Targa bar

[Rebar]

The vinyl on the underside of my targa bar is coming off. It is in good shape so just want to put it back, the foam underneath the targa bar in that area is not attached to bar either. How do I reattach the foam (do I need to) and the vinyl. Is there a special adhesive to use or is it fastened some other way? Is there a way to take it all off and re-adhere it all at once that is easy? I am thinking maybe the rest of it will start to come off in the near future, but if it is complicated I am happy to just patch it.

Thoughts?

[Bob Kontak]

Not complicated - I don't think. But it's been a while since I pulled that off.

You need to remove that unit from the targa bar to do an effective repair. That is the part I don't remember how to do. It may be super simple or the screws may be under a seal requiring some minor surgery to get it out. I just don't remember.

That said, vinly does not shrink like leather can so if you are comfortable with how well it wraps around the back, I can get you a good 3M adhesive number in a day or so that should do the trick. Long story on the adhesive type but I am in the middle of a similar job on an old Jaguar that requires a heat resistant adhesive.

I I do not post the number ping me in a day or two.

[Ayles]

I had the same problem... Previous owner made a huge mess of it. The rubber frame was separating from the metal of the interior bar and the vinyl had shrunk quite a bit. Once you see how it all goes together it will be clear why its difficult to fix in place.

I ended up taking the rear portion off and removing the front. I have since cleaned and repaired the bar. I glued the frame back together with 3M Super Black Weather stripping adhesive. Should be a good glue for rubber to metal bonding.

The interior piece has 4 screws and a dozen or so metal tabs holding it in. If I recall you may have to remove some other trim to get at the screws. You unscrew and then slide the whole thing back towards the rear of the car.

I can take photos of anything for you since mine is disassembled.

Autos International carries the vinyl pieces that make up the interior of the targa bar. I think you can get all 4 for around $150. Navigating their site is a little wonky so I called and got it all worked out.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Ayles

I had the same problem...

Excellent. Really good input.

The 3M weatherstrip adhesive is tough to go wrong on if you let it set up to where it bites.

[Ayles]

I should add a couple more points... I clamped the piece together for a couple days while the glue set up.

You are going to need a few different adhesives to get this done. I'm no expert, but been thinking about and researching this repair for a month...

1. the 3m black I mentioned
2. Contact Cement (Dap Weldwood) for gluing the vinyl back to the interior targa bar frame.
3. Foam to vinyl (3m Yellow) adhesive for sticking the layers that have separated back together.
4. Foam to foam(3m Foam Fast 74) adhesive for sticking the foam to the rubber frame.

[Bob Kontak]

Cool beans. Looks like you are The Man on this one.

What was the condition of the vinyl on yours? Was it warped/distorted so far that it was not salvageable? Mine is leather and I am pretty sure the car was a semi-garage queen keeping it pretty intact till when I bought it in 96. I only had real problems with the leather dash where the leather shrunk and reefed up the dash under-layment at the vents. That is my assumption. It may not be the leather at all and just a symptom of dashes in the sun over time.

[Rebar]

Originally Posted by Ayles

I had the same problem... Previous owner made a huge mess of it. The rubber frame was separating from the metal of the interior bar and the vinyl had shrunk quite a bit. Once you see how it all goes together it will be clear why its difficult to fix in place.

I ended up taking the rear portion off and removing the front. I have since cleaned and repaired the bar. I glued the frame back together with 3M Super Black Weather stripping adhesive. Should be a good glue for rubber to metal bonding.

The interior piece has 4 screws and a dozen or so metal tabs holding it in. If I recall you may have to remove some other trim to get at the screws. You unscrew and then slide the whole thing back towards the rear of the car.

I can take photos of anything for you since mine is disassembled.

Autos International carries the vinyl pieces that make up the interior of the targa bar. I think you can get all 4 for around $150. Navigating their site is a little wonky so I called and got it all worked out.

Thanks for the great feedback guys. Do I need to take the seal off, if so how do I do that? What do you mean by the frame? When you say the interior piece has 4 screws, do you mean the part I have labelled as PLASTIC? When you say the rubber frame was separating from the metal of the interior bar what do you mean? Maybe I am missing something, I have not dug into the opening really yet to see what is in there, didn't want to dig in before I knew how to repair it.

If you have to take the rear off to slide the whole thing back off, how do you take the rear off?. Could you show me a pick of the metal tabs you are talking about.

Much appreciated.

[M.D. Holloway]

I have an extra if you want it. It's in very good shape. I'll trade it for some 911 matchboxes!

[Ayles]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

Cool beans. Looks like you are The Man on this one.

What was the condition of the vinyl on yours? Was it warped/distorted so far that it was not salvageable? Mine is leather and I am pretty sure the car was a semi-garage queen keeping it pretty intact till when I bought it in 96. I only had real problems with the leather dash where the leather shrunk and reefed up the dash under-layment at the vents. That is my assumption. It may not be the leather at all and just a symptom of dashes in the sun over time.

My vinyl was in bad shape. The PO had tried repairing with duct tape and glue. Destroyed all of the vinyl in the process. It had shrank and was covered in tape residue and glue spillage...

[Ayles]

Here are some pics. Since your front piece is in good shape, you may be able to do this without removing the seal. But to remove the back piece you have un-bold the top part of the seat belt on each side.

One of the tabs:


Tab receptical on the piece you need to repair:


This is how the front portion goes together. There is a layer of thin foam that would wrap here, with the vinyl being glued to the lip above where the targa seal is and then glued to the underside of the roll bar. This is what you have labeled as plastic. It's actually two rubber boomerang shaped pieces that fit into a channel. Only one half is shown here.


Here is my repaired interior shell.


This is where the rubber was separating from the metal frame causing the vinyl to hang down like yours.


This is where the 4 screws are. Two on each side, just below the vent openings. You may have to remove the trip that sits under the rear side window to get at them. Fat part faces the rear while the thin part mates up to the part you have labeled as plastic.


My plan is to re-wrap both the front and rear parts with the thin layer of foam, then wrap with the new vinyl. I have 1/8" closed cell foam and think it will work...

Let me know if you need clarification on this, a little more difficult trying to articulate how it all goes together than I thought it would be.

[Rebar]

Thanks, those pics are very helpful. I think I get it.
So does the end of vinyl that is hanging down wrap around the back side of the metal frame a (1/2 inch fold in my vinyl I can see) or does that piece of vinyl fold up up onto the boomerang?

To slide the frame out toward the back, do I need to remove the interior bits along the rear window edge and area where my speakers sit? Do the boomerangs stay in place if I pull the metal frame back?

[Rebar]

Originally Posted by Rebar

Thanks, those pics are very helpful. I think I get it.
So does the end of vinyl that is hanging down wrap around the back side of the metal frame a (1/2 inch fold in my vinyl I can see) or does that piece of vinyl fold up up onto the boomerang?

To slide the frame out toward the back, do I need to remove the interior bits along the rear window edge and area where my speakers sit? Do the boomerangs stay in place if I pull the metal frame back?

If the metal wraps around the backside of the metal frame, is it adhered to the backside or is it just wraped back there and the vinyl just glued to the rubber portion (side facing the interior) of the metal frame?

[Ayles]

So the rear portion we are talking about repairing is separate from the front piece with the boomerangs. The vinyl wraps a half inch or so and is glued to the metal part of the rubber interior targa frame.

[Rebar]

Ok perfect. I get it now I think.
Appreciate the help.

[Ayles]

Let me know how it goes!

[Ayles]

Rebar,
Did you ever complete this repair?

[prebordao]

I just discovered this thread, and I have a similar problem:

In my case the vynil and foam stays glued, but tthe whole thing (frame + foam + vynil) is sagging a bit in the middle.

Could be some tabs that need "re-tabbing" ??

[Ayles]

It could be frame parts separating (rubber and metal) or it's come undone from the tabs that hold it in.

[Ayles]

I'll keep this thread going. Worked on this again today and was able to get a friends help. This is definitely a two man job.

I think it would be difficult to get the curves absolutely perfect, but I am very happy with how it turned out.

[theiceman]

I found it a real nightmare to get it back in. You have to shove it up and forward to catch all the tabs. Problem is big ass. Targa glass seal prevents you from pushing it up enough.
Good luck.