Repairable? Or am I looking for a donor body?
Discussion
Hi mate, not fussed, whatever you have to hand. This means I have to extract the digit and get the carpets done, excellent.
Yes, I think Charlie assumed the carpets were laid out for him to pick from. He chose the parcel shelf section...
Seriously, the only challenge I have is the edging inside the boot on the wheel arches and the boot floor. I'll have to cut these pieces to size then get someone local upholsterer to sew a bead onto them. Otherwise should be relatively plain sailing. I think someone posted recently the correct order to fit them in too.
Yes, I think Charlie assumed the carpets were laid out for him to pick from. He chose the parcel shelf section...
Seriously, the only challenge I have is the edging inside the boot on the wheel arches and the boot floor. I'll have to cut these pieces to size then get someone local upholsterer to sew a bead onto them. Otherwise should be relatively plain sailing. I think someone posted recently the correct order to fit them in too.
Yes Adam, no problem, BBWF 2020...
Thanks Zig, yes it does partially. Interesting that I only have one of the three screws you have to secure the speaker pod (the vertical one). That screw goes into a squarish steel plate with a slot in it which I think goes against the body behind the roof hoop but I can't see what keeps it there. It supports the speaker pod and forms part of the trim. Here's the drivers side one:
Here's the nearside one placed in position for the photo. It wants to move when I put the roof down so it needs fixing but to what??
If I can work out how that goes together I can get the rest of the carpeting done and make some big strides.
Thanks Zig, yes it does partially. Interesting that I only have one of the three screws you have to secure the speaker pod (the vertical one). That screw goes into a squarish steel plate with a slot in it which I think goes against the body behind the roof hoop but I can't see what keeps it there. It supports the speaker pod and forms part of the trim. Here's the drivers side one:
Here's the nearside one placed in position for the photo. It wants to move when I put the roof down so it needs fixing but to what??
If I can work out how that goes together I can get the rest of the carpeting done and make some big strides.
Went across to see a mate's 390SE which has helped. His has a layer of foam behind the plate and a bracket on the wheelarch to attached the speaker box to. Also has a sort of coil spacer behind the roof pivot bolt which mine has never had, at least in my 15 yrs of ownership. Hmm anyway enough to be cracking on with now...
Update and question....
I have completed the carpet in the cockpit, looks great and seats are back in, roof back on. I got the roof panel recovered at significant expense and got it back today. Problem is, I have a gap so big that the roof tabs don't engage, i.e. when the fronts are snug I have >10mm at the back so the rear roof panel tabs don't engage at all.
The car stood for 10 years with it's roof panel in nice and tight and now this? The roof material doesn't shrink does it?
Question is whether there is any adjustment? When the soft top is up it is tight and straight, it just doesn't reach the roof panel tabs! If I loosen off the 3 bolts that secure the rear edge of the roof into the boot cavity I can get it closer but then the edge itself appears raised with bolt thread exposed which can't be right.
have to say I'm a bit mystified so any ideas would be welcome...
Cheers, Toby
I have completed the carpet in the cockpit, looks great and seats are back in, roof back on. I got the roof panel recovered at significant expense and got it back today. Problem is, I have a gap so big that the roof tabs don't engage, i.e. when the fronts are snug I have >10mm at the back so the rear roof panel tabs don't engage at all.
The car stood for 10 years with it's roof panel in nice and tight and now this? The roof material doesn't shrink does it?
Question is whether there is any adjustment? When the soft top is up it is tight and straight, it just doesn't reach the roof panel tabs! If I loosen off the 3 bolts that secure the rear edge of the roof into the boot cavity I can get it closer but then the edge itself appears raised with bolt thread exposed which can't be right.
have to say I'm a bit mystified so any ideas would be welcome...
Cheers, Toby
Hi I am talking from no exprience whatsoever on Wedge body off restorations but how flexible is the central tub? As now bolted down how large are the door gaps? Certainly when I rebuilt my TR6 I had to spend considerable time packing the body off the chassis to get everything to align to my satisfaction. The gap does look worryingly large. The windscreen is fixed so that can't move so it's either the hood frame or can the front or back of body be packed out a little to close the top gap without closing the door gap too much?
Zig, there are 3 bolts that go through the fibreglass rear lip into the boot cavity. No ability to adjust as far as I can see, just loosen the bolts which is what I've done here to see what effect that has on the gap. If I tighten these 3 bolts up so the rear of the roof sits down properly, the gap enlarges further.
Keith, spot on, logic dictates there are only so many causes. The doors aren't on yet as I wanted to rebuild them first. They are in bits since the painter dismantled them. If, as I hope, there is a gap at the top when I put them back on, then it indicates I need more packing. I think the only location that will make any difference is under the boot on the rear most bracket on the chassis.
