1981sc Targa leaks profusely, need input on replacing seals

[Poohsan]

It rained yesterday here in Los Angeles. This was just the thing to remind me that my 1981sc Targa leaks profusely. Water pours in from the top of the A- Pillars and from the front edge of the doors. I discovered ½ gallon of water in the foot well on the passenger side. The carpet on both sides was soaked through. I believe it is time to fix this issue as my Targa is my daily driver.

I’m considering two options do it myself or send it to a shop. I will be replacing every seal on the doors, around the doors, on the Targa bar, and around the windshield. The doors strikers will also need to be replaced as the plastic parts inside have started to disintegrate. I will also need to replace the seals on the target top.

Has anyone undertaken this task? If so can you post about your experience in doing it? Or can anyone recommend a shop in Los Angeles that handles this type of work.

Thanks,
Arron

[DRACO A5OG]

Hey Arron,

PM me your e-mail address, I will send you a Porsche Shop Manual in pdf format.

The only other thing is to send it out, do a search on Targa Top Rehab. There is a guy comes highly recommended but you won't have a top for awhile. Being it is your daily this may not be practical.

Jim

[Ricks911s]

Good think you live in LA and not Seattle!

[tonythetarga]

before you start removing any rubber seals, contact Dan Petchel (carsinc user ID). Call him and talk to him first. I thought my seals were the problem and it was the top. You want to inspect the seals and make sure you have no tears that will allow water through, but your top needs to fit properly and most of the water leaks will be solved. I don't think it will ever be 100% dry inside in a rain storm, but it will be a LOT better than what you currently have.
Dan has pretty good turn around time but not sure if that works for you.

[DRACO A5OG]

Yeap, Dan's the Man.

[Head416]

I had a similar reminder yesterday . . .



Also my daily driver. In my case the leak isn't due to the top - it's the two inch long gap above the window right behind the pillar.

[RFR]

I love my Targa.........................till it rains!


DRACO A5OG, would you mind sending another PDF manual??

Roman in LA
78 leaky targa

[ghnat]

Could I have a PDF manual as well??

[Mr.Puff]

I have Draco's manual, but I also purchased another one from ebay called "Sealing of a 911." It is another shop manual... I'll scan it in and post a link later =).

--Puff

[Poohsan]

Originally Posted by Mr.Puff

I have Draco's manual, but I also purchased another one from ebay called "Sealing of a 911." It is another shop manual... I'll scan it in and post a link later =).

--Puff

That would be out standing. The more information the better!!!!!!!!

[slodave]

For a temporary fix, I used the foam weather strip (tape on one side) from Home Depot and had decent results. I never have had that much water come in, but enough to mess up my electric side mirror toggle and warp the leather cap on the door. These days, I don't drive mine in the rain.

[dm36415]

Subscribing

[DEAN911]

Dan Petchel is definitely the guy to contact. Not only does he do an exceptional job on the top restoration he also has the right trim seals. I just finished a ground up restoration on a '73 and bought all my parts OEM from Stoddard here in Cleveland. As Porsche had updated (superseded actually) the targa bar seal, I had no choice but to use the updated version. It fit badly and I couldn't get the side window to seal against the top. The new targa bar seal pushed the glass out at the top. I called Dan and he had the correct parts and not only that but the price was in line. Not over priced for a rare part. He can help you. Good parts and a bit of time and you can get it right. My top doesn't leak a bit. By the way I feel your pain. I bought my car 10 years ago and left it outside in the rain when it was 3 days old. I had a pond in the car. Good thing there is no ECU under my front seat. I still wouldn't drive anything else. Nothing like flying down the road, top off, listening to the motor sing.

[Ricks911s]

Thanks Puff. As someone else said, the more info the better.

[yelcab1]

I stopped buying convertibles (and targa) because of leaks.

[Poohsan]

I need to choose a starting point and work from there.

The first item I should address is the door striker plates. The plastic internal parts of the strikers are falling apart. This is preventing the doors from closing completely. I figure that if the doors do not close correctly then all other adjustments will be off.

Is there a door striker rebuild kit, (plastic parts only), or do I need to purchase strikers as a complete package?

-Arron

[Head416]

Originally Posted by DEAN911

I still wouldn't drive anything else. Nothing like flying down the road, top off, listening to the motor sing.

+1

[Head416]

Okay, so I'm trying to identify the main culprit with my window leak. Hope this isn't too much of a hijack, seems relevant.

Here's the pick of the driver's side, at the top of the triangular window:
(yes, the door is closed, but the window is rolled down)


So here's my question: which of the three seals is my biggest problem? The targa seal, the window frame seal, or the seal at the corner of that little window?

I can see that my window frame seal is not quite whole . . . but I'm not sure how much of it is missing. The gap is in-between the little window and the targa top seal, but I don't see how that seal could be fitting any differently.

Any thoughts? Could somebody post of pic of this corner on their car so I can see how the seals are supposed to all come together?

Here's the part for the corner of the driver's side window, looks like you have to disassemble the little triangular window to replace it (?) - anybody done that?

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/PartsLookup/search.cgi?command=show_page&Catalog_Name=911_USA_78_83_KATALOG&Illustration=804-20&Line_Item=12

Thanks.

[RFR]

Mine is exactly the same, it almost seems like the top is not coming down far enough. OR, maybe the vent window needs to be adjusted higher???

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by slodave

For a temporary fix, I used the foam weather strip (tape on one side) from Home Depot and had decent results. I never have had that much water come in, but enough to mess up my electric side mirror toggle and warp the leather cap on the door. These days, I don't drive mine in the rain.

Dave,

Be careful with this fix. My Targa had an awful amount of wind noise and the front clips would pop out of the frame. I adjusted them every possible way until one day I noticed that the PO had put some extra weatherstripping on my front seal. I took the extra material off and readjusted my clips. Now I have much less wind noise and the clips stay against the bar as they should. Most likely the PO was chasing the wind noise but did not realize that the extra thickness of the weatherstrip was forcing the front bar to disengage and make the problem worse.

BTW-My top does not leak even with a slight gap over the wing windows.