targa front seal mod

[chamilun]

I replaced the targa vinyl, and in doing so made the targa fit somewhat worse. Not sure what I did wrong, but Ive been sick of the noise coming through for a long time. Makes the car almost undriveable on the interstate.

Anyone ever though of something to put in front of the targa. I was thinking for something that would have a front seal but lipped over the targa top, effectively getting rid of the edge that the top creates.

any ideas?

[Winter]

duct tape?

I know it works but it ain't pretty.

I'll be waiting to see if anyone chimes in with a more, err, elegant solution, as I get some noise as well, but certainly not "unbearable."

[UrQuattro]

I've used weatherstripping that is available at your FLAPS. I think it's made by 3M. It is sold in a coiled strip of seal. At the local kragen, they have a couple different kinds. Both have an adhesive strip attached that you use to hold it in place. One kind is solid, and shaped sort of like _/ and the other is more like an "o" with a thin vertical part connecting it to the base with the sticky tape on it.

It's the latter kind that I have used, and am currently using to help keep air from sneaking between the front seal and the top.

If you take the kind that has the loop, you'll find that it is more flexible and can be attached to the vertical surface of the windshield frame as it comes over the car.

The targa seal sits in the bottom of the \_/ shape of the A pillar as it loops up and over the passenger cabin.

I found that if you attach that weatherstripping to the front part of the \_/, you should be able to tuck it between the pillar and the seal. I found that it will cause the top to require a lot more force to lock the first couple times, but once the weatherstripping takes on the shape of the top when it is tightened down, the extra tension will let up.

I hope that makes some kind of sense.

I'll see if I can find a picture of the weatherstripping that I'm talking about.

But, once I got the weatherstripping in place, the top was completely quiet. No win was able to rush through at all.

Michael

[UrQuattro]

Here's the stuff I'm talking about.

3M CHIM Partner Support Site : 3M

Hope that helps.

Michael

[brads911sc]

If you didnt buy your seal from Cars Inc... you bought the wrong seal. The part was replaced with a later style part and its too big for older targa's. I would not use 3m or duct tape. I'd call Cars Inc and get the right seal... You drive a porsche 911 not a chevy vega.

Originally Posted by chamilun

I replaced the targa vinyl, and in doing so made the targa fit somewhat worse. Not sure what I did wrong, but Ive been sick of the noise coming through for a long time. Makes the car almost undriveable on the interstate.

Anyone ever though of something to put in front of the targa. I was thinking for something that would have a front seal but lipped over the targa top, effectively getting rid of the edge that the top creates.

any ideas?

[chamilun]

I've got a brand new seal, went right in with no modification, except I had to keep 3 inches of the previous seal for the lowest portion on the left and right.

Im gonna head to lowes or HD sometime soon and see what I can dream up. I remember someone using a garage door seal for the rear before, so I want to figure out something like the below

--------------------------------
-----------
--------

if that even begins to make sense

[brads911sc]

Where did you buy your seal?

If you bought the one from anyone but Cars Inc... it will appear to fit but doesnt fit properly. Its thicker and stands up taller. I did the same thing... I bought one from here... it seemed to install ok.. but lots of noise and poor fitting top. I ripped it out, installed one from Dan at Cars Inc... ($175 lost)... Problem solved.

[Hugh R]

$175 for the front seal. WOW. I'm gonna try the 3M seal first. BTW, how much is Dan's?

[brads911sc]

Dan's was $180... Thats why I said I lost $175. I was $5 off...

Originally Posted by Hugh R

$175 for the front seal. WOW. I'm gonna try the 3M seal first. BTW, how much is Dan's?

[RSTarga]

I had the same problem until I bought a seal from Dan. Check that your front clips on your top are actually clipping into the frame. If these aren't aligned properly or have worn the top lifts up letting air in. There are 4 clips I believe.
Your just wasting your time with other solutions. To really fix your problem have Dan do a proper rebuild if all you did was recover thats not enough.

[Hugh R]

Oh, I read that you spent $175 from PP. Never mind.

[brads911sc]

The Pelican Price for the one that doesnt fit is $139. Not cheap for something that doesnt even fit...

Originally Posted by Hugh R

Oh, I read that you spent $175 from PP. Never mind.

[chamilun]

hate to advertise another vendor, but got mine from fcpgroton for $125. I think they have a whole setup for $275 or something like that. Fits perfectly.

+1 on the clips. problem is it seems since my 'rebuild' (and I use that term loosely) one or two of the clips keep pulling away.

however, my whole intention is to add something in the front lip that precedes the seal

[UrQuattro]

Well, the 3m solution isn't perfect, but it worked for a year for me, and cost me a whole 7 bucks.

I've since installed a new rear seal(that was where the water leaked in - which doesn't happen anymore), and I also had one of dan's front seals installed. It works a LOT better than the seal that was on it before, but i still have air getting between the seal and the roof at wither corner. I've adjusted the windows, and even though I can pull down on my top and it will fit better temporarily, it has some play on the ends and lifts up at speed, allowing a fair amount of wind noise above 70-75mph. With the radio on, I can't hear it.

But, if I add a strategic amount of the 3m seal to augment dan's seal, the wind noise goes away completely.

