New to the thread + first self "repair", targa vinyl

[bnjmin]

This car is a story for me, but I'll keep it short.

I bought an 86' 911 w/ 300+k miles off of eBay on a whim, not knowing very much about this particular car, Porsche, or this vast community. After various repairs, nearly 2 years of being a daily driver, and finally a faulty head gasket replacement/rebuild, in early 2013, I blew a rod through the head of my engine (I should post the pics here). Over the last 6 months, I've had the engine replaced with a 3.2 from an 85' with 50k miles.

Now, I'm looking to treat this car with more respect, so I thought I would introduce myself to you guys and share my journey.

First things first. My targa top ripped on the first highway drive home after picking it up from the shop yesterday. While the hardware is in good condition, the vinyl was showing some wear from the sun.

The first owner kept it in a garage for all its years, but I unfortunately did not, so the sun quickly undid the previous owners safe keeping and the small tear turned into a gaping hole once I hit 60MPH.

I just ordered the replacement vinyl (pebbled) and I'm going to follow the tech article towards replacing it and will post my experience.

Afterwards, I plan on moving the car into my girlfriend's dads garage (with his permission) as he lives in the suburbs (but not far away) where there is room for garages. From there, I plan to make incremental improvements to various things as I learn more from the forums.

Thanks for hearing out my ramblings!

Anyone else replace their Targa vinyl themselves? Piece of cake or more tricky than it seems?

- Benjamin

[timmy2]

Do a little searching as there are numerous threads on this job
If the top's underlying structure needs repair most will send their top out to be repaired by one of 2 guys in the country that have the proper alignment jigs to do it right. They charge around $1000 for a complete restoration. One is in Colorado the other in New Jersey.
Good luck, if you are patient and have good skills you can do it.

[fbeatty]

Welcome and nice car.

I have thought about replacing my top myself, so I am intertested to know how you feel once you are done. Please keep us informed and take pics. From the post I have read, it does not seem too difficult, as with anything take your time.

Look for forward to reading and seeing your progress.