Since I've seen a few guys ask about this but haven't found a how to on it I took a few pics while doing mine.
I've welded mine (which means the interior has come out) but have shown a few alternative methods the even someone without knowledge or access to a welder can easily do in their laneway.
Unfortunetly my roof rack was stipped and most thrown away a long time ago so dont have a lot of pics of it being removed.
There is 5 #3philips head screws on each side holding the main rack on, remove these (some times they will spin inside the roof and will have to be cut off so a few of these options wont work, but just hang tight, I will cover a fix for that later but you will need some form of grinder and a little bit of mechanical ability)
Then if your not welding (and all the bolts came out) here is a few options for you. Both should have some sealer added to avoid water leakage. I'd suggest urathane or automotive Seam Sealer, not silicone (if your repainting it, the silicone will ruin the paint job)
Option 1; put the bolts back in
Option 2; 1/4" xmas tree plugs availible at any auto parts store (same ones that hold your rocker mouldings on)
And if you had to cut the screws off to remove the rack, carefully grind the top off the barrel nut in the roof and pop it inside. A 3/8" xmas tree plug will fit that hole perfectly. Sorry No pic of that one.
If welding, with the interior out, grind off the barrel nut and the area around it. I prefer a patch about the size of a quarter to weld over the hole
Before
After
Then just bodywork and paint
I also got rid of that fugly roof seam at the same time (but that is another mod all together)
One more option not explored here is automotive patch epoxy which is the same as welding, but you don't have to remove the interior and will still have to bodywork and paint.
And if you want to get rid of those 4 plastic strips in the middle of the roof, they are held on with pop rivets that can be drilled out or sheared off with a screwdriver (the screwdriver will scratch the roof).Then you can either weld them the same as the other ones, put some 3/16" panhead screws in them or 3/16" xmas tree plugs.(those last 2 options should have sealer as well)
These are only a few options, I'm sure other people have done it in other ways that work as well (feel free to share them here to give everyone as many options as possible).
I've welded mine (which means the interior has come out) but have shown a few alternative methods the even someone without knowledge or access to a welder can easily do in their laneway.
Unfortunetly my roof rack was stipped and most thrown away a long time ago so dont have a lot of pics of it being removed.
There is 5 #3philips head screws on each side holding the main rack on, remove these (some times they will spin inside the roof and will have to be cut off so a few of these options wont work, but just hang tight, I will cover a fix for that later but you will need some form of grinder and a little bit of mechanical ability)
Then if your not welding (and all the bolts came out) here is a few options for you. Both should have some sealer added to avoid water leakage. I'd suggest urathane or automotive Seam Sealer, not silicone (if your repainting it, the silicone will ruin the paint job)
Option 1; put the bolts back in
Option 2; 1/4" xmas tree plugs availible at any auto parts store (same ones that hold your rocker mouldings on)
And if you had to cut the screws off to remove the rack, carefully grind the top off the barrel nut in the roof and pop it inside. A 3/8" xmas tree plug will fit that hole perfectly. Sorry No pic of that one.
If welding, with the interior out, grind off the barrel nut and the area around it. I prefer a patch about the size of a quarter to weld over the hole
Before
After
Then just bodywork and paint
I also got rid of that fugly roof seam at the same time (but that is another mod all together)
One more option not explored here is automotive patch epoxy which is the same as welding, but you don't have to remove the interior and will still have to bodywork and paint.
And if you want to get rid of those 4 plastic strips in the middle of the roof, they are held on with pop rivets that can be drilled out or sheared off with a screwdriver (the screwdriver will scratch the roof).Then you can either weld them the same as the other ones, put some 3/16" panhead screws in them or 3/16" xmas tree plugs.(those last 2 options should have sealer as well)
These are only a few options, I'm sure other people have done it in other ways that work as well (feel free to share them here to give everyone as many options as possible).
