Chevy & GMC Vans

started thinking about this a few weeks ago.......what do you guys think about this idea as far as it working....i figure if a 3 or four inch perimeter was left around the entire roof then sealing a solid glass panel to it would add some stability......however would it stand up to the body flexing and other ailments of driving a long vehicle. perhaps doing this in two large panels vs. one. sort of got the idea after looking at some pics of a maybach. thoughts ideas appreciated.

Maybe a good starting point would be a conversion van that has a high top on it.Remove that high top and the cut out is already made for you.Sell off the high top to offset the project.

The A/C I would think must be working very well,because I would think it would get pretty hot in there.Not for nothing,for me in a hard rain,the noise would drive me crazy.

Gary raises a good point. The additional heat load in summer would be tremendous, especially in a van with so much roof area. It'd look cool, though.

I would definately put some type of relective top? and I would consider a polycarbonate/lexan you could use the same thickness reduce the weight and also have it formed to the top cheaper too!

if you do it... limo tint... like 5 layers. that should help the sun problem.

you could probably grow plants in your van...

I was looking into the Webasto Panoramic Sunroofs. They are really cool, but really expensive. I want to say it would be in the $1500's-2000's price range installed.

TheChopFather wrote:I would definately put some type of relective top? and I would consider a polycarbonate/lexan you could use the same thickness reduce the weight and also have it formed to the top cheaper too!

hmmmm, never thought about the lexan....would definitely save on the weight.......although i'd be worried about it scratching easily which it has a tendency to do.....could go with a smoked version of this.....or with glass could use either a limo tint as suggested or a reflective film but that would give it a "chrome" look on top..........

"you could probably grow plants in your van..."

hahaha, hmmmmm, what kinda plants? hahhaha

meetthespeakers wrote:I was looking into the Webasto Panoramic Sunroofs. They are really cool, but really expensive. I want to say it would be in the $1500's-2000's price range installed.

thanks for posting this matt. i was worried about the structural aspect of it but as soon as i saw your post the light bulb went off......back in the day i've had quite a few roofs chopped and sliding ragtops put into customer vehicles and things worked out well......also remember seeing several vans with this mod in magazines.....these were fine with an open roof so why wouldn't it be with a solid peice in place.....

the more i think about it, me thinks this could actually work in a driven van. although i don't know if i'm brave enough to try it just yet....price could be a factor as well....i think i'll research this a bit more before i lay it to rest. thanks for the input guys!

i knew a guy who made his own targa top on a mid 80's suburban...that was wild...the rear seat passengers got quite a breeze though, as the roof slants a bit toward the windshield...eventually he got the roof re-welded on and put hydraulics on it to hop and 3-wheel around town, and the top would've caused too much flex...

been thinking about this again lately and have gone through different ways to make this work, along with keeping the slider functional.....i can't quite recall what the support beams look like under the headliner.

anyone have pics of cargo van's roof on the inside they could post up?

no pics here, but if you do decide to go the glass route, I highly suggest using laminated glass.
regular float glass woulld be highly hazardous, and tempered would rain on you if it broke.

Take a look at the new style Nissan Maximas, they have a long strip as a sunroof from front to rear. This would also fit in between the ribs on an Astros roof.

This is a 1966 Vista Cruiser.

This is what I`m talkin` about..... This would look real slick on an Astro. I may do it to my van.