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Help! Need Help With A Targa Top Trim

Baldie88

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 14, 2002
Messages
551
Location
Waterloo, IL USA
Corvette
2016 triple black vert.
Our club did a Veterans Day parade on Saturday and as I was taking the targa top off my 88 I noticed the front trim seems to be separating from the glass. The top has no leaks for squeaks. The trim is only coming off the front and not the side. Is this just trim or is this the part of the frame? Other searches I've done seems to be the frame separating and not what looks like just trim to me. I've included a couple of iPhone pictures where you can see white scratches from where the trim has separated from the glass. Can I just glue the trim back on or do I have a more serious problem? And what should I use to glue it back on?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Ron
"Baldie88"
 

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Ron,

The same thing is happening to my Polo 96. I tried to just tapping it back into place with a rubber mallet which worked for a while but it quickly returned. I was thinking
some kind of "crazy glue" might help permanