removing the hood
Discussion
Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere. My hood is looking a bit tatty(350) and not fitting to the bodywork that well. Whats the best cleaning product to use and is there anything to watch for when removing and replacing,where can I source some chrome or stainless struts from. thanks in advance.
Mark
Mark
For info, and in no means saying don't ask as many will help, but there is a good search function using the drop down menu at the top of the page.
Not sure about cleaning, Renevo seems to be used a lot. For proofing I use Thompsons brick sealer.....no really. On the tin it says it can be used for fabrics as well.
Doesn't help with your roof fitting though. Can you shed some more light?
Not sure about cleaning, Renevo seems to be used a lot. For proofing I use Thompsons brick sealer.....no really. On the tin it says it can be used for fabrics as well.
Doesn't help with your roof fitting though. Can you shed some more light?
A couple of things......
The lower hoop section which the rear roof section attaches to is held onto the bodywork by captive bolts that poke through into the boot space.
The nuts for these WILL be rusted in place, you try to undo them and the bolts will break free from the grp. You will end up having to drill these out...through the rear hood, wrecking the roof....or spend a pleasent couple of days with your legs hangingout of the boot space with a torch in one hand and a drill in the other.
When you try to peel back the vinyl that has been evosticked to the main hoop section for the last 18 odd years (the bit that lifts up and down) you WILL find that the vinyl rips to pieces before your very eyes.
When you try and refit the hood section you WILL find that the new 'off the shelf' hood does not quite fit correctly (and be missing all of the rubbber seals that came apart in your hands when removing them). A pattern made for one of these cars can never be guaranteed to fit another.
You WILL also get evostick everywhere!
All of the little self tapping screws that hold all of the other various bits of trim etc will all be rusted to pieces and you MAY have to drill these out as well.
Once fitted you WILL find that after a period of time the new 'off the shelf' roof has shrunk a little and does not fit as good as it once did.
If you are gonna fit alloy roof struts these WILL be in a slightly different position to the originals and you are gonna have to elongate the lower holes. Also beware getting these from cars that have had a rear ender the struts may have been damaged at the pivot points, test them for rattles before buying them).
Also when fitting the rear section (with the new struts fitted) you WILL have to be careful on the tension to get the rear window to lay flat without ripples once fitted.
This is tricky be carefull. If you get this wrong the hood will not only look a bit naff once up but you also run the risk of not putting enough tension of the centre panel and the panel might blow out at speed!?! - which is nice.
How do I know?....I tried alll the above and then decided to leave it up to a professional. My car is away having a complete new roof section tailor made (and pre-shrunk) and fitted by someone who knows what they are doing.
Hopefully I will be delighted, I will let you know the result in a week (and it didn't cost a million dollars either!).
Mike(fingers crossed)B
ps. Renevo roof dye is good but beware of it leaking through the stitching into the inside of the car and staining the inside of the roof material around the stitch holes (if yours is a light colour of course).
The lower hoop section which the rear roof section attaches to is held onto the bodywork by captive bolts that poke through into the boot space.
The nuts for these WILL be rusted in place, you try to undo them and the bolts will break free from the grp. You will end up having to drill these out...through the rear hood, wrecking the roof....or spend a pleasent couple of days with your legs hangingout of the boot space with a torch in one hand and a drill in the other.
When you try to peel back the vinyl that has been evosticked to the main hoop section for the last 18 odd years (the bit that lifts up and down) you WILL find that the vinyl rips to pieces before your very eyes.
When you try and refit the hood section you WILL find that the new 'off the shelf' hood does not quite fit correctly (and be missing all of the rubbber seals that came apart in your hands when removing them). A pattern made for one of these cars can never be guaranteed to fit another.
You WILL also get evostick everywhere!
All of the little self tapping screws that hold all of the other various bits of trim etc will all be rusted to pieces and you MAY have to drill these out as well.
Once fitted you WILL find that after a period of time the new 'off the shelf' roof has shrunk a little and does not fit as good as it once did.
If you are gonna fit alloy roof struts these WILL be in a slightly different position to the originals and you are gonna have to elongate the lower holes. Also beware getting these from cars that have had a rear ender the struts may have been damaged at the pivot points, test them for rattles before buying them).
Also when fitting the rear section (with the new struts fitted) you WILL have to be careful on the tension to get the rear window to lay flat without ripples once fitted.
This is tricky be carefull. If you get this wrong the hood will not only look a bit naff once up but you also run the risk of not putting enough tension of the centre panel and the panel might blow out at speed!?! - which is nice.
How do I know?....I tried alll the above and then decided to leave it up to a professional. My car is away having a complete new roof section tailor made (and pre-shrunk) and fitted by someone who knows what they are doing.
Hopefully I will be delighted, I will let you know the result in a week (and it didn't cost a million dollars either!).
Mike(fingers crossed)B
ps. Renevo roof dye is good but beware of it leaking through the stitching into the inside of the car and staining the inside of the roof material around the stitch holes (if yours is a light colour of course).
TVRcarparts.com can get the struts from new and are about £90ish each.
MikeB
ps. they do look the dogs once fitted, really sets the car off. They WILL dig into the parcel shelf carpet though.
Another point, the mounting plate is smaller on the alloy struts to the old black ones so I would also imaging that you might be left with a square mark on the carpet where the old ones were fitted.....better have the carpet done as well ;-)
MikeB
ps. they do look the dogs once fitted, really sets the car off. They WILL dig into the parcel shelf carpet though.
Another point, the mounting plate is smaller on the alloy struts to the old black ones so I would also imaging that you might be left with a square mark on the carpet where the old ones were fitted.....better have the carpet done as well ;-)
Got the car back with the help of Dickymint, well happy.
The bolts that held the roof hoop in place were completely rusted in place and had to be drilled out through the old roof material; so up in smoke goes the plan of just having just the window plastic replaced and to keep the original hood.....
This is a pic of the finished jobbie. I had the bloke make slightly longer side flaps (the bit where the velcro sticks to so to keep the water out better, works really well. Also had him replace every nut and bolt and screw he came across with stainless jobbies.
He also fitted the Griff struts which now click into place with a much more positive clunk and hold the window panel much taught.
Well happy with the job the guy done on the carpets as well.
Recomended geezer.
MikeB
>> Edited by mikeb on Sunday 24th July 20:47
The bolts that held the roof hoop in place were completely rusted in place and had to be drilled out through the old roof material; so up in smoke goes the plan of just having just the window plastic replaced and to keep the original hood.....
This is a pic of the finished jobbie. I had the bloke make slightly longer side flaps (the bit where the velcro sticks to so to keep the water out better, works really well. Also had him replace every nut and bolt and screw he came across with stainless jobbies.
He also fitted the Griff struts which now click into place with a much more positive clunk and hold the window panel much taught.
Well happy with the job the guy done on the carpets as well.
Recomended geezer.
MikeB
>> Edited by mikeb on Sunday 24th July 20:47
Looks good 
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