Even the factory manual for adjusting the targa top to rid yourself of wind noise references a "spacer" of sorts that looks an awful lot like the 3M seal once ya get it in the right spot. All it does is reinforce it and give it more structural integrity against the wind.

It works, it's cheap, and it makes the car amazingly quiet.

I kind of have a theory that after being forced to fit against the wrong seal for about 15 years or so, the frame is bent out slightly due to the constant pressure from the mis-sized seal.

Though I will say that as time goes by a bit, the top is more and more willing to tuck in the front corners correctly.

Does anyone know of a way to adjust the top so that those front corners WILL tuck in tightly against the newer, smaller seal after over a decade of resistance? Can I move those front locating pins a little to give them some "bite" against the windshield frame? Or is that not a good idea, or even possible.

How about adjusting the latches? On my top they hold the top really tightly against the frame, but it is almos like the top locks down a little bit too far forward because I know that the leading edge of the whole roof is supposed to be slightly below the windshield frame, but the leading edge of my top seems to WANT to go lower, but it seems to get caught on the edge of the windshield frame and is forced to be pressed tightly against the upper edge of the frame.

Anyway, I figure that it all got screwed up when the PO had the top "rebuilt" by some local upholstery shop. They re-covered the top (with the wrong vinyl I'll add), but it had those telltale little "pinched" areas that dan talks about. So my expectation is that I need to spend 800 dollars and do the exchange deal with dan for a properly rebuilt top. But it's hard to motivate myself to do that since I can get the top to be really quiet and it isn't leaking anymore... So, I'll use a foot of 3M automotive weather seal and save the 800 for other items at this time.

Sorry for the rambling post, guys.

Michael

[UrQuattro]

Chamilun-

Hey,

When I was diagnosing the wind issues with my top, I noticed that sometimes I'd put the top back on, and it would be quieter than others. I finally figured out that one of the clips had worn away enough metal from the frame, that when I went in or out of my driveway at an angle to prevent scraping, the clip would pop off due to the extra strain from the chassis flex.

If you don't have any experience with adjusting the clips, don't worry too much about giving it a shot. One thing that you need to be careful of when adjusting them is that if you remove the clip completely, the little metal bar that the screws attach to is not fully secured in place, and can move enough that you might lose track of it, so my suggestion is to loosen both screws just enough so that you can move the clips, and push them as close to the frame as possible. If you've found that some of the metal has worn away, try sliding it over and angling it so that it can grip the frame better.

But when it was recovered, it might be out of square enough that no amount of adjustment will allow the top to clip properly, in which case, I'd go back to the place that did it and request them to redo it or refund you some money or something.

But don't write off the 3M weather strip... It really can work really damn well.

Michael

[chamilun]

hey Michael.

when I first bought my car, I took standard gray insulation stuff and put it in the groove of the seal. was actually very quiet, but mashed it down even worse. So, haven't ruled out a solution like yours. IN fact, I'd bet a lot of people will use the 3M after reading the thread.

However, I think if I could figure out something to put in the 'slot' or 'groove' between the car and the lip of the targa top, wind noise would be even less, because it wouldn't be catching.

[chamilun]

actually, after re-reading your first post, Im gonna try it. Supposed to snow today, but may be the storm

[Jdub]

Just to throw a few more out there...

There are long and short clips availble - the long ones are better at staying put. The latches can be adjusted to cinch down more tightly - this works only when the Targa top plates and skin are all in alignment. To reduce noise, use a smear of silicone (only) grease sparingly along the seals where they touch the top - reduces squeaks and seals out wind nicely. Black duct tape applied on a clean surface will seal it for the Winter most of the time.

[UrQuattro]

hey Michael.

However, I think if I could figure out something to put in the 'slot' or 'groove' between the car and the lip of the targa top, wind noise would be even less, because it wouldn't be catching.

That's actually what happens with the 3M solution. There is enough material there that it does both things. It helps the seal itself as well as gets wedged between the leading edge of the targa top and the trailing edge of the windshield frame.

If you try it, you'll see that the edge is actually slanted at an angle, and is just deep enough to allow the 3M strip to be applied to it. But it is a little bit of a PITA to get right, so what I did was dry fit it before pulling off the cover of the sticky side, so that it hopefully will get low enough in there to not sit too high, which would make it a little too visible and a little too tight on the latches.

You'll see what I mean if you get the stuff and try it.

Michael

[Neilnaz]

**** Reviving an old but valid thread to add my own experience ****

Finally got my Targa fitting really well. I bought the standard seal for the front that most vendors sell that turns out to be for the 964. After finding out that it has the wrong profile and the Targa sits too high I modified the seal removing a great deal of the material. The result was that the roof fitted much better but there was still an issue with the leading edge sitting proud at certain points.

Further research revealed that, although the Targa panels should be flat, the leading edge can be turned down slightly. Advice seemed to be to use a rubber mallet. This seemed to be a little brutal and difficult to control. I decided to use pipe grips with a cloth to prevent damage to the vinyl. I worked along the edge repeating adjustment and re-fitting to make sure I was getting it right. It took 6 or 7 trial fits but the results are fantastic.

Cheers, Neil