Why wasnt a Sun Roof fitted to the 1989 Concept SVX?

[K_Dub]

Originally Posted by NeedForSpeed

I'm going with 'a solid roof would have helped' :confused'

I remember taking that car through tight/steep switchbacks and feeling the whole thing twist down the middle. Beefing up the suspension (replacing the air ride, sway bars and possibly a strut brace) were always in my plans, but being a broke college kid ruled all that out. That car saw a lot of abuse, so I suppose blaming the chassis flex on the sunroof might be unfair, but I do believe it would have helped hold the car together tighter with a solid roof.

I ran that car into the ground, and now I regret it. Luckily at the time I couldn't afford an SVX, so it was spared my torture, but I feel bad about the way I treated that "classic car". If I can find another XT (-6, 5MT, without the sunroof), I promise that I'll take better care of it next time.

Sorry for the threadjack. I'll try to bring this back to topic.

Maybe they didn't fit a sunroof originally because they thought it would compromise the chassis. As was previously mentioned; all that weight at the top of the vehicle has adverse effects on the handling. It must also compromise the unibody construction to some extent.

What's under that hump down the middle of the headliner on non-sunroof'ed SVXs? If it's additional bracing I wonder what differences we'd see in slalom speeds between the two different bodies. I won't be welding up my roof any time soon, but it does pique my curiosity.

[Hocrest]

Originally Posted by K_Dub

I didn't realize that the moonroof went back as far as '85. They must've added it in for the 3rd generation, as all the 2nd's I've ever seen had a simple tilt panel.

Never tried that with the XT. That might have been fun, but seeing as I was rallying that car just about every weekend I would've ended up with an interior full of sand. Did the XT6 flex like a slinky going around turns like my sunroof'ed XT did? I always thought that the chassis was a little soft, and maybe a solid roof would have helped. Or maybe it was the continued jumps on blown air shocks that made my car go all bendy.

The 85 was the same body style as yours. 85 was the first year of EA82 wagon style.

I never rode in a XT with the huge sunroof. I didn't realize they were springy. That must be why they stopped it for the XT6.

Are you looking for an XT? I think I may know of one for sale in Cali??

[K_Dub]

Originally Posted by Hocrest

The 85 was the same body style as yours. 85 was the first year of EA82 wagon style.

I never rode in a XT with the huge sunroof. I didn't realize they were springy. That must be why they stopped it for the XT6.

I won't blame the sunroof entirely as my car was ridden hard, and I've never been in another to compare it to to see if they all did this, but springy is an understatement. Off road it was almost like it articulated more due to the flex; that thing kept all 4 on the ground no matter what. I remember hearing it groan & creak when I'd put one wheel up on a curb (or a boulder).

Originally Posted by Hocrest

Are you looking for an XT? I think I may know of one for sale in Cali??

Don't tempt me. I'm always trolling craigslist for XTs, but then I tell myself that I really need a wagon for a second car not another coupe with even less cargo room than the SVX.

[Ron Mummert]

Ha! I had the ultimate sun/moon/stars roof on the '53 Morris Minor I toyed with umteen years ago. Canvas on rails, with a top speed of 65mph downhill.
Also had a '56 VW bug with the same bullet proof canvas set-up. 65mph tops on the autobahn - at least on the flat spots.
Them was the days.

Ron