sawczak Posted March 11, 2011 Report Posted March 11, 2011 I was wondering if anyone knows where I can buy the material that seals the sunroof and the roof opening for my 1979 Avanti II. We are painting the car and need to replace the felt and rubber ring. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Steve
WayneC Posted March 11, 2011 Report Posted March 11, 2011 I was wondering if anyone knows where I can buy the material that seals the sunroof and the roof opening for my 1979 Avanti II. I don't know, I can only make suggestions, and hopefully someone on this forum will have exact information for you. But if not, perhaps some of the parts vendors do (try Nostalgic Motors). If Avanti vendors can't help, I can give you some clues from a 2001 posting by Lew Schucart in the AOAI magazine that might possibly give you a path to chase. This is very old information, so there's no telling if it will bear any fruit... The sunroofs were originally made by Skytop Sunroofs, which is now defunct, but it's assets were sold to "Auto Air Co/Midwest Custom Auto Top" in St Louis, (314-534-8080 as of 2001). They may (or may not) be able to supply parts and/or a service guide, and/or recommendations on shops that can service old sunroofs. Another path to persue would be to see if you can find weatherstrip materials that closely match what you have. I'd look at the AUVECO catalog for starters; some parts stores may have a copy of that catalog for their own use, or you may be able to download a catalog from AUVECO's website. JC Whitney used to carry some generic weatherstrip materials years ago, dunno if they still do. And, sometimes NAPA can come up with strange stuff in their parts books, albeit they probably can't look it up under "Avanti sunroof"
Jolly-John Posted March 21, 2011 Report Posted March 21, 2011 Hi, Steve. Check with one of the sunroof installation companies in a bigger city. When I replaced the seals in my Avanti II sunroof, an American Sun Roof dealer had the EXACT weatherstripping and rubber for the job. Good luck! John in Wisconsin
sawczak Posted March 23, 2011 Author Report Posted March 23, 2011 Thanks for the leads on the sunroof. You guys are a big help. I'm looking forward to having the car out on the road this summer. Steve
Paul K. Posted March 23, 2011 Report Posted March 23, 2011 My 76 had an ASC brand sunroof installed when new. Avanti later went to the Skytop brand but not sure what year. My ASC sunroof glass panel was BIG. It was a piece of CARLITE brand glass (Ford). A good guess would be if yours is the same you have an ASC.
Gunslinger Posted March 23, 2011 Report Posted March 23, 2011 My 76 had an ASC brand sunroof installed when new. Avanti later went to the Skytop brand but not sure what year. My ASC sunroof glass panel was BIG. It was a piece of CARLITE brand glass (Ford). A good guess would be if yours is the same you have an ASC. I've read somewhere that when Avanti Motors was able to fit in a sunroof, they adapted one from a Lincoln. Since you said yours is sourced from Ford, that may be at least circumstantial evidence that's true. Now, if we could identify what Ford or Lincoln it was adapted from it could make parts sourcing easier. I would think that CARLITE glass should have some kind of identification numbers on it as to date made, application, etc.
Paul K. Posted March 25, 2011 Report Posted March 25, 2011 (edited) From the size, it looked like it came from a Lincoln Town Car or Town Coupe'. Edited March 25, 2011 by Paul K.
sawczak Posted March 30, 2011 Author Report Posted March 30, 2011 Thanks! It would be great if we could figure out what year Ford or Lincoln used these sunroofs. The parts would be easier for others to track down. Steve
JavierB Posted September 11, 2021 Report Posted September 11, 2021 On 3/29/2011 at 9:20 PM, sawczak said: Thanks! It would be great if we could figure out what year Ford or Lincoln used these sunroofs. The parts would be easier for others to track down. Steve Hi Steve. Did anything ever come of this thread? Its a decade later, and I'm also looking for the front weatherseal of my 81 Avanti with a SkyTop moonroof. Dan Booth has the rear one and is sending it, but he doesnt have the front one that wraps around the two sides and front. Any advice on your search would be welcome. Thanks!
pantera928 Posted October 17, 2021 Report Posted October 17, 2021 On 9/11/2021 at 3:42 PM, JavierB said: Hi Steve. Did anything ever come of this thread? Its a decade later, and I'm also looking for the front weatherseal of my 81 Avanti with a SkyTop moonroof. Dan Booth has the rear one and is sending it, but he doesnt have the front one that wraps around the two sides and front. Any advice on your search would be welcome. Thanks! Did you ever have any luck? I am looking for the same for a 1980 with a Sky-Top
JavierB Posted October 17, 2021 Report Posted October 17, 2021 1 hour ago, pantera928 said: Did you ever have any luck? I am looking for the same for a 1980 with a Sky-Top Check this out: https://www.brownaircraft.com/product-p/ba-4555.htm This seal seems identical to the profile of the SkyTop seal. What I did was first put in a 1/8" flat seal and then this seal on top. I just put it in today, and honestly I didnt do a particularly great job of it, but I think it works just like the original seal. I may need to adjust the alignment a bit of the glass, but this is the best solution I've found.
JavierB Posted October 17, 2021 Report Posted October 17, 2021 21 minutes ago, JavierB said: Check this out: https://www.brownaircraft.com/product-p/ba-4555.htm This seal seems identical to the profile of the SkyTop seal. What I did was first put in a 1/8" flat seal and then this seal on top. I just put it in today, and honestly I didnt do a particularly great job of it, but I think it works just like the original seal. I may need to adjust the alignment a bit of the glass, but this is the best solution I've found. To be honest its possible that the 1/8" first seal is unnecessary, or may be better as a 1/16" seal. This is not the easiest thing in the world to dry test.
pantera928 Posted October 17, 2021 Report Posted October 17, 2021 Just now, JavierB said: To be honest its possible that the 1/8" first seal is unnecessary, or may be better as a 1/16" seal. This is not the easiest thing in the world to dry test. Thanks. Any pictures of the installation?
JavierB Posted October 17, 2021 Report Posted October 17, 2021 2 minutes ago, pantera928 said: Thanks. Any pictures of the installation? I didnt get any in process shots, alas, I had more than hands full trying to keep the weatherseal goop from getting all over everything. 🙂 I'll try and get some finished pix tomorrow.
pantera928 Posted October 17, 2021 Report Posted October 17, 2021 Just now, JavierB said: I didnt get any in process shots, alas, I had more than hands full trying to keep the weatherseal goop from getting all over everything. 🙂 I'll try and get some finished pix tomorrow. I understand that. Thanks
silverstude Posted October 17, 2021 Report Posted October 17, 2021 There is a shop in PA who I dealt with a long while ago, who had almost anything you would need in the way of weatherstrip/seals. If you can get an accurate profile of a section, with measurements, try this place https://www.restorationspecialties.com
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now