sunroof or no sunroof?

[BIG7 007]

Just wanted some ideas from you guys/girls

the link above shows my s3 esprit how it looks at the moment.... next year it will be re-sprayed white.

what do you think of the sunroof the one fitted is and needs replacing with a bigger one or do i get the hole filled in (but how?)

ideas of info would be great.

Thanks

Alan

[nello]

IMO - respray the same Yellow and fill the hole in...........

[andydclements]

For looks, fill it. Speak to Lotusbits, get a roof and cut out a blank to fill the hole then have it glassed in.

For comfort, sunroof is good, it will let the summer heat out.

If you want a compromise, get another sunroof, but get a white one so it's not a visible from a distance.

If you want best of both, you'd need a full glass roof.

Andy

[BIG7 007]

i cant live with yellow ..... an i`ve always wanted a white one (I would have bought a white one to start with but they all cost more than this

[Jeanvm]

I would try to install a detachable roof like the original and not visible. Than you have the good looks and also the comfort for in the summer.

Cheers,

Jean

[yeti]

I think the yellow is cool. White shows up all the dirt.

And, yes I'd loose the roof if I could.

[mr.oogieboogie]

get rid of the sun roof it looks nasty, but keep it yellow otherwise everyone will end up white

[Paul Coleman]

Find somebody with a S3 that needs respraying and doesn't have a sunroof then take a mould off their roof. Make a new part from the mould and then glass it in, fill the gap and paint it - job done

Paul.

[andydclements]

ow do you go about replacing the roof

If you just want it back to original, leave the roof there that you have, you just cut a piece of anothe rooof to the same size (from the same part of the other roof), thin the edges of both down a bit, on the outside and inside, then the new fibreglass will bond it in place.

If yo want to go for the whole glass job, you'll need a glass roof and all the bodywork associated, and have that put in place of the body work (pillars) there now.

It's not impossible, but you need somebody who's used to and competent on glass fibre work, not just a body shiop repair firm who use glass fibre to repair metal cars.

Andy

[superdavelotus]

PNM Engineering has the only roof mould from an S3 I think. He got it from Lotus and I think have even supplied them with one in the past. They can make you this item if you wish.

[mdw]

I would dump the rood if you can ( PO put one in my excel and I hate it). However if you are going to keep the hole webasto do a nice electric tilt and slide that looks good. There is a pic of it in an excel I will try and dig out.

Edited December 17, 2008 by mdw

[tonyp]

Well, I vote to keep the sunroof .....Cos I've got one, although it does blend in pretty well with dark blue. A godsend when its sunny so 10/10 for practicality.

If I had

[jimmybondi]

Alan get rid of that nasty aftermarket roof!

Try to install the factory style roofpanel if possible. You can even take the panel out and drive Targa-style then. Hooray!!

[fsrowsell]

I agree with most... Sun Roof has to go!

[Kimbers]

Sunroof Get rid of it

Yellow Keep it (white is getting a bit common and yellow looks great on an S3)

[nello]

oh..........and get some original seats too!

[Autocross7]

I like sun roofs but somehow the one pictured does not look right. I'd explore ways to get one that looks better. I think getting a peice that is solid and body color that would lift out like on the later cars could be an option? I would have to look into though...

As for color... I am a 'keep it original' kind of guy, so I'd paint it whatever it was when new. I love white, as my car is monoco white, but it came that way. That said, it is your car and the only real answer I can give you is to do what makes you happy. My car makes me happy (most days)... and so you car should make you happy too!

Cameron

Edited December 18, 2008 by Autocross7

[Road Stone]

I too like the idea of a sunroof, but the one in the pic looks very Morris Marina.

[Loose Cannon]

80s add-on sunroofs are the seed of Satan, bin it if you can.

Another vote for keeping it yellow as yellow S3s are very rare, but white does suit the N/A G car very well also

[Paul C]

My S3 had an aftermarket sunroof fitted.

I lived with it.

Thing is, today we look at them and they look bad. Even basic spec cars come with manufacturers

sunroofs, and those companies that used to be on every trading estate the country over, fitting sunroofs

have all gone.

My '83 car came from a time when lotus did not have a sunroof option, (Glass option was in '84/85).

In 1893 when the first owner wanted a sunroof, the aftermarket was his only option, because of this

it is actually a period feature.

Ok, it might not look too good now, but it does the job, and has been doing the job for 25 years.

Fitting one now would be madness of course, but when there was no other option and it was done at the

time there was no other way, it's actually almost an original feature.

That said, i did look at what filling mine in would cost and (IMO) = cheaper to sell and buy another car.

In your case a white one maybe?

[Loose Cannon]

Alan

As Malcolm said here's your solution if grafting glassfibre is not appealing, a more modern (larger) aerofoil style sunroof in it's place - on a bit of a tatty S2 but you get the idea;

See the rest here;

www.carandclassic.co.uk

(interesting digital dash though)

Edited December 19, 2008 by LooseCannon

[BIG7 007]

loose cannon...............very nice sunroof.......... will be looking into that one as the hole is there it might as well be a little bigger ...

nello...... the seats are original (red snap-on covers in place on photo... seats look like below........by Lotus cars of course..

[Guest Slegs]

At the end of the day.... it's YOUR car. If you like the fit, feel, and looks, then by all means the decision is yours.... I own an Esprit and I will be buried in it (if my wishes are granted), but mine is by NO means a purist Esprit. Sure Lotus engineers are famed and deserve to be bowed and applauded to, but individual tastes vary beyond comprehension and you are lucky enough to be the owner of an elite automobile. Do what makes you say WOW when you get up in the morning and grab the keys... In the end, YOU are the one that matters and if it makes YOU happy, then hey!!! so be it!

Just one thought from another lucky Esprit owner. It's my dream car too, and even though I have 5 (yes, FIVE) children under the age of 10, I'm still setting money aside to make my car special, better, and MINE.....

Sincerely,

John

Knoxville, Tennessee

USA

[socal450]

Great choice in white!!!!They look so much faster without a glass top,more streamline.

[molemot]

First glance at the initial photo...I liked the colour, thought the yellow went well with the wheels, looked pretty. Sunroof....yuk. Problem is, having done quite a bit of GF work in the past, it would be very very difficult to fill in the hole and not see the outline. Might not be impossible, but I'd bet it would show up under oblique lighting and you'd always be reminded of it. My brother tried to lose the sunroof on a Dodge Charger he had..no way to get over the visibility of the joint..so he sprayed it candyflake and put on a vinyl roof, then sold it to the British equivalent of a Mississipi whorehouse pimp!! If you are dead set on going for a solid roof, I'd be inclined to try to fit a complete new roof panel, over the original if possible. Be easier to blend the edges and there's lots of trim around it...