A "HOW TO" QUESTION (please help)

[Juggino]

Vehicle = 1978 911 Targa


I need to fix the vinyl covering on the interior of the targa bar, the vinyl where the dome light is pressed into. Does the panel simply clip out like a door panel?

Also I need to remove some God awful paint that the last owner put on the Targa emblem on the outside of the bar. Will I be able to unscrew the emblem once the interior panel is off?

Is there a how to article for this? I couldn't find one.

[5String43]

I don't know a out the vinyl on the inside of the bar, but I scraped the paint that was on my car's Targa emblem with a bit of patience and an Exacto knife.

[drcoastline]

First you will need to remove the screws from trim piece that runs along top of the rear 1/4 and remove the bolt that holds the seat belt guide (red arrows). The trim will then slide out of the rear shelf. When the trim piece is removed you will have access to two Phillips screws on either side (blue arrows) remove those. Then remove the overhead light. You can then gently pull the interior roll bar trim piece toward the front of the car. It is held in place by tabs that slide into slots on the targa bar. The tricky part will be to get all the tabs to line back up when putting it back in.



In order to remove "Targa" Script you must remove the outer roll-bar cover. There are two 8mm nuts that hold the bar to the body. Accessible in the wheel wells. Then you need to remove the targa roof seal on the front of the bar to access the Phillips screws that hold the cover on. The seal is mostly glued in place and can be gently pulled loose. a slotted screw driver run in the channel gently will help to release the glue. You may also have two screws on either side of the roof pins that need to be removed. Once the seal is off remove the screws (8 I believe maybe 10) The cover will then lift straight up. You will then have access to the speed nuts to remove the targa script.

Before removing the 8mm nuts in the wheels wells try and clean off all the gunk and spray liberally with PB Blaster, WD40 or a similar product. The nuts are likely frozen to the studs. To much tork and you will snap off the stud.

[Bob Kontak]

Nice job, drc

[vulcan300]

I have a couple of things to add to the good Dr's write up.

1 - The vinyl cover actually pulls off the tabs toward the rear of the car. You need more hands than Shiva to get the thing on in one go when you put it back though!!

2 - The nuts that hold the cover on are a bit of a pain to get to and have the potential to be quite rusty. Make sure you soak them with PB blaster repeatedly for a couple of days is they are looking rusty. Snapping off one of the studs on the Targa bar cover is easy to do if the nuts are seized on.

3 - The small plastic pins on either side of the holes that accept the alignment pins on the top are attached with a press fit. You can lever them out of their holes using a screw driver. There may also be some small black plus filling holes in the leading edge of the targa bar under the vertical parts of the seals. You will likely destroy them when removing them as they are fixed in place with a small plastic pin driven through the middle. You can use a tiny punch to knock the pins through, this makes it easier to remove the plugs but you'll need to buy replacements anyway.

4 - Be careful when pulling the seal off the car. It should be held in place with contact cement so the bond isn't too strong. you just need to be careful when pulling the seal off near the place where the separate pieces are bonded together. Too much force and the seal will tear apart.

Good luck!

J

[drcoastline]

Thanks guys and targamaniac is correct the interior cover slides toward the rear. As I and maniac said soak those studs in the wheel wells. If the stud snaps it's no big deal just have a new piece of all thread welded on but why do it if a little patience and caution can prevent it.

Good luck with your project.

[Juggino]

Thanks guys, really helpful. Much appreciated!!!!!