Fabric covering - Targa roll bar window seal

[Targa_whaletail]

Hi all,

The fabric covering on both sides of the rubber seal that the side windows glide up and down on has degraded. Is the fabric repairable or available separately?

I had the Targa roof redone, all the seals done, so would rather avoid redoing this seal. I can't understand why the fabric has broken up so quickly (had thought it was an OE part). Redoing the part 91156509145 would be both expensive and might mess up the roof / door seal.

It's a 3.2 1984 Targa.

Any thoughts please?

[sky1jord]

This article might be of some help to you,

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/concours_corner/concours_corner-3.htm

and you might be able to find fabric in a hobby store.

Years ago, my seal was in infinitely worse shape than yours, so I bit the very large bullet and replaced the whole seal.

[Targa_whaletail]

Originally Posted by sky1jord

This article might be of some help to you,

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/concours_corner/concours_corner-3.htm

and you might be able to find fabric in a hobby store.

Years ago, my seal was in infinitely worse shape than yours, so I bit the very large bullet and replaced the whole seal.

Thanks! That photo is one I found in google images. Mine is much worse - various holes etc.

The annoying thing is that I had that seal replaced already...

Guess I'd better buy a new seal.

[group911@aol.co]

If the actual rubber is intact, recover it. Sorry I can't remember the name of the material but the local upholstery supply know exactly what it was. The gluing was really easy. I'd recommend a heat guy to set the glue quickly.

[Targa_whaletail]

Originally Posted by group911@aol.co

If the actual rubber is intact, recover it. Sorry I can't remember the name of the material but the local upholstery supply know exactly what it was. The gluing was really easy. I'd recommend a heat guy to set the glue quickly.

Really? This would be a much cheaper option! And less likely to mess up the roof / door alignment (currently, car is quiet [no leaks] even at speed - which was not easy to achieve!)

Any idea how to find out what the fabric is?

[group911@aol.co]

Originally Posted by Targa_whaletail

Really? This would be a much cheaper option! And less likely to mess up the roof / door alignment (currently, car is quiet [no leaks] even at speed - which was not easy to achieve!)

Any idea how to find out what the fabric is?

Just had to jog my feeble brain. It's called duck cloth. I like the cloth versus synthetic for looks.

[Targa_whaletail]

Originally Posted by group911@aol.co

Just had to jog my feeble brain. It's called duck cloth. I like the cloth versus synthetic for looks.

Aha! This lead me to this thread: Replacing the vinyl on front of targa bar?

With that amount of labor involved (I'm unlikely to attempt myself!), maybe teh new seal is best...

Mike_Lettrich

JP911, I'm confused as to what pieces you are referring to. Do you mean the fabric covering on the seals on the sides of the front of the Targa bar where the window seals, then extending upward and covering where the "prongs" of the Targa top insert into the Targa bar?

If this is what you are talking about, I reupholstered mine recently and had a good result. On my car (a 78 RoW SC), the material is not vinyl, however. It is fabric. Maybe other models are different, but mine was definitely not vinyl.

The closest match for the material that I could find is "duck cloth", which is almost like canvas. It looks like the same material that convertible tops are made of. I purchased it a local fabric store. I attached it to the underlying rubber seals with black Permatex weatherstrip adhesive. I played around with spray adhesive first, but it does not work because it will bleed through the fabric and look terrible. The black weatherstrip adhesive does not bleed through, and bonded the material strongly to the underlying rubber.

The result was very good, with no wrinkles or adhesion problems. I took a lot of photos when I did it with the intent of putting together a thread on how to do it. I just haven't had a chance yet. It is not a difficult job, but cannot be rushed and requires some attention to detail. I think it took me about 2 1/2 hours per side, but the appearance of the seal used to bother me, and now looks like new.

Let me know if this is what interests you, and I'll try to get the thread posted. There were a number of steps involved, so it will take a little while to get the narrative instructions and the photos put together.

[group911@aol.co]

If you can replace them, you can recover them. Way easier than it seems

Originally Posted by Targa_whaletail

Aha! This lead me to this thread: Replacing the vinyl on front of targa bar?

With that amount of labor involved (I'm unlikely to attempt myself!), maybe teh new seal is best...

Mike_Lettrich

JP911, I'm confused as to what pieces you are referring to. Do you mean the fabric covering on the seals on the sides of the front of the Targa bar where the window seals, then extending upward and covering where the "prongs" of the Targa top insert into the Targa bar?

If this is what you are talking about, I reupholstered mine recently and had a good result. On my car (a 78 RoW SC), the material is not vinyl, however. It is fabric. Maybe other models are different, but mine was definitely not vinyl.

The closest match for the material that I could find is "duck cloth", which is almost like canvas. It looks like the same material that convertible tops are made of. I purchased it a local fabric store. I attached it to the underlying rubber seals with black Permatex weatherstrip adhesive. I played around with spray adhesive first, but it does not work because it will bleed through the fabric and look terrible. The black weatherstrip adhesive does not bleed through, and bonded the material strongly to the underlying rubber.

The result was very good, with no wrinkles or adhesion problems. I took a lot of photos when I did it with the intent of putting together a thread on how to do it. I just haven't had a chance yet. It is not a difficult job, but cannot be rushed and requires some attention to detail. I think it took me about 2 1/2 hours per side, but the appearance of the seal used to bother me, and now looks like new.

Let me know if this is what interests you, and I'll try to get the thread posted. There were a number of steps involved, so it will take a little while to get the narrative instructions and the photos put together.

[sky1jord]

Well I wish I'd seen this write up when I replaced the seal years ago. I think that 2-1/2 hours per side would be worth it versus 2-3 hours to remove, clean, and replace the whole seal, which at the time was a $350 part and now I see it goes for muchmore than that for a proper one.

[group911@aol.co]

I think I have an extra freshly recovered one if anybody needs it.