Time to dig in...softie conversion

[Reiver]

Looking very good, I really enjoy your ingenuity and thought process as it translates to fabrication.
I like that last wheel pictured, beautiful wood and detail...they only look correct on that period of P cars.

[rokemester]

My 87 Targa will be in the shop for another month or so just when the driving season in Northeast Ohio is kicking in. This fantastic thread reminds me to be patient. What a creative and skilled craftsman you are. Inspiring! Subscribed. Like someone said early, can't wait to see the Gemini Blue Targa on the road and humming with the 2.2 liter.

[howard freeman]

subed

[speedo]

Rear shelf, crescent trim at the edge of the rear shelf, and the side trim all need some clarification as to whether the hard window stuff will work with the soft window. My new front targa windshield-top gasket (thanks Dan at CarsInc) and 72 belt retractor covers (thanks slcarr) arrived today. Yves (freezing14) has also helped out with an installation procedure. With a bit of luck, this will go together this weekend. I am still needing a good understanding as to how the targa bar headliner is clearanced for the latches. Hoping some pics will surface. There are three different SWT headliners (mine is the latest) and I don't want to screw up modifying mine. I called Stoddard today and the SWT headliner stuff... very NLA. So I will have one chance to modify mine correctly.

Speedo

[speedo]

These arrived...yeehaw

72-73 regulator covers. They go here.

That means these need to be recovered to eliminate the speaker holes

I need to strip the outer upholstery and see what the cardboard panels look like behind

Very attractive...

So these need to be re-created. I strip off the existing speaker-perforated vinyl

These are in great shape...I will offer them up after I make my blanks.

Question...why is there a seam here



Speedo

[speedo]

I didn't look closely at the regulator housings when I got them...but they will not trim correctly with the 70-71 side panels

Either these are from a coupe which has a shaped cover for the area behind this, or the 72-73 targas have different side panels. I could hack these up to get them to work...or figure out a plan B that gets along without them. I need to make the side panels anyway so I will hit them first. Cutting the vinyl and the foam

Marking for the pleats

Sewed up

I used some extra material from some old mis-cut door panels and my electric shear

All trimmed to fit


First one done and fitment looks great


How do I deal with covering these up...

The recess in the wall is not deep enough for the panel to lay flat, nor is it flat enough to just mount the regulator on the outside such that it is visible. Hmmm,
Need to think this one through. I thought about hammering the recess deeper, and also maybe hammering it back flat so that I could mount it on the outside. Both seem to be amateurish options. I have a better idea...

[speedo]

And no regulator cover. I measure the belt movement

And try to scribe where the belt wants to be..

I measured for the bezel and reinstalled


I now need to notch the interior trim for the handles

And renew the vent screen...these are acceptable...but look like crap.


I need to figure out how to notch the interior trim for the latches

I am going to need some help here...

[speedo]

....and he circles the spot three times before lying down. On another thread I learned that there are actually four different types or targa bar headliners. Three soft window and at least one hard window. The good news is that I don't need to be troubled by having to pick and chose one of the soft versions...bad news is that I only have a hard version. I will have one try to get this right
So like the adage measure four times, cut once...I installed and uninstalled this thing repeatedly to get my measurements correct...where to start?

Well as I may be able to re-use the vinyl, I should scalp this guy first...carefully

Measure and re-measure then re-re-measure

Steady hand to make the cuts

I am going to do one side first. If I screw up, then...maybe I can fix it, learn from my mistake and not botch the other side...I feel like this is the point of no return, and I understand why high-end upholsterers commands the big bucks

I check the fit...hey this is going to work

With the latch in place

With renewed confidence...just kidding.... I attack the other side

One more thing needs to be checked....

[speedo]

The operation of the handles in the cutouts. Phew...passed

Sacrificed. I'm really curious how these aluminum/foam shapes were manufactured by Porsche

So now I need to develop a plan to recover this baby. I think I will trim out the side pieces and then slot the original vinyl and tighten it at the front of the cutout.

