Removing the targa bar?

[911S Targa]

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I'd like to know how the vinyl below the rubber molding your holding comes off. Once you remove the 3 screws, how do you get that center plastic piece off, and is that entire backing glued to the targa bar. I really need to re vinyl mine.

[ianc]

OK, I'd better finally get this thread finished off, 'cause I got the bar back on this weekend.

First, to address 76 911 Targa's previous question: Here is a shot of the rear of the targa top center pin receptacle looking forward 3/4. You can see (sort of) how it hooks over the edge of the seal channel. My guess would be to remove the screw holding it, then try to pry it up and over. You'll forgive me if I don't initiate a removal experiment on your behalf however... As for the vinyl itself, it's just glued over the lip as you can see. The foam in the foreground is padding for the bar on its forward side.



Alright, back to the bar installation. Basically, as they say, the installation is the reverse of removal. For comparison with earlier, here's the bar just back and with about 4 or 5 coats of wax on it (and don't laugh over my goddamned slippers either):



Get the bar fitted and its ends sitting nicely inboard of the side trim pieces (right behind the doors), then get the 4 10 mms. on each side snugged down to set it in place. Watch the rubber piece around the outboard targa top locating pin receptacles, they have a habit of getting bent in funny ways while you're installing the top, preventing a level set. Don't tighten too hard, and use an antiseize compound on the bar's studs before installing. Start all, then tighten the self tapping sheet metal screws holding the front of the bar to the body in the seal channel... Tighten the 4 10 mms. if necessary. Lay a bead of glue in the channel and work the seal over it. Add the plastic contact plugs on either side of each outboard targa top locating pin receptacle, then tap the small plugs in them.

One thing I forgot to mention when removing the bar is that there is a small thickness of spacer\stiffener present between the bar flanks and the mounting brackets at the ends of the bar. Here you can see the just-returned bar and the two original factory spacers. They are made of some chintzy pasteboard, but did the job.

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These pieces stiffen the bar at its contact point with the body and prevent the flank from buckling at its lower edge should it contact the body rather than having the load borne by the plastic spacers which isolate the bar from the body and the mounting bracket. They fit over the end of the studs and are not shown here.

I took the spacer pieces to OSH and matched them for thickness to some thick relatively incompressable rubber and cut a couple of pieces in the same shape to use as replacements. The originals were just too crumbly to reuse:



To better illustrate (the first picture is not that clear), here is a closer one of the two new rubber pieces installed. It's still confusing because the chair behind it is black, but try:



Not much else to say at this point, but here's the final result:



Hope this helps someone!

ianc

[Brother]

nice work. so you ended up waxing the paint on the bar?

[ianc]

Yep, they recommended it...

ianc

[Brother]

nice. I'll give it a try.

[azasadny]

Great work, thanks for documenting it!

[strep]

This is the only way to go. Kevin did it !!

[speedo]

has anyone taken pics of targa bars painted the body color vs black? The 914 guys that race their cars do it regularly...and I'm not sure I like it. This will probably piss a bunch of PCA-ers off....but my targa is at the painters, and he will probably end up signal orange or yellow....and I'm wondering what it would look like with the targa bar the body color. Thoughts and/or pics would be helpful.

[cactusdtd]

Hmmmmmm, kinda like a coupe with a humped up rear window and a removeable roof section. Silver targa with a stainless bar or a black targa with a shiny black bar would be a good approximation. After that IMHO you begin to approach the corvette t-top look - god forbid.

[targa80]

Originally posted by 911S Targa
[B
I'd like to know how the vinyl below the rubber molding your holding comes off. Once you remove the 3 screws, how do you get that center plastic piece off, and is that entire backing glued to the targa bar. I really need to re vinyl mine. [/B]

The inside vinyl is glued to a backing plate that has openings that mate to clips on the targa bar frame. Here is a picture that barely shows the tabs on the inside of the targa bar. Unfortunately I can't remember how that piece that is below the rubber seal is mounted to the bar and the inside vinyl piece.

[VaSteve]

Th is probably the definative thread on removing the bar. I used it to remove my bar today. I wanted to offer up a couple of points to those planning to do it:

- There are two screws (one on each side) under the seal by the door. When you remove the main bar seal, pull off the top inch of seal by the door and there they are. (I almost missed these).
- Make sure to get the washers on the studs from underneath. They will probably be jammed on pretty good after all this time. I used a screwdrived to loosen them.
- The bar is hard to grip. I use a long piece of wood and tapped the stud to loosen the bar cover. Once it was loose, I pulled off the rear seal (that touches the glass) so I had something to grip onto. That did the trick.
- Take a utility knife and cut through the glue that held the front seal on. Some of the glue also probably oozed under the cover at the factory so it ill be alittle tough to remove.
- The speednuts (on mine - an 83) were 8mm, not 10.

I had a tough time with a couple of the screws, I had to break out the dremel and cut a groove for a regular screwdriver.

Good luck!

[VaSteve]

Sicne I took it, here's the photo of the screws.

[thane]

Any sage advice for pulling the bar off? The 4 10mm nuts are off as are the 14 sheet metal screws but I can't seem to budge the bar.

[VaSteve]

Read my post above. Pull off the rear seal to get a grip and use a long piece of wood to gently nudge on the studs. It's been on there a long time, it will be a little stubborn.

[thane]

Just for the record it's a lot easier to get the bar off if you remove all FIFTEEN metal screws. Doh!

[SurfinBear]

This is an old thread but posting a pic of my recently acquired '86 with a body coloured targa bar. It's likely I'll return it to black but not fully convinced yet.

[dagersh]

Hi Guys,

On my '89 Targa, I need to remove the "Targa" emblems. I am assuming to this I need to pull the outer skin off.

On the passenger side there is a bunch of piping and a cannister under the rear quarter - what is it and how can I remove it?

The PO had a stainless skin installed, but the idiots (Aventura Motors in Southampton, NY) scratched the crep out of the stainless down by the doors. I tried to polish them out, but now have a mirror finish and need to now polish the rest of the bar to match.

Unless anyone has a method to get the satin finish back over the polished section...

Thanks!

Gersh

[Ayles]

Dagersh,
I used 3m Synthetic Steel Wool #0

You can see some of my work here. I think its best to remove the bar so you can easily keep your sanding strokes long and straight.

Targa bar paint or strip for chrome look

[S2GART]

The Targa bar cover is steel, presumably stainless since that is the way they were before Porsche changed the look of the Targas and painted them. I just did a real scientific test and put a magnet to the bar and it stuck. So, it is not aluminum.

[K Sykes]

Actually stainless is usually non-magnetic as well. My guess is your magnet was sticking to the steel underneath that the cover is covering. Not sure on the aluminum vs stainless question..