carrera79

hi,
I need someone who already changed the upper windshield rubber, the one between the windshield and the small glas deflector that you can open alone before opening the sunroof.
it goes from the left arche to the right arche, and i don't want to remove the complet roof, but just want to unscrew the to screw on both arches.
I want to change it because my car is going to have a complete painting and i removed this rubber.

Mike J

Wooo, you are in for fun.... ;-)

Its not that hard but you have to be carefull. From what I remember you should be able to flex the roof upwards a bit at the front without breaking all the seals in the back. When I did my roof install I had the roof off so I am not sure if all this will work but here are some notes to consider:

1 - If you notice the seal has drains at each end. Before the roof is bolted down and the seal is in place make sure you put the metal tabs on that hold the drains to the roof frame before you tighten down the roof. This way the drains will stay nice and long because they have to be inserted into the door seals.

2 - Use some sealer (I used urethane) on both sides of the seals where the side rails press against the seal and then the windshield. Its just insurance.

3 - Make sure the little drain flaps on the inside of the seal sit correctly so they drain into the drain channels. These flaps catch any water that make it past the visor seals. If this drain flap is slightly out then it will miss the drain and drip on your thigh..

4 - The heght of the rubber is important so it seals with the front edge of the visor while still sealing against the windsheifl frame. I ran a small bead of urethane between the seal and the windshield frame for insurance...seems to work.

5 - There are torque specs for the roof to windhshield. Make sure you keep the spacers ecactly like from the factory...its to cover the varience in the roof sizes.

I notice you also removed the plasatic side rails as well...they are a real pain to put back on. Are you replacing them or reusing them? My understanding is they get brittle and usually need to be replaced. I had to drive mine on with a rubber mallet...not gentle work but it worked fine at the end.

Of course the obvious question...why are you painting in this area?

Please don't hesitate to ask any questions.

Cheers,

Mike

carrera79

hi mike and thank's very much for your help !!!
what kind of urethane did you use ?
i remover the plastic side rails because i made a complete new paint (same color ocean blue) but wanted not that it can be seen under the rubber that the paint was new.
when i remover them, i broke them along the arches, so i had to buy new one (250$ for one side !!! )
can you explain me a little more (i don't understand every word when you say : "drive mine on with a rubber mallet (rubber hammer ?)
did you put some glue/grease/sealant (i think there is sealant on the car) ?
In the workshop book, they say to use a special tool to remove it and to put it back (a plastic part that you put into the top of the arche ? )
did you use it ?
TIA
fred

Mike J

1 - The Urethane was a high qualify one that is used for windshield repairs etc. I got it from my body shop who do only Porsche, Ferrari and BMW. I don't think the brand is important just that it be good stuff (you don't want to do it again). You don't have to use any sealant if you want, the shop manual does not specify any. I just thought it would be good insurance.

2 - Exactly about the side rails...they get very brittle and almost impossible to remove without splitting. New ones are stupidly expensive...as you found out. I found when I put them back on they were very hard to slide on (from the front to the back...they slide between the rear window and the side rail until they match the bottom of the window). When the rail was slid along the side of the roof to insert it the friction got progressivly wors so I could not slide it by hand...so I had to use a small sand filled hammer to tap the end of the plastic rail while I kept the part not on the roof straight...and every tap-tap-tap drove the plastic rail deeper onto the roof until it was all the way in and the bottom of the plastic rail was touching the bottom seal. Its very hard to explain in text and I did not take any pictures. Don't worry about it, when you put the new plastic rails on you might have an easier time than me...oh I did use some lubercant (I think it was silicon based...I don't remember).

3 - I did not use any special tools for the rails. I did protect the end of the rail with a plastic piece while I tapped it...that's about all.

Good luck!!

Cheers,

Mike

Mike J

Oh, its usually recommended to remove the sliding sunshade so the bolts do not rub against the shade when you undo them. I did that when I took my roof off. I trick is to lock the spring mechanism with a paper clip before you remove it...its spring loaded and will unroll before your eyes. The problem with that is you need the right number of rolls to get the correct tension to make sure the blind works....

I also noticed on your picture that you ripped the drains off the old seal when you pulled it out. I hope you are using a new one...the old one is toast. The drain is the litle piece of rubber that is at the corner between the roof and the windshield right at the end of the blind...

Sorry for being so long winded...

Cheers,

Mike

carrera79

here you have a picture of the painting :

fred

geolab

bonjour,
Were the doors removed only for painting the car?
and the front lid, the windscreen?
One thing to remove is the rear side windows, because painting under the black metallic rails underneath
is a nightmare.

carrera79

hi;
when you remove the car, you don't see anything in the door input when you open the door, you don't have any sign of painting. the front and back lid also.
and for the rear side windows, for a targa, it's not a problem, just remove alle the rubber and the black metallic rails andthe job is perfect ! :

for the windscreen, it was in bad shape, so i decide to change it and have a look under it to check for rust (wich i did have but only 2 small points)
fred

carrera79

hi,
yesterday, we put back the 2 new seal along the roof and the hard one on top of the windshield.
just to lift a bit the arches, with some rubber greasse (?) and everything were fine.
very happy with that hard stuff.
now, we have to remove the front bumper on the left because the seal is not as I want.
fred

AOW162435

I love that last photo! The paint job looks fantastic.

Did you replace the black plastic/rubber fender welting that goes between the front fenders and the windshield cowling? If so, how is this done?

Andreas

carrera79

yes, I DID IT !!!!!
it was a pity !!
i removed the old ones, unscrew the 2 screws and to replace the new ones, cut a bit the long part that goes between the wing and the body.
but i couldn't think of a nice paint without removing them
fred

AOW162435

Fred,
What screws are you referring to? Do you have any photos showing how the strips attach?

Andreas

carrera79

the screw that you can see when you oen the door, you stay right at the hine and look under the seal of the wing, there are 2 screws that you can remove with an allen wrench of 6mm.
and there is also a welding point that you have to remove at the rear end of the wing, under the seal, just near the windscreen (near the 2 screws).
fred

carrera79

here you are with the pictures of the car with Protech special paint treatment :




not bad, isn't it ?

MikeAlwaysWins

Looks Great, Fred.... you've gotta love the split grill too......