modification, because I have been recieving more and more questions about the process procedcures along with the likelyhood of the glass moving forward.. I have been working on a template system that will allow you go mod the roof very easliy, along with ensuring that the opening will accept the production greenhouse glass with ease.. If I or any potential customers had to rough cut each car being done without any sort of a template, I could not be sure that the glass would work with any consistancy, and that could cause alot of headaches that could have been avoided with a sorted out system..

It is a fairly easy procedure because the structure of the car is already setup for this style roof, so it is really just isolating the proper cut, and then adding the new structure kit that will box out the channels and add the attachment flange for the glass.. In the pictures I show two ways that the roof could have been cut in the front, and I think the final cut design looks the best and will allow me to add more body structure to the front windshield frame.. Keep in mind that the only thing really being removed is the actual roof skin, so the front windshield frame and side roof rails are not altered at all, and are actually beefed up with additional bracing and boxing from the roof modification kit. I debated about removing the rear cross brace for the back glass attachment, and thought about just having a black out section of the glass to hide it, but I think it looks much better with out it. The tempered roof glass will actually add body rigidity to the car, and with the extra boxing and bracing, I still think there will be added strength to the body integrity with that cross brace removed.

Here are some pics.. The first pics are of the roof skin being cut while using the inner roof structure as template. I wasnt very happy with this, because it actually made the front roof to windshield perspective look off and cheap. 

Here are some pics of the oem inner roof rails with the skin removed, and as you can see the body structure is actually capable of this sort of modification. You should also be able to see in the pics of the driver side rail, where just by hammering and dollying down the inner rail pinch weld, you then have the bonding surface for the Tempered Greenhouse Roof Glass. After that, it is really just matter of boxing out the roof rails and outer roof skin and then blending it into the oem back glass opening, and this cut and system will emilinate alot of unecessary work.

Here are some pics of the best cut layout I was able to come up with, and it was done this way to best tie in the oem back glass opening to eliminate additional modification needs, along with offering a smooth and consistant body seam line. The cut follows the oem roof arching and leaves a consistent side rail width appearance, and this was done by using the factory side window and door openings as a cutting guide.. As you can also see, I added some of the front roof skin material back to the car, because the opening in the first pictures really didnt look right at all, along with looking very weak in appearance. I thing the extended back roof skin looks better, and will also allow the use of functional sun visors and accessories.

When this kit is completed, I will have a metal template that can be used as a cutting guide to ensure proper alignment and fitment for the Greenhouse Roof Glasses I am having made, and that will allow me to complete more of these modifications for inhouse customer builds. The kit will also have automated pre-cut pieces that will make up the boxing structure for the roof skin and oem rails, along with the necessary inner front roof structure and attachment flange for the extended front roof cut. I am not sure if demand will justify production on any of this, so I will only be making a few kits for in house use and a few do it yourselfer customers that are already building this version of the P1800. The kit will consist of the Green House roof and metal kit, front flush mount windshield, new door glasses to eliminate the vent window, new larger quarter glasses and metal cutting guide and insert kit. The side glasses are Curved, and in order to make the new quarter glass look right, it will have to be made in a tempered glass with compound curves, because the larger quarter glasses will then reach into the body curvature of the roof.. Even with the smaller factory quarter glass opening, there is a and interruption/bump made into the roof raile to compensate, and that would only be worse if the flat glass was made larger. Sure you could cut some flat glass and fit them into a larger opening, but it will look completely out of place and cheap, because they would be a huge interruption of the sexy body curvature of the car.

8-25-2013

I have had some emails with some additional questions about the greenhouse roof mod, so here are a few more pictures of the process, and you will see it is pretty easy once you have a template for the cut. I have taken pictures of the the factory roof rail on the passenger side, and the modified roof rail on the drivers side. As you can see, it is really just a matter of hammering the oem pinch weld flange down to a flat position so it can be used as the bonding surface for the glass. After that, it is really only a matter of using a filler strip from the roof rail structure to the outer roof skin, and that ties the roof skin in, and in turn does a double boxing of the roof rail assembly.

I had to take it this far so I could get my programmer started on the automated cut programs for the templates and filler pieces. When all of that is done, I hope to have a basic horseshoe template that will line everything up for the cutting and new glass, but it will also have all the filler strips as break away pieces in the body of template. I hope that makes sense, because it sure does in my head.. LOL

Oem Passenger side roof rail.





Modfied Drivers Side roof rail. Pinch weld flange hammered down for a glass adheasion point, and the filler strip to box the roof outer skin and roof rail pocket. I also added a strip down the side of where the back glass would attach normally, that way there is a uniform flange for glass adheasion. Keep in mind that the template assembled car will be much cleaner than the hand cut pieces I have here, and the finish welding and grinding hasnt been done, but this will give you an idea of how it works. Once all of the welding and additional boxing is done, along with the heavy tempered glass being installed, the body integrity should actually be stronger.