doors binding in plastic trim

[Morpheus]

To check the roof box, I pull the T-panel, right? I will do that next.

Thanks!

Yes, to check the inside of the roof box, you will need to pull the T-Panel and remove the cover plate for the door wiring. Then, you can get one of those small inspection cameras (or your phone camera if it will fit) down in there and take some pics.

You may see something that looks like this:
IMG_0951.jpg

On this particular box, there was really no external evidence of any issues whatsoever. If your car spent any good amount of time outside during it's existence, this can easily happen.

[Farrar]

Pulled the T-Panel today. It came off very easily with a trim stick. It looks like some work was done underneath this panel before, and it was not sealed very well afterward:

T Panel Removed 2.jpg

T Panel Removed 3.jpg

Looks like some welding was done above the driver-side torsion bar bracket. You can also see two large pop-rivets in this photo:

Driver Side Evidence of Previous Repair.jpg

These two rivets are absent on the passenger side. Only one was installed, and it has fallen out:

Passenger Side Missing Fastener.jpg

The cover plate for the wiring harness connectors is rusty, as I imagined it would be:

roof steel plate rust.jpg

All in all, it doesn't look terrible. But it doesn't look fantastic, either. That repair on the driver's side makes me nervous.

[Farrar]

On a related note, what size are the six sheet metal screws (three per side) that fasten the T-Panel to the edge just behind the doors? Two of mine seem questionable, so I'd like to replace them.

[dn010]

You should be more concerned with what it looks like inside there access, then you’ll know whether it’s giving out or still has life left. I can’t help with the screw size, I used nuts/bolts to anchor mine from the top down to the inside.

Edit- I see you’re talking about the screws for the panel, I found a size that was pretty close, I will look at what they are as soon as I can.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Farrar]

Thanks, Dan.

If needed, I will shotgun the box. I may also buy an NOS rubber pad from DMC for underneath the T-Panel since those are available and mine looks misshapen. (Or I may try to roll my own out of slightly-compressible closed-cell foam if I am feeling adventurous.)

Won't get the time to do the work until next week, so for now all I can do is plan and make a shopping list.

[Farrar]

Had a look at roof box motion when the doors were opening and closing. Surprisingly little movement, even though to my eye it looks like the driver-side torsion bar bracket sits significantly higher than the passenger-side bracket.

The passenger door is the one that has a low, horror-movie-door squeak, and sticks unless the rear striker pin (already using no washers and ground to half its usual thickness) is removed entirely. The roof box appears to move very slightly on the passenger side, toward the outside. Upon cleaning the area I can see that the seal there between the metal and the plastic (black goop of some kind - urethane or RTV, perhaps) has broken due to this movement.

Convention has it that the roof box should be 100% parallel to the rear window glass. I will see how much it actually does move when I tighten down the bolts.

As long as I have access, I will probably also look very carefully at the gas strut mounts. The small plate welded onto the driver's side of the roof box was probably done because someone overtorqued the bar and ended up snapping off a weld nut. Previous repair probably involved cutting an access hole, welding a new nut in, and then welding a plate back on. Overtorqued bar also probably means doors flying up too fast at a certain point. There are some strut mount brackets available from the UK which look nice to me, and part of the purchase price goes to a charity of my choice. Seems an attractive option to me.

[Farrar]

Hardware for the roof cage arrived today: 3/8" hex bolts, nylock nuts, plus washers for top (small) and bottom (large), all in 316 stainless steel.

roof repair hardware flash.jpg

The bolts are 3.25" long, so I do expect to have to shorten them once installed.

[powerline84]

That's what I did . Best repair option in my opinion . Use a cut off wheel and trim bolt flush with nut. Use grinding wheel and smooth them out. Seal top and bottom with tiger bond or right stuff etc.

[Farrar]

Seal top and bottom with tiger bond or right stuff etc.

I was just going to use the same black urethane they use for windshields. Is that the same as "tiger bond"?

[powerline84]

Any kind of eurothane sealant