Fold roof & side windows

[haaren]

This week the chimaera pass the mot, first emission problems followed by outriggers set me 9 months and a lot of €k back. But who cares, finally after my purchase I can drive legally .
Today I was doing some things and of course I wanted to have the roof down, however I can not get it fully down. After searching on this forum read the sides need to be loosen as well but still it will not completely fold down, also the rear window get nasty folds. Something seems to be wrong, can anyone give me some hints what could be?
Mine


From internet


Also my side windows do not close properly against the roof, did some adjusting in hight which is now sort of ok but its not parallel to the roof. How can you adjust the horizontal settings?



At the front it's lower as at the backside, the rubber flips halfway over from in front of the window to backwards of the window.
Hope you can direct me in the wright direction so I can make my first official tour tomorrow, with at least the roof down. Thank you

Edited by haaren on Saturday 4th April 17:59

Edited by haaren on Saturday 4th April 18:00

Edited by haaren on Saturday 4th April 19:15

[The Three D Mucketeer]

1) Don't fold down when the Vinyl screen is cold ... it will crack ... wait for a warm day or get your hair drier out

2) Make sure you've release the velcro seals at each side of the side panels

3) Carefully press out the creases as you fold with the back of your hand , each side at a time ... keep running around your car .... you'll get fit ... and eventually you make a perfect crease .,.... some fold towel in the crease

4) Take your time , bringing it down slowly

Edited by The Three D Mucketeer on Saturday 4th April 18:13

[haaren]

Today it was 15 degrees with sometimes the sun, so it should be ready
All what you wrote I have done but it will not drop further down as on the picture, even with a little bit more force...

[phillpot]

Are the stays fitted the correct way round? You need to be a lot more careful with that window when you lower the Targa!

A pool noodle is ideal to prevent creases if you do manage to get it down a bit further.

[sixor8]

I've had 3 x Chimaera, none of them had a roof that would go all the way down like you suggest, they just don't. The photo you added with the roof down is as far as they go. It may be possible if you undo the struts. I tend to use them like a targa with just the top roof panel removed.

I second the idea of using a rolled up towel to ensure the plastic screen only goes down with 1 fold.

The glass height can be adjusted at the top with a screw accessed through the brush like material. The lower limit must be because it is sticking.

Edited by sixor8 on Saturday 4th April 21:53

[Belle427]

The window looks too far up in the pictures, be careful it does not smash when you close the door as it seems to be touching the roof.
Adjustment is a real pita so if its somewhere near I would leave it alone.
Getting it level will probably mean removing the door panel to see if the holding bolts are tight and if there is any adjustment there, another challenge just to get the door panel off!

[haaren]

The windows are in the front already lower as the rubber, when driving you have a lot of noise and not water tight. But you are correct about the rear side of the window, these are too high. Hearing your replies it will be better to accept it's not good as the fix will be a pain in the ass if you can fix it.
For the roof: we need to see a chimaera more as a Targa instead of a convertible, a pity as I like convertibles.

Other question: during driving the bonnet is dancing around, are there possibilities to get a better fixing of the bonnet? It's now only secured at the driver's side, passenger side is coming up during driving.

Edited by haaren on Sunday 5th April 22:05

[Belle427]

Check your hinge bolts are tight and you should have 2 nylon support rollers either side of the bonnet, these may require tweaking a bit as the bonnet cuts into them.

[phillpot]

haaren said:

Other question: during driving the bonnet is dancing around, are there possibilities to get a better fixing of the bonnet? It's now only secured at the driver's side, passenger side is coming up during driving.

That's how they are, there is only a catch on the drivers side. A small front splitter/spoiler if yours doesn't have one will help reduce under bonnet pressure.

Some years ago I read about a chap who had made an electro-magnetic catch for the passenger side, only energised when the engine was running.

https://www.google.com/search?q=pistonheads+tvr+ch...

[haaren]

This morning I've taken a look under the bonnet but it seems I have a bigger problem

The rectangle black piece in the front of the hood is cracked on the edges, there is a lot of play now in the front, what is the best way to repair? Is it dangerous to drive as hood can come loose or is it still drivable?

[Belle427]

If its loose then I would not drive it, its going to mean bonnet off sadly to take a closer look. No doubt it can be bonded back on but its too fiddly on the car I would say.

[TarquinMX5]

I agree with Belle.

Having previously been reading about the roof, I was puzzled for a moment when it mentioned 'hood'. I assumed 'roof' but realised we meant an 'english' bonnet

I found it helpful to have an assistant when removing/replacing the bonnet/'hood'.

[fieryfred]

I had a similar problem. The bonnet hinges are just bolts bonded into the bonnet bracket. One came adrift & had to be fixed pronto.
With the fibre glass ripped apart the best way to get both bolts aligned was to use a full length threaded bar or a tube to align the bolt heads.
I added metal brackets for strength & bonded the fibre glass bracket in place using WEST SYSTEM Six10 thickened epoxy Adhesive-190ml cartridge.
Worked a treat. Hope the photos make sense.



[url]|https://forums-
images.pistonheads.com/517949/202604077494745[/url]

[QBee]

The front spoiler referred to above is a metal strip about 2-3 feet long fitted cross ways under the car, about 18 inches from the front of the car.
It points downwards and forwards and creates a low pressure area under the car, thus sucking the bonnet down, improving cooling and also sucking the front of the car down, improving handling.

When my front spoiler was missing I had the bonnet pop open at 135 mph on a track day. As it is front hinged the only thing that happened was that it opened about 6 inches and stayed there, the wind keeping it from flying right up.

If yours is missing you can make your own, or go to:

https://racetechdirect.co.uk/body-trim/tvr-lip-spo...

[haaren]

Mine is missing this front "spoiler" I will check if I can find something in the hardware store.
Today tried to lose the alen screws, top ones did came loose, the bottom ones are struck. I do not dare to put more force on them before they break, so now I'm thinking of trying to repair it mounted on the car.
To be clear the hinge bolts are oke, it's the hinge box which came loose on the edges / surface. How is the hinge box normally bonded to the bonnet? What I can see it's very hard black material, is it glued? If yes which kind, I want to give it a try to glue it back and hopefully it will be supporting enough to hold all in place.

[Belle427]

TVR used a product called sikaflex everywhere which is a very strong pu sealant/adhesive similar to tigerseal, you will have to research the exact product number though.

[phillpot]

QBee said:

The front spoiler referred to above is a metal strip about 2-3 feet long fitted cross ways under the car, about 18 inches from the front of the car.

or plastic, cut mine from a piece of guttering, "cheap as chips", it's all in the old threads I linked to