I was going to re-use this till Dave Brown (targa top expert known world over) came up to pick up my top and commented on my work so far...and suggested that using my old shelf would really be a low point in my resto. I pulled it all apart
He was right, as soon as I removed the vinyl, it fell apart. The duct tape is not for looks...
I have new waterproof cardboard and sew able foam
My pattern
The vinyl is cut....I need to spend some more time sewing in pleats
Sort of good news...
I found out from Dave Brown that my targa top (although it looked great) had some structural shortcomings. So I bought another core targa top off of the 912 registry for parts. I didn't realize that there were two variations of targa tops...67 up until 69 1/2 and then 69 1/2 -infinity. Well turns out the parts top I received was an early top with an aluminum frame vs the later magnesium frame. We are going to steal parts from the later top to rebuild the early top which would more likely have been found on a softie. A bit more work...but apparently the earlier tops also fit the windshield A pillar and windows better. I'm psyched.