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Frog Jumper

Ford Ranger Blackfoot body sunroof???

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Why is there a sunroof on the Blackfoot body???  From all my reading, a sunroof was not a factory option. One Ford Ranger fan-site dood stated that a Ford dealer told him they didn’t do it bc it compromises the structural integrity of the roof for rollover.

Thoughts???

Terry

 

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Ford did not put them in trucks, Because most cars did not have factory sunroofs. In the early 80s the aftermarket sunroofs took off. Factory sunroofs in trucks started in the 2000s.

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Don’t think beetle bodies had hard sun roofs either. Who knows where Mr T gets his ideas from!!!

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29 minutes ago, Busdriver said:

Don’t think beetle bodies had hard sun roofs either. Who knows where Mr T gets his ideas from!!!

I am pretty sure a steel sunroof was an option on the Beetle, but I am not a 100% on this.

 

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Steel sunroof was offered as an option on the Beetle.

Regarding sunroofs on Ford pick-ups, a friend emigrated to Canada some years ago and ordered a brand new F-150 from the dealer and ticked all the options from the list - including a sunroof.

Dealer sent the order to Ford and it was queried - apparently so few people in Canada select the sunroof option they check to verify it was not a mistake. 

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6 minutes ago, Tamiyabigstuff said:

Steel sunroof was offered as an option on the Beetle.

Regarding sunroofs on Ford pick-ups, a friend emigrated to Canada some years ago and ordered a brand new F-150 from the dealer and ticked all the options from the list - including a sunroof.

Dealer sent the order to Ford and it was queried - apparently so few people in Canada select the sunroof option they check to verify it was not a mistake. 

I stand corrected 🤓

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55 minutes ago, Tamiyabigstuff said:

Steel sunroof was offered as an option on the Beetle.

I found this out the hard way when repainting one of my fullsize bugs. A previous owner had covered over the whole sunroof with body filler.

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1 hour ago, Tamiyabigstuff said:

Regarding sunroofs on Ford pick-ups, a friend emigrated to Canada some years ago and ordered a brand new F-150 from the dealer and ticked all the options from the list - including a sunroof.

Dealer sent the order to Ford and it was queried - apparently so few people in Canada select the sunroof option they check to verify it was not a mistake. 

What model year did your friend order?  More specifically, was it a 1980-1986 model?  Do you remember???

Thanks!

Terry

 

 

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3 hours ago, Frog Jumper said:

What model year did your friend order?  More specifically, was it a 1980-1986 model?  Do you remember???

Thanks!

Terry

 

 

Friend emigrated to Canada around 2005/6 & ordered the new truck as soon as he got there. 

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Would it be more of a moulding thing than to do with scale accuracy?

there’s an injection point there on the clod and the scorcher

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It is a bit strange that both ranger and beetle has a sunroof (and Honda city turbo "willys wheeler") because they don't really serve any purpose when the plastic cover isn't on it just looks like an unfinished model and the build instructions on all the models never gives you an option on how to have the sunroof open it just tells you to glue it closed? So why have it there in the first place? The Subaru brat body has the same hole in the roof  but its disguised as two separate glass openings which the windows parts fit into so maybe (totally guessing on this theory!) Its some sort of molding process so the finished body can be taken out of the molding system easier??

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I agree with @moffman that it was likely done to make the body easier to release from the mold.

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7 hours ago, OgNewb said:

Not for release. Place to inject the plastic into the mold

Yeah I never thought of that? but the more you think about it obviously has something to do with the manufacturing process back in the early days because all these bodies (and I think the clodbuster was mentioned aswell) are from early moldings? 

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So the reason I asked this question is that I’ve been working on a vintage BF body.  It needs a lot of work, and with the mail as slow as it is right now, it’s taking much longer than expected...

I got some missing pieces in the mail, including a sunroof piece, and 2 rear window pieces. All used but in good condition.

And so while I was sitting at my workstation (dining room table), I asked my wife about the sunroof:  “I can glue the sunroof piece in place and paint over, or I could pop it up like a roof vent. What do you think???”  She responded, “Why don’t you use the extra rear window and make a glass sunroof???”

I’m so happy I married her...

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Terry

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