Targa bar cover

[kavadarci]

Hi,
My targa bar cover is black.
How can I tell what’s under neath?
Chrome or stainless steel?

Does anyone have any step by step instructions?
I want to make mine shiny, :-)

[autobonrun]

Rust proof steel; which I assume means stainless.

Go down to post #4 in the link below; then click on that link. It'll take you to an old thread from 2002 that has some factory info on the bar. Info from Early S Man so you can take it to the bank.

Anodizing aluminum trim and targa bar.

[nvr2mny]

I took the one off our ‘86 and had it polished by a professional polishing co. Came out amazing!

[Ayles]

This is an easy and rewarding project. See my posts here for how I did it and a list of the part numbers you will want to replace. Let me know if you have any questions.

Targa bar paint or strip for chrome look

[kavadarci]

Thank you.
In still not sure if mine is stainless steel.

[Quickstep192]

I think they're all stainless underneath. You can test with a magnet; it won't stick to stainless. Here's a link to another posting where people have removed the paint and sanded to matte or polished, or painted to match the car.

Black Targa bar to Silver...

[allaircooled]

Yeah I am pretty sure they are all stainless steel. Not sure which year they started coming in black but under that black is stainless.

[nvr2mny]

Originally Posted by allaircooled

Yeah I am pretty sure they are all stainless steel. Not sure which year they started coming in black but under that black is stainless.

Correct!

[Quickstep192]

What are the chances you can remove the cover (on a 45 year old car) without breaking something? What should I look out for if I attempt this?

[Ayles]

Try and get under the rear fender up high and forward are the two studs. These can be rusted and can break off. There are also maybe 10 sheet metal screws across the front edge behind the seal. Its also super helpful to have a second set of hands when you remove as it you can easily scratch the paint with the studs.

[Darkly-Noon]

I got my (1980) cover off with all studs intact last year. A few months beforehand I sprayed the nuts up inside the rear fenders liberally with liquid wrench or similar and let it sit. That worked well for me and I got the cover off ok. Once off, you should use a threading die (M5, I believe) to clean up the threads on the studs. I then used aircraft paint remover to strip the black paint off. Like the others have said, the cover is stainless steel.

I got mine re-painted, so while the targa bar cover was being powder coated in satin black, I had the targa emblems re-anodized in black at a local machine shop that does metal finishing. I also replaced the rubber seal that goes at the front of the bar, and the beading that goes around the rear edge of it. Plus some 3M strip-caulk along where the base sits and joins the fenders, after cleaning out the old stuff and fixing any rust spots, etc.

It turned out great and looks like new. We'll see how long it takes for the anodizing on the targa emblems to start fading again...

[Quickstep192]

And if the rusted studs break... Then what?

[Ayles]

Weld them back on.