Most folks seem to want to remove their 240 wagons' roof racks 'cuz they're not very aerodynamic, can be rust entry-points, are kinda suburban looking, aren't held in all that securely and won't actually hold much in the way of weight. IPD even sells little hole plugger kits.

I, on the other hand, being a contrarian, want to INSTALL a roof rack, purely for aesthetic reasons - the roof looks too naked to my eye w/out one, and yes, I know they can whistle at speed and probably impair mileage slightly. And no, they're not stylish in the conventional sense. (But then again, I have Corona rims, not Virgos, and big hub covers not the little cheel caps. So now you get my drift.)

Have you ever installed a roof rack on a non roof rack equipped model? Or heard tell of such a job? I'd like your thoughts, based on the following info.

I bought used rack and mounting hardware (screws, rubber bushings, etc.) a while back, all in reasonably good shape. I have not made any move yet to install this item for a variety of reasons - fear of making a mistake being chief among them.

I was told that there are NO factory-defined mounting points or anchor points inside the roof (such as on cross beams) and that these roof racks simply anchor into the sheet metal. I have reason to believe this is true as I also have been perusing the roof of EVERY 240 I've seen for the past couple of years - often to the bemusement of various owners if they sneak up behind me and catch me at it - and here is what I've learned:

There are four types of roof racks:

1) Euro-rails, longitudinal only, with 3 vertical supports/mounting points per side - no cross bars and no strips lay on (or to tape) to the roof. I've only ever seen one (1) example of these on a North American 240. More on these later.

2) The classic 1960s "chrome-dream" spear tipped roof racks. Yuck. 1973 Olds Cutlass Custom Cruiser material! These have 3 mounting points/vertical supports, cross braces fore and aft, strips to lay on the roof.

3) The more modern version of # 2, no spear tips, available originally in chrome or a matte (powder paint finish?) black. This is what I have, in slightly battered chrome and pseudo-chrome.

4) Very late model racks, originally intended for the 700/900/V90 series. Only 2 vertical support points per side, with cross strips but on the whole somewhat shorter than the originals (2 & 3).

Also, despite variations in how far fore or aft these racks are installed, they always seem to be aligned with the tailgate hinges from a left/right perspective. Usually, though not always, the rear most part of the rear-mounts is about 1 to 1.5 inches forward of the tailgates hinges.

I have a source from Sweden with access to a good-condition used Euro-rail kit (#1 above) plus all mounting hardware - but I am told that these have different, and quite specific mounting points - cannot find info so far on what those points might be however(!)

My mechanic doesn't want to touch this project with a ten-foot pole - but my favourite body shop seems willing to do it. I am just not sure that they would pay the same level of attention to detail WRT to priming and painting newly-drilled holes to prevent/forestall that I would give.

Comments anyone? All viewpoints welcome. TIA.