Rear window coming away on Griff

[HALFASLEEP]

Good Afternoon,

The rear window is coming away to the tune of about 4 inches at the bottom left hand corner, standing behind the car. I think the stitching has wrotten The screen itself is in pretty good nick.

Has anyone tried sowing / making a repair (ie glue) on these, and if so what did you use.

It's not too bad and I can't justify getting an upholsterer in at the moment, it being Christmas etc. I also have a garage to keep it dry for now.

Any help would be appreciated.

Chris

[daveb500]

I've got the same problem on mine but I've opted to fit a new roof. If you do a "DIY job", you can get a full roof for £295. I would imagine getting the old one professionally stitched won't be cheap and as I've got some minor damage to the edges of the targa, it seemed the sensible route...and a nice winter project.

There comes a point where you have to question spending money on a roof which is probably nearing the end of it's life.....but that's just my opinion.

Edited by daveb500 on Wednesday 26th November 13:05

[Colin RedGriff]

This happened on my S and I repaired it by resewing it. I did it by hand using the holes that where already there.

I used some waxed thread (stops it rotting) and two fairly strong needles (but not too thick). You'll also need a pad for you hand so you can push the needles through as they can be quite tough, or some long nosed pliers to push/pull the needles through.

Release the tension near the bit you want to repair by releasing the roof strut on that side.

Cut a nice long piece of thread and put a needle on each end.

Start back where the stiching is still good, push one of the needles through the hood and screen in one of the existing holes; so you have a needle on either side of the screen. Find the next hole and push the outside needle through to the inside and then the inside needle to the outside. Continue round until you get to good stitching again. Push the outside needle back inside and then tie the two ends of thread together and trim off. Worth putting a dab of glue on the knot to just secure it.

If part of the sewing has gone then the rest probably won't be far behind but this can delay the day when you have to remove the hood completely and get it repaired professionally.

[HALFASLEEP]

Thanks for that.

The roof itself is fine apart from this bit of stitching coming away. When you say £295 for a new roof, where was that from as I have seen them for £500 ish.....

[HALFASLEEP]

Thanks Colin. Very helpfull,

I think I will give that a go.

I know what you mean about the rest of it possibly on the way out...just that I could do without spending too much at this time of year. The roof is pretty good as I say apart from this...

[Yellabelly]

I also had the same on my S3, a 4 inch section on the offside bottom corner and as I needed a very quick repair I used a clear silicon sealant inside and outside, squeezed it together and after two years it is still holding together. Might be worth a try!
YB

[V8 GRF]

My hood's stiching had come apart just behind the drivers door. I bought an awl like this one here off ebay and some black wax thread from Hobbycraft and did the job myself. Took about 15 minutes using the old holes as a guide.

[jodypress]

I had the rear screen come away on my griff by a good 6+ inches. I ended up calling my insurance company and the rear screen is covered under windscreen cover. 50 quid excess. Give your insurance company a call, you never know.

[daveb500]

I ordered by roof from a guy on eBay. There's a write-up on it here :
http://www.thegriffithpages.com/modifications/exte...
I will post a thread when it has arrived and has been fitted.

You can also get them here for a similar price :
http://www.carhood.com/

Of course, these costs do not include fitting. Add about another £500+ for that.

[HALFASLEEP]

Many thanks to all for this help.

Appreciated.

Chris

[Aussie John]

I went down the "silicon" road, appears to work o.k. cheers, John.

[V8 GRF]

daveb500 said:

Of course, these costs do not include fitting. Add about another £500+ for that.

I'd say that sounds a bit of a high estimate for fitting, I'd be looking for £250 to £300.

[HALFASLEEP]

Having had a good poke at the window at the weekend I made the stitching come away easily in 4 places.

The stitching was just rotten.

I will be getting the whole thing re-stitched by an upholsterer.

[jodypress]

V8 GRF said:

daveb500 said:

Of course, these costs do not include fitting. Add about another £500+ for that.

I'd say that sounds a bit of a high estimate for fitting, I'd be looking for £250 to £300.

So you would be happier paying £250 to £300 than £50 odd for excess to windscreen?