So, I remember seeing a thread, somewhere, sometime, about mounting a factory roof rack system from something else onto a 4runner topper. When I saw that thread I thought, "when my dad parts out his '94 legacy, I need to grab the roof rack off it!".

Well, it finally happened, transmission is done, and the rust means it isn't worth fixing. So I pulled the roof rails off it, and started comparing them to my topper. Looks like the dimensions will be perfect, and the roof of the subaru was close enough to flat that it'll sit flat just fine.


BUT, upon closer inspection, the area of the roof that I want to mount to has 2 layers of fiberglass, probably 1/2" or so apart. And it doesn't look like they are separate pieces....

So, anyone done something like this? Or know what thread I'm talking about so I can see what he did? I'd like to get an idea of what I'm looking at there before I get out my drill and dremel.

I do have a spare shell that I'm planning on hacking the sides off, so it wouldn't be the end of the world if I experimented on it. But I'd rather not as I'm planning on keeping the top intact.

 

I bolted some rack mounts to my old 1st Gen for a Yakima rack. I just went straight through the fiberglass and used some large (maybe 3") fender washers on the inside. This worked for several years without any problems. Sorry, but I don't have any pics of the inside.

 

To mount my basket on my hard top, I used rubber washers and some silicone sealant to keep it waterproof. As a result, it never leaked.