Converting manual sunroof to electric!

[Sharknose3]

Has anybody already done this?

Should probably leave the roof as manual but have 4 electric windows and a good alarm system & full closure is tempting as I've got the roof on tilt most of the year when I'm in the car. Sick of having to crank it closed and I'm always game to tackle another E30 project

I have the motor, relay, switch wiring etc which I removed from a scrap touring and already wired up & tested it. I forgot the motor mounting plate which was riveted in place - might need it yet!

I found a German E30 site which tells how to drill out the manual sunroof crank mounting plate, tap the holes etc and mount the motor but am hesitating !!

Thanks in advance for any hints or tips ,
Sharknose

[Brianmoooore]

Yes, all do able/ You really need the black mounting plate, but should be able to get the motor to fit with considerable butchery of the black plate. IIRC, the mounting bosses for the motor are already present in the gold plate, but you need a longer bolt and need to add a spacer for the fixing on the left.
Remove the old mechanism with the roof fully closed, connect and power up the motor to make sure it is in the fully closed position, and be carefull not to move the cables when the mechanusm is out, and you shouldn't have any syncronisation problems.

[Sharknose3]

Thanks a lot Brian;

I'll tackle it some weekend soon; Must try and get the correct backing plate before I start drilling the one I've got!

Sharknose

[A1BMW325iSport]

get the plate with cable guides, when you fit its a good oportunity to clean and grease the cables, i did mine in about an hour and half

[Simon]

get the plate with cable guides, when you fit its a good oportunity to clean and grease the cables, i did mine in about an hour and half

How do you remove the plate and the cables?

[mark_biddle]

I just did this conversion and the holes in the motor did not quite line up with the holes in the copper plate that holds the cables. They were only just out, so could not drill/retap. spent a good while with the dremmel and re-fitting ! Not a hard job just time consuming, and makes your arms ache keep holding the motor up while you are tring to get the screws in ! Also make sure you get the rotor in right place, so when it is baing opened or closed it "trips" in the right place. It will still open and close if in wrong place just annoying it does not stop/click in right places. Hope this helps.

[Simon]

What did you use the dremmel on, the holes in the motor itself yes?

My M3 is in bits at the moment, found the holes don't line up.

[A1BMW325iSport]

the plate and cable guide comes out fairly easily, i would recommend doing it that way, there is a screw at each end of the cable guide under the headlining you will need to pull the headlining down a bit a each side in the grab handle area in order to get to the screws.

[Brianmoooore]

I just did this conversion and the holes in the motor did not quite line up with the holes in the copper plate that holds the cables. They were only just out, so could not drill/retap. spent a good while with the dremmel and re-fitting ! Not a hard job just time consuming, and makes your arms ache keep holding the motor up while you are tring to get the screws in ! .

I had this problem as well . Put it down at the time as a one off due to a tolerance problem in the making of the bits.
I overcame it by drilling all three holes in the motor oversize untill the bolts would fit. Didn't have to enlarge them by much.
Any explanations why?

[Sharknose3]

I just finished this conversion and it worked well. Similar to everyone elses experiences, the holes were there and already tapped M5 but I had to dremel the bosses on the motor to make the screws fit.

I searched for months and didn't find a breaking E30 with electric roof to get hold af a mounting plate & guides so I adapted the manual mounting plate. It took a while with the dremel but was worth the hassle.

If somebody has an E30 breaking with electric roof I'd be interested in buying the whole roof mechanism to convert the roof in my other touring.

Sharknose

[Brianmoooore]

So what is it with these motor mount holes?
When I converted one and found they didn't quite line up, I thought mine was a slightly ouy of spec one off, but now two others have had the same thing.
These holes aren't used with the manual front plate, and are nearly, but not in quite the right place for the motor. Why?

[A1BMW325iSport]

i have a sunroof kit if anyone wants it, complete with motor/plate, full wiring, switch and relay

[Simon]

So what is it with these motor mount holes?
When I converted one and found they didn't quite line up, I thought mine was a slightly ouy of spec one off, but now two others have had the same thing.
These holes aren't used with the manual front plate, and are nearly, but not in quite the right place for the motor. Why?

I had to do the same, oversize the holes, I borle the first one though

[tourer-dan]

I'm just doing mine now.
I can't believe you have to change the headlining (in the touring) and take the entire roof mechanism out (virtually) just to get the lining out.
It's a pretty involved job, but I'll just swap the entire components (motor, gearbox and backplate)
I thought it would be a case of chopping the headlining and bolting the motor over the existing gearbox and a couple of plugs.......
oh well.

[Brianmoooore]

If you're converting a touring, then the results will be different from a standard touring with electric roof, because the touring with electric roof has a different headliner at the front from the saloon.
You will be fitting the touring with the rigid front headliner section from a saloon, so the original cloth headlining at the front can just be cut away to get access to change the whole motor assembly and tubes.
It looks involved, but when you get into it, it is all very simple.

[Martinaston]

To do mine i removed the door seals and dropped the lining a few inches and slid the whole assembly in from the side complete with pipes and motor all still connected.

[tourer-dan]

I know what you're saying Brian, I want to keep mine original in appearance, so I'm swapping my man suroof headlinging for an electric one rather than fit the plastic front section from the saloon.

[Brianmoooore]

That's a windscreen out job - You're a glutten for punishment!

[tourer-dan]

The windscreen stays in. Being 'rigid' it's held up by 4 screws (1 at each corner) at the sunroof, then by the sun visors and grab handles. A couple of clips around the tailgate hinges, then glued under the door rubbers and sunroof rails. Once undone it all slides back out of the boot off 2 clips halfway along the roof.
It must just be the perforated ones in the saloons which are glued under the windscreen.