Targa clip repair

[lewdon]

I don’t know if anyone else finds this simple stuff interesting but it kept me amused for an hour on a wet Sunday afternoon.
Both targa panel clips were broken when I got the car and now one of the replacements has broken. I was about to order another replacement on line when I realized that they had all broken in exactly the same place. I wondered if I could repair it and also eliminate the week plastic threaded section. It proved quite easy.
Take a 8mm bolt or setscrew with at least 37mm of thread. (If you can find one with the same thread as the plastic original you can use the original adjusting ring (and save having to grind a nut down to make a new ring), File two flats opposite each other to fit through the pivot fitted in the part with 3 screwholes - leaving 3mm of thread at the end unfiled (this acts as a shoulder to prevent it falling right through.
File the broken stub flat on the plastic pivot fitted in the rectangular cover, and drill a drill a 5mm hole in it through to the moulding space in the middle.
Saw the head off the bolt, and then file all the thread off 12mm at the opposite end to the “shoulder” and file this section down to a push fit in the 5mm hole. (To hold it when filing, cut through one side of a nut which will then clamp tight on the thread when you tighten the vice on it).
Check everything fits and assemble the pieces. You can glue the filed end into the 5mm hole but if it is a reasonably tight push fit it will stay together as it is in compression in use.
Now we will see if this one lasts any longer.
I think the photos explain it more clearly.( I may have to submit them seperately)

[lewdon]

Looks like I have to post the photos one at a time

[lewdon]

[lewdon]

[lewdon]

[v8s4me]

Very clever It might be worth trying to leave the clip as loose as possible to avoid it failing at the next weakest point. Just enough to stop them rattling maybe? It's the tension from the rear stays which should do most of the work and the clips are just a bit of extra security to try and stop the panel lifting.

[Penelope Stopit]

Amazing fix

[Blue 30]

Great bit of improvisation, well done.
Those catches are so different to mine (S3), which are all metal. And ready to rip your forehead off if any hard contact is made !!
Or maybe mine are non standard ?
Anyone done anything remotely safer for the onboard human occupants ?
T.

[GreenV8S]

Nicely done.

Blue 30 said:

Anyone done anything remotely safer for the onboard human occupants ?

If your head is hitting those clips, you've probably got more urgent things to worry about.

More seriously - a rear roll bar, decent harness and seat brace bars are a good start.

I keep looking at those thickly padded A pillars and wondering whether a roll cage front leg could fit in that space. That would give me an excuse to add some side impact protection and maybe not be too much in the way.

[lewdon]

Blue 30 said:

Or maybe mine are non standard ?
Anyone done anything remotely safer for the onboard human occupants ?
T.

They are the factory original Southco clips sold by RS for about £14 each. I think they are safer than any all metal clips I have seen, which all seem to have sharp corners or edges.

Edited by lewdon on Monday 30th September 09:31

[mentall]

Or, rather more expensively, from Racetech / TVR Parts

But check delivery costs; I got mine included with some more bulky stuff. And there's a TVRCC members' discount at Racetech.

Now I just need to wait for them to fail, to proceed with your elegant repair............

[magpies]

GreenV8S said:

If your head is hitting those clips, you've probably got more urgent things to worry about.

More seriously - a rear roll bar, decent harness and seat brace bars are a good start.

I keep looking at those thickly padded A pillars and wondering whether a roll cage front leg could fit in that space. That would give me an excuse to add some side impact protection and maybe not be too much in the way.

something along these lines? and yes the roof still fits (as well as when leaving the factory )


I sold those seats as too close to the cage. Put Lotus Elise seats in which gave more clearance, also added padding.

There are door bars too

Edited by magpies on Monday 30th September 18:56

Edited by magpies on Monday 30th September 18:58

[GreenV8S]

magpies said:

something along these lines?

Do you have any pictures showing the front legs of that cage?

[magpies]

GreenV8S said:

magpies said:

something along these lines?

Do you have any pictures showing the front legs of that cage?

taken a couple of hours but finally found it



Note that I did weld additional cage mounting plates to the chassis

[magpies]

by the way

Sorry lewdon for hijacking your thread

[lewdon]

No problem, I'd have a go myself but a roll cage is a bit complicated for my shed.

[Blue 30]

Same here.
I just wanted to know if anybody had done their own thing with regards to better/safer roof catches...
T.

[GreenV8S]

Blue 30 said:

safer roof catches...

If the rear stays are doing their job, the front latches are redundant once the roof is up. Has anyone here ever lost a roof panel at speed? I don't remember ever reading of it.

Edited by GreenV8S on Tuesday 1st October 11:30

[AutoAndy]

I no longer use the roof catches, plus I unscrewed and removed the metal plates that they lock onto on the windscreen surround as they looked like they would be just where my forehead could hit in an accident. The roof stays on fine at speed (when it is up - rarely) without any rattling, etc.

Note: I also removed the sun visors for a cleaner windscreen surround...they were fairly pointless when the sun shone over the top of the windscreen surround and so I just wore sun glasses instead.

[Deeman]

GreenV8S said:

Blue 30 said:

safer roof catches...

If the rear stays are doing their job, the front latches are redundant once the roof is up. Has anyone here ever lost a roof panel at speed? I don't remember ever reading of it.

Edited by GreenV8S on Tuesday 1st October 11:30

Yes, on my S2, but once the front popped out of its socket the rear sockets held it, until I could pull over.

Nonetheless very worrying. Personally I would not go without them for that very reason. The rear stays were tight as well, so perhaps the body or windscreen was flexing too much. Dunno, but I didn’t like it