Might put them on today and see what's what. Thanks.
Keith, spot on, logic dictates there are only so many causes. The doors aren't on yet as I wanted to rebuild them first. They are in bits since the painter dismantled them. If, as I hope, there is a gap at the top when I put them back on, then it indicates I need more packing. I think the only location that will make any difference is under the boot on the rear most bracket on the chassis.
Might put them on today and see what's what. Thanks.
440Interceptor said:
.........have to say I'm a bit mystified so any ideas would be welcome...
This is a problem you need to take back to your expensive trimmer. Looking at the photos I'd suggest he's made the "pram hood" section too small. This would explain why the hoop won't tighten onto the roof section and why the rear seam sits clear of the tub when the roof is stretched. Was the hood assembly fitted to the car when the new fabric was fitted? If so, there's no excuse. It it wasn't, it would go some way to explaining your problem*.If the trimmer puts his hand up and solves this without quibble then he's worth his money. If not, you'd be doing everyone a favour by telling us who did the job.
Good luck with this one
- it's not an "issue", you discuss issues over coffee; this is a "problem" which needs solving
Edited by v8s4me on Sunday 14th August 09:27
v8s4me said:
This is a problem you need to take back to your expensive trimmer. Looking at the photos I'd suggest he's made the "pram hood" section too small. This would explain why the hoop won't tighten onto the roof section and why the rear seam sits clear of the tub when the roof is stretched.
You could have a point...I know that once fitted the rear and Targa panel should be left up for a week....Does look a bit tight...440Interceptor said:
Zig, there are 3 bolts that go through the fibreglass rear lip into the boot cavity. No ability to adjust as far as I can see, just loosen the bolts which is what I've done here to see what effect that has on the gap. If I tighten these 3 bolts up so the rear of the roof sits down properly, the gap enlarges further.
Keith, spot on, logic dictates there are only so many causes. The doors aren't on yet as I wanted to rebuild them first. They are in bits since the painter dismantled them. If, as I hope, there is a gap at the top when I put them back on, then it indicates I need more packing. I think the only location that will make any difference is under the boot on the rear most bracket on the chassis.
Might put them on today and see what's what. Thanks.
The rear of my 350 has sagged slightly due to the heat from the exhaust softening the fibreglass at the rearmost body mounting in the spare wheel well Keith, spot on, logic dictates there are only so many causes. The doors aren't on yet as I wanted to rebuild them first. They are in bits since the painter dismantled them. If, as I hope, there is a gap at the top when I put them back on, then it indicates I need more packing. I think the only location that will make any difference is under the boot on the rear most bracket on the chassis.
Might put them on today and see what's what. Thanks.
This is most noticeable In the door gaps which "V" out at the top. The rear body has kind of "hinged" at the rear of the door opening
The proper way to fix would be to cut out the effected fibreglass adjust the gaps and then reglass the boot floor , the easy way is just to add more packing either way I need to fit a heat shield
The question is does your rear body need more packing or is the soft top too small ?
I would say that you need to refit the doors pack the body to get all the gaps correct then look at the soft top .
You don't want to pack the body to make the hood fit correctly only to find that the doors will now not fit cos the gaps too small
Thanks guys, the soft top is original, and was left up with the targe section in whilst in storage for decade. I only had the targa top recovered.
I haven't had time to get the doors back on yet (job for this week), but I thought I would see what would happen if I packed the boot up from underneath (i.e. the rearmost chassis support bracket). The result with probably 8mm of rubber packing is that the gap has reduced significantly. Targa top still moves but only say 2-3mm back and forth now.
It's now time to get the doors on to see what the gaps look like. If I'm lucky the door tops will still allow more packing to get the roof snug, but we'll see.
I haven't had time to get the doors back on yet (job for this week), but I thought I would see what would happen if I packed the boot up from underneath (i.e. the rearmost chassis support bracket). The result with probably 8mm of rubber packing is that the gap has reduced significantly. Targa top still moves but only say 2-3mm back and forth now.
It's now time to get the doors on to see what the gaps look like. If I'm lucky the door tops will still allow more packing to get the roof snug, but we'll see.
Perhaps shine a laser level along the line of the sill so you can see how much you are bending the body? You don't want to put too much stress on the body (Wedges look good in Banana Yellow, not banana shaped 
)
I'd suggest you goo back a couple of steps. Put the doors on, release all the bolts, raise the body then lower it all again evenly and let it settle in place, then see how things look. Then start adjusting things from there.
)I'd suggest you goo back a couple of steps. Put the doors on, release all the bolts, raise the body then lower it all again evenly and let it settle in place, then see how things look. Then start adjusting things from there.
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