Astroroof??? Yay or Nay?????

[johnski]

Since my cousin's (Now ex) husband showed up at my house in march 1988 with a new 87 GN hardtop it has been one of my top " must have when I grow up cars" I now know of a couple but they have CF5 astro roof option. My main concerns are:
#1. I got burned on my first GN which looked perfect but had structural issues due to T-Top water retention which made for alot of rust!.
#2. Do astroroofs rust as bad and how much head room will I loose?
#3. Are astroroofs worth it????????
All I want is a T/R I can drive the heck out of 8 months out of the year that will not fall apart from the top down!!!!

 

[GNBRETT]

t-tops are very different then astro/sun roofs. the one nice thing about astro roofs in these cars is that they are huge and really give that convertable feeling.

structurally im sure a hard top is more sound but unless ur drag racing who gives a chit.

its a personal choice. if i was buying one new i would probably opt for a solid roof. but very happy with my astro roof. they do not seem to rust or leak like t-tops do. pretty rare as well.

u might have to replace the seal. no big deal tho. they are cheap.

if the motor fails at some time u can always crank em open or closed. mine opens and closes incredibly fast to my suprise. nothing like the way those crappy power windows roll up.

if u live in a warm climate I think its a no brainer.

 

[mr go fast]

I love my astro roof. I wouldnt have bought the car if it didnt have one. My only one complaint is that I dont have the inner liner to cover the glass. Come to think of it, It would probably minimize the head room.

 

[chopped39]

I loved mine till I started doing a frame off and found rust across rear seam behind rear seat and rust in the quarters.The first thing you do when you get it is replace the rear hoses from the sunroof and route them out the bottom of the rear wheel wells.I had a t-top car I liked the car but caught in a heavy down pourThe astro is nice but finding parts is a little tough. So before you buy one check under rear seats and in quarters and make sure all hoses are not clogged. good luck

 

[turbojay]

I like mine. It's pretty rare, I saw on an old Kirban email that there were only 1915 turbo regals made with the astroroof. It is easier to use than taking off ttops and it is a pretty big opening. As others have said, it's very easy to use, it opens/closes very quickly. Also no rust issues on my GN due to the astroroof.

 

[asto-t]

astro roof

I like mine.I had no problems. Plus you dont have to stop and put your t-tops in the trunk. Parts? Astro-roofs are the same in the cutlass. I found a whole set up for 85.00 and the the plastic glass frame wasnt cracked!

 

[turbo39151]

Astroroof is cool. I also have the ASC sunroof. My only gripe is some loss of headroom. A t-top or hardtop car has much more headroom. I like them all so I'm biased

BTW, the sunroof is plastic assembly mounted in a large hole in the roof. Not much for rust issues, (T-top can have more)

 

[Rauder]

I love my Astroroof...when I bought my GN that was the option I was looking for CF5. They are also rare and I have no problem with head room, mine also has the power seats and no head room problems, and no rust problems..

 

[BILL HAINES]

Astro roof

I installed an astro roof on my hardtop gn. I cut one,center support off(runs across near interioe dome lp). The new roof skin has "more" support than a hardtop. The surround opening is reinforced,then the assembly bolts 3 places on the sides and 2 places on the front,and 2 places on the rear. Although the astro roof adds approx 30 lbs,i feel it is a stronger,more solid car..i don't have t-roof sliding around in my trunk,like my other gn...

 

[gunslinger]

I bought mine because it has an astroroof.

Headroom doesn't seem to be an issue for me either. I''m 6'1", and the car has power seats.

 

[jlat]

hello people; chopped39 is there a pic. somewhere of those hoses your talking about from the moonroof? I have a ASC one and I never saw a breakdown of it. I do need a complete headliner but not this year. That would show me everything.
any help?
thanks IBBY

 

[BILL HAINES]

Hoses

hello people; chopped39 is there a pic. Somewhere of those hoses your talking about from the moonroof? I have a asc one and i never saw a breakdown of it. I do need a complete headliner but not this year. That would show me everything.
Any help?
Thanks ibby

asc run 2 hoses inside the rear quarters,if you look in the trunk,you should see a clear hose on both sides,they empty out the bottom of the quarters..

 

[jlat]

hello; thanks I'll ck. for those hoses in the trunk. I'll get back to you. I do have that trunk carpeting all around and I try to keep ot flush to the sides and havn't really took them off all the way.
IBBY

 

[krazy86t]

u might have to replace the seal. no big deal tho. they are cheap.

The seal on my astro roof leaks - front side - where do you buy the replacement seal? Tried Kirban and NOS4GN websites, but did not see it listed. thx

ps - ripped out headliner and there is haze of surface rust on back roof behind the astro assembly. also, one of the drain hoses was broken at clamp connection. easy to fix the hose, not sure about the sheet metal - it isn't cancer, just uncoated sheet metal haze.

 

[piece]

as a owner of one i maybe a little bias but it is a nice option to have you don't see many around.jim

 

[GNBRETT]

The seal on my astro roof leaks - front side - where do you buy the replacement seal? Tried Kirban and NOS4GN websites, but did not see it listed. thx

ps - ripped out headliner and there is haze of surface rust on back roof behind the astro assembly. also, one of the drain hoses was broken at clamp connection. easy to fix the hose, not sure about the sheet metal - it isn't cancer, just uncoated sheet metal haze.

pretty sure GBody sells em

 

[88 CuttyClassic]

they each have there pros and cons...i've never owned a astro roof g-body..just one hard top and two t-top cars... my t-top cars rarely see rain but one of them does leak and has some rust that needs fixed. IMO you cant beat a t-top car in nice weather with the other two choices.. And if you park ur car in a garage you could go weeks without even touching the tops. i've went a whole month without putting them back on and only did because i needed to wash the car. But the cons would be leaks and creaks... both cars never felt as tight as my hardtop.. I think the astro roof is a decent comprimise between the two.. I passed up some nice hard top cars because i wanted t-tops.. it just depends on what day you ask me if i made the right choice.. if its sunny and 80 i'll say t-tops all the way.. if its raining and my windows fogged because of moisture i'll curse "leak"tops up and down..

 

[chopped39]

The seal on my astro roof leaks - front side - where do you buy the replacement seal? Tried Kirban and NOS4GN websites, but did not see it listed. thx

ps - ripped out headliner and there is haze of surface rust on back roof behind the astro assembly. also, one of the drain hoses was broken at clamp connection. easy to fix the hose, not sure about the sheet metal - it isn't cancer, just uncoated sheet metal haze.

The rust haze was all over my roof and quarters also.

 

[phillyturbosix]

Astro roof GN's are just plain sexy! Separate your self from the hardtop guys in a good way! Like a T top car unless it was well taken care of and the gaskets changed before they got to old and start leaking you might be in trouble with rust. My T top GN I use to take them off but that kinda wore off in the first year or so. Now I don't think I've had them off since I got the car! Astro roof gives you the best of all worlds. While everyone goes after the hard top cars I've found them boring. At least the ones I've been in. First thing I do when I get in the astro roof car is open the roof! Nothing like a nice spring or fall day and taking a cruise with the top open!

 

[krazy86t]

pretty sure GBody sells em

ur right, they got em. but...wow, 155 bucks for rubber seal! i thought you said they were "cheap" ;-)

sorry to hijack this thread a little with DIY information requests. I totally dig the astroroof, and am completely stoked that my 86t has one. at least until it rains, or i wash the car - except it doesn't really matter right now because the inside is gutted.