Hi Gerben @gerbenharingsma

The front roof area is a common target for rust on our cars, whether in Coupe or Cabriolet version – in fact the situation is made worse on our Cabriolet’s by the presence of the textile glued over the metal work. When I had my Targa panels painted red (rather than have them recovered) i had this front roof section painted as well, and we discovered rust starting to take hold there.

So yes, a warning to all Cabriolet onwers is to physically check that front roof section, by passing your hand over the textile covering and see if you can determine any change of shape which may be rust underneath…

Factory has produced a sample of the Targa aperture rubber seals – I just haven’t had time to go pick it up yet, but hope to in the next few days.

Yes there is a company that, at a cost, provide a complete kit of the rear hood, Targa Panel cover and front roof surrround material – I will see if I can find their details.

Laurence

Hi,

i have a small raised area just above the window on the passenger side, so I expect it would be difficult to peel back the material to view this.  I see there is a company called carhoodsdirect.co.uk that supply a roof kit.  The car they show is a cabriolet but I cannot understand why it fits models only from 1987.  It is one of those jobs that once you start looking at can become a hard to sort out.  This could have been there all the time I have owned the car but now only found by Laurence advise to check this.

Alan

Hi Alan @cabriolet

I agree, it could have been there a while, and may historic, however all I can say is, it shouldn’t be there – the roof should be as smooth as if it was a Coupe’s roof.

I think you’re right in saying that it would be difficult, though not impossible, to peal back the roof’s covering. There’s the additional challenge that it’s likely glued down below the line of the front windscreen rubber, possibly necessitating removing the windscreen itself to give you the best chance as possible to peal back the covering with a view of gluing it back after instpection.

The alternative is to leave things alone, and just monitor the raised area to confirm it’s not getting bigger/unstable.

Gerben @gerbenharingsma , have you made any investigations of the bubbles you’ve found?

Laurence

Hi Laurence,

It is a job that is on the list to sort out but not at this time of year.  I budget each year to improve my car and next month I am having a stainless steel exhaust fitted.

My ideal solution to the roof is to have it completely recovered and this would be done through the winter.  To start with I would probably remove the windscreen trims to see what that reveals.

As you can appreciate it is not a straight forward job as you probably have to disturb the targa seal and the possibility of removing the windscreen. Did you have to remove the windscreen on yours to sort out the rust?

Alan

Hi Alan @cabriolet

I was in the positon that the screen had to come out anyway as the rubber was cracked and causing leaks, so had the roof sorted at the same time. Also found that changeing the windscreen rubber enabled the side chrome strips to fit much better and neater.

Laurence

Some time ago the same problem was subject of a discussion between me and Wijnanda van der Sman

Below are the steps she have taken to stop this problem.

Step 1:
I have the fabric upholstery cut away just above the windshield rubber, under the chrome trim of the upper windscreen I removed the rubber rubber and then cut the outer covering on the seam with the inner lining.The chrome trim stripped above the windshield on the sides and covered with protective tape during work The chrome tees on the side of the windshield are removed to be able to work well in the corners of the front frame and keep the water drainage in the holes .Consequences:· The rubber rubber needs to be secured / glued again· You can no longer reuse the original fabric from the outer covering

Step 2:
Destroy the affected metal parts with RustyCo. This certainly done 3 times and intermediate sanding, sanding, sanding, sandingThe front frame is, as it were, a hollow flat tube with a few nice curves. In particular, the beautiful rounded corners of my car just rusted away. I also cleaned this hollow space as well as possible from all loose metal particles and rust formation. So I did not make the choice to let this part shine (too thin metal) or to have it welded.Consequences:· Because of the sanding you can quickly reach the chrome trim on the windshield. Cover this well / cover· This process takes at least a day or 2 to give the RustyCo a good time to do its work and to clean up in the meantime

Step 3:
I have also done the “build-up” myself by first smoothing the largest holes with fiber mat and auto-lamination / resin and then making new rounds at the corners with malleable metal, so that I have the original shape back. I had already seen a kind of mallet in step 1 before I started sanding and removing loose parts.Consequences:· This process also had to be done in steps because the filler / resin needs to be properly cured for the next layer· When recalibrating the curves, take into account the water drainage on the side of the windscreen. Above the doorposts there is a gutter with the side of the wheat panels “in”. This gutter takes the (rain) water both to the rear and the front. If you remove the decorative strip and the T-strips on the sides of your windshield, this gutter can be clearly seen. When re-building the corners, this outlet must absolutely return so that the water can keep running away.

Step 4:
I also did the finishing work myself. Only with fabric upholstery but with a new product, namely PlastiDip. This is liquid rubber in an aerosol can. First spray a special primer and then the plastidip over it. In total I had to spray 1x primer and then 3 thin layers of black colored plastidip. I have all the parts where the outer covering was covered with plastidip, so also the gutters above the doors and the edges around the wheat rubber.

Consequences:·
PlastiDip gives a layer that protects against moisture and looks good (temporarily).· PlastiDip forms entirely to the bottom layer and is very easy to remove later when the “re-coating” project is started by an official company.· When spraying with the primer and plastidip ALL parts where you do not want rubber on have to be covered (the same as if you would spray the car with paint)· I sprayed the primer and plastidip standing in the car in the openings of the targa panels and worked all around, making a whole stroke for 1 layerMaybe you’re wondering why I did not immediately choose to take out the windshield and have the frame trimmed again. At that time, it was a question of uncertainty whether my XJ-SC would endure the test of “shelf life”. I restore the car in stages and share it in manageable “chunks”. The outside was planned for me last, first the loadbearing parts (subframes front and rear) and motorically in order and then the sheet metal and the niceness. However, due to leakage at the rusted parts of this front frame, I have executed this temporary solution until the moment the targa panels are re-coated and the new rubber rubber is put in and the new rear roof. For this all parts already in house.I want to have this job done by a company in Elst that specializes in convertible roofs and repairs.

I have in pdf some pictures. If anyone of you like to have those just let me know your email.

Regards, Eltjo Ottjes

XJ-SC V12 1986

Aldridges do the complete roof….bar rubbers.

Quoted me 2500 fully fitted including vat

You can however buy the parts from them and do it yourselves.

Google them.  There is an itemised price list on their site

Hi Gerben Haringsma @gerbenharingsma

Glad you were able to sort the rust holes before they got too bad.

I will let you know about the roof rubber in the next few days.

Laurence

Hi Gerben,

It is good and brave to tackle this job but my concern would be the quality of the retrimming of the roof material.  Do you have experience of this type of work?  How far are you taking back the roof materiel as I see at this moment you seem to have cut it back at the 1st seem above each door.  The top of each front pillar looks like a difficult area to recover without any creases.  It would be good to get some feedback about this process.  I have gone on Aldridge’s site and they show a price for the folding roof and material for the Targa panels but no mention of materials for this job.  I presume you would have to speak to them direct to get an off cut for the front roof area.  I live in York and I find it difficult to get a quote for a job like this as the extent of work is unknown until a full strip down is complete.  A big question mark would be the removal of the windscreen.  This is a challenging job so thanks for your feedback.

Regards

Alan

Hi Gerben,

I look forward to seeing the completed job – is teck7 an adhesive/sealant?

Regards

Alan

Hi Gerben,

Thanks for the explanation, and as you say you need to keep it off the upper side of the roof material.

Alan