Thanks Dan!! (Targa top front seal)

[jeffbottman]

Kudos to Dan Petchel. Just finished installing his Targa top windshield seal. It fits perfectly and the top now sits at the correct level, and the latch handles are now much easier to seat. And his '22 steps' instructions were very helpful.

NOTE FOR NOOBS: Front seals available elsewhere are NOT correct and will not allow the targa top to sit flush at the front like it should. Dan's custom part is the only game in town. It's great that Dan stepped up and had these parts fabricated. And the price is reasonable for a limited run part.

[Fixer]

Dan's a great guy.

[bugstrider]

Thanks Jeff

I am in need of this seal since the PO of the car used a small screwdriver to push back the top latch to remove.

Just imagine what that does to a seal...... Fugly!!! Does he have a web page?

Cheers

[jeffbottman]

Here's his url:

Targa Top Restoration

Originally Posted by bugstrider

Thanks Jeff

I am in need of this seal since the PO of the car used a small screwdriver to push back the top latch to remove.

Just imagine what that does to a seal...... Fugly!!! Does he have a web page?

Cheers

[universeman]

+1 for Dan, if you have targa top issues, he's your man

[timmy2]

I agree the new seal from Dan is great. Just did mine this weekend. Top fits great now.

[jeffbottman]

I wonder if Porsche even knows they are selling the wrong part ... and if they don't, who to contact?

[ROW911SC]

Also installed Dan's seal; 100% improvement over Porsche part!

[OsoMoore]

Originally Posted by jeffbottman

I wonder if Porsche even knows they are selling the wrong part ... and if they don't, who to contact?

They know, its been a problem for a long time. When targa tops changed in later years, they re-used the same part number. So Porsche is selling a seal that does work on later year Targas, but not on ours.

[Hoppe]

Originally Posted by jeffbottman

.... and the top now sits at the correct level

When you say it sits at the correct level, was it high on both ends prior to the change? My top is almost level across the top but when you get to the ends, it sits a little higher, which I assume is why I am getting the wind noise.

[timmy2]

New top installed on improper seal the corners are too high.



New top on Dans seal, the corners are much better.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jeffbottman]

Yes, my ends are still a bit high also. I've concluded that the whole Targa top mechanical system can never be made perfect. Mine is good enough now that I will henceforth stop obsessing over non-optimal aspects. Now moving on to my hyper non-optimal AC system, and the $2K worth of parts now in boxes to install over the winter to hopefully improve it ...

Originally Posted by Hoppe

When you say it sits at the correct level, was it high on both ends prior to the change? My top is almost level across the top but when you get to the ends, it sits a little higher, which I assume is why I am getting the wind noise.

[Hoppe]

It looks like we are on the same path. My corners sit up but probably about the same as yours do now. I also have AC parts in the garage waiting for install. I bought them a few months ago and the hot weather went away the day the package hit the door. Now I am just trying to get motivated.

[jeffbottman]

Wish we were next-door neighbors, then we could share the pain! And a few beers ...

Originally Posted by Hoppe

It looks like we are on the same path. My corners sit up but probably about the same as yours do now. I also have AC parts in the garage waiting for install. I bought them a few months ago and the hot weather went away the day the package hit the door. Now I am just trying to get motivated.

[theiceman]

id love it if someone could take an up close pic of both seals showing the difference. I have no idea which seal i have in my car..

[LIRS6]

Originally Posted by theiceman

id love it if someone could take an up close pic of both seals showing the difference. I have no idea which seal i have in my car..

Here are close ups of the left corner of a later seal.





I just removed it, and replaced it with one of Dan’s seals for my ‘79. I also had Dan restore my top.

Before - notice how the top sat on the later (wrong) seal :



And now, after seal replacement and Dan’s restoration of my top :




I next need to tweak window glass height/position

Jason

[86 ssinit]

Looks great. Is there any air noise now? I have a new top from Dan but not the seal. I get a lot of air noise. No leaks but noise. In the winter I run black duct tape across it for no noise.

[LIRS6]

Originally Posted by 86 ssinit

Looks great. Is there any air noise now?

I got some wind noise once I hit ~ 50 mph. But as mentioned, I need to adjust the window glass, which may be contributing to the noise.

Jason

[911bruce]

I tried the above link but it has a 404 error code. Does he have a website?

[BullStandsAlone]

carsincnj dot com

Sent my top off to him for restoration a couple weeks ago!