bertsch

I recently purchased my first Mustang, I have been wanting one forever and I finally have one. I purchased a 2009 Mustang GT, with the Glass Roof option. I was not sure about the glass roof option when I bought the car, but I have enjoyed it so far.

From what I have read though, the glass roof option should have come standard with a roller shade, but there isnt a roller shade that I can tell.

The previous owner completly revamped the sterio system, as well as added a blue tooth system to the vehicle, but I am guessing at some point removed this roller shade. Can the roller shade system be removed?

Did I get screwed, and I am assuming the answer to this question is going to be yes.

mapitts

Yes they had a shade. It is a manual roll type of deal at the rear of the window. Look at the rear of the glass, and you should see a lip. Pull on that and you shade should roll forward towards the front. If you see a lip, pull on it and othing happens, then the roller attachment chords are screwed up. Hope this helps you. By the way, I had a '09 with the glass roof and mine was broken when I picked it up.

alkemist

I've test drove ones with glass roofs and they are manual pull shade. Nothing impressive. As for cost from the part, I have no clue. Never looked.

daredevil95

How the hell did the old owner remove it and why?

daredevil95

Is it true that the glass roof cars are lighter then the steel roof cars?

hawkeye18

The glass roof weighs 26lbs more than the steel roof. Structural integrity is the same, as is chassis stiffness.

JIM5.0

As for the glass roof being lighter than the 16th in steel plate roof, I doubt it to be honest.

My thought comes from density of the materials (mass per volume):
Glass is ~2.65grm/cm^3
Steel is ~7.56grm/cm^3

It is true that steel is more dense, thus heavier per unit volume, but the logic comes in just how much cm^3 of steel is used to make the roof panel vs how much cm^3 glass is used for that same area.

Someone correct me where I am wrong, but auto body panels are 1/16 in think? The thickness of auto glass used is ~3/16 in thick?

Since more glass is needed to cover the same area (the roof panel of an S197), without busting out a calculator and doing the calculations, my initial guess (only a guess, I am too lazy to calculate this morning) in the glass roof comes out to be a little heavier than the thinner steel panel that comes form the factory.

JIM5.0

Thank you, you summed it up much more nicely and concisely than what I was trying to say.

And actually, this is an engineering axiom: a weaker one can do the same job as the strong one; you just have to use more weaker material to do it.

This of course assumes materials science issues are held equal or the use of more of the weaker materials also addresses all the same materials science issues.

daredevil95

I didn't think so....I read that on some forum and had strong doubts. I'm not sure what material the glass roof is made of and the thickness of the metal.

Found this:
Ford has stated that the 2011 Mustang uses high-strength steel in its body structure and ultra-high-strength steel in the door intrusion beams for additional side-impact protection. One thing to keep in mind is the Glass Roof that is available on the Mustang. The glass roof is large, therefore the has to be so major reinforcements running cross car to connect to the A and C pillars.

"One last thing to consider is the glass roof is constructed of laminated safety glass. Ford states the glass roof is also designed to maintain excellent interior acoustics and quietness, thanks to a built-in polyvinyl layer. On top of all that, Mustang and Shelby models equipped with this roof maintain their five-star crash-test ratings. So think of the glass windshield as a “2nd” windshield that will need to be cut out".

It's not worth doing the research/math to figure out what's lighter.

http://boronextrication.com/2010/06/...ody-structure/

bertsch

I found out yesterday that the glass roof is aftermarket, there is actually more than i knew about on the car. The glass used is called glassback, which from reading up yesterday is the same glass that Ford uses.

But thanks everyone for the information.