The old vinyl is in good shape...but hard and inflexible. I'll use the advantage of mother nature at 8100 ft to warm it up

It loosened up enough to become somewhat pliable. I trimmed the cutouts and got ready for a trial refit

So far so good

I am very ok with how this came out

One more unexpected hurdle...hurdled.
I am just going to prime the bows...they will be inside the vinyl from here on, no need to paint them

I need to figure out these before I install the soft window. They cannot be installed after the headliner. And the headliner is basically done. I have a hole punch...but it likes paper not vinyl

Anyway, latch receivers are painted, bows are primed...I am close to the soft window install

[froggyporsche]

Hi All, I have read all the pages and I am in "What" "Why not" and "How", of your work Mr. Speedo. The first one is, what, you can actually fix that, you have an incredible talent, secondly, why not, refers to, why are you not my neighbour (Hahaha!!) and lastly, how come you got all the talent and left none for me, just kidding but you do have incredible talents, so Congratulations on everything !! BTW, if you want to make more room in your garage, I have space

Yves
Montreal

[MJHanna]

Tandy leather carries leather punches in different sizes:
Tandy Leather Factory - Craftool Round Drive Punches

[speedo]

Not sure how many cowboy belts and saddles I plan on working on...but I now have some cool punches. I will start to work on these vents tomorrow. Not planning on going into production

Speedo

[speedo]

Time to knock them out

Hold it down and make some holes...168 holes per side to be precise, or a total of 336 holes to punch. And while I used the old covers as a template...slippage of the hands during the process will give me the opportunity to start over


Before and after...huge difference

The frames deserve a refurbish before receiving new vinyl

I'll get them cleaned up, primed and painted before the re-installation of the new vinyl vents.

[speedo]

At the rear edge of the shelf cover, and under-lapping the cover, lays (not sure how this one could actually lay)a piece of plastic, trimmed in vinyl. It is secured to the shelf cover and butts up against the rear window. I am told it is the same part number for both the hard and soft window. No way to check until some work is done on this one

It is in really bad shape. Like a dried up snake that got run over a few times


As I don't have much experience flattening snakes (or plastic for that matter),
I approach it logically but with a chunk of trepidation

As mine is also conveniently broken at the center (weak spot) I will massage the halves first

And then work the two sides together. Major improvement with slowly applying heat and working the soft (very hot) plastic with gloves

Nice warped gap in the center to close.

Things ended up pretty straight. I will need to glass the two sides together, but waaay better than when I started

This, when returned to a single piece will get fitted to the rear shelf, re-upholstered and affixed to the shelf cover. So glad this car is going together soooo quickly...uugh.

[67targa]

Very inspirational. After going over your interior I decided to tackle mine rather than doing to a shop. I have a 67 softie and wish I could have helped with the inner targa bar piece that you notched, but I just found the thread while researching for the answer to another restoration question. I think you are doing a fine job and although many consider softies loud, leaky etc, I consider them an important part the Porsche story. I have a question regarding your dash. What thickness of foam did you use on the decking? Also on the rear quarter panels it looks like you used a plastic panel (ABS) as the base material plus 1/8" foam, is that correct?
Thx for the detail photography on this thread ,,it helps.

[speedo]

The side vents went together well...kind of artsy

And installed

My helpers. Don't know what I would do without these guys. They have truly found their calling

Couldn't have done it without you...

Back to the crescent...more work to get it ready to be recovered. I fiberglassed the joint for strength

Don't know what happened here...

But it needs to be massaged to look like this

So it can integrate with the side top cover. Onward

[speedo]

I was going to re-use this till Dave Brown (targa top expert known world over) came up to pick up my top and commented on my work so far...and suggested that using my old shelf would really be a low point in my resto. I pulled it all apart


He was right, as soon as I removed the vinyl, it fell apart. The duct tape is not for looks...

I have new waterproof cardboard and sew able foam

My pattern

The vinyl is cut....I need to spend some more time sewing in pleats

Sort of good news... I found out from Dave Brown that my targa top (although it looked great) had some structural shortcomings. So I bought another core targa top off of the 912 registry for parts. I didn't realize that there were two variations of targa tops...67 up until 69 1/2 and then 69 1/2 -infinity. Well turns out the parts top I received was an early top with an aluminum frame vs the later magnesium frame. We are going to steal parts from the later top to rebuild the early top which would more likely have been found on a softie. A bit more work...but apparently the earlier tops also fit the windshield A pillar and windows better. I'm psyched.

[merbesfield]

Making good progress Lars. Thanks for posting pics along the way.

[67targa]

Hello Lars, thank for the dash information. Looking at your rear panel you stated that you have new water proof cardboard. What and where can I buy It?

[mikeferg75]

Go Lars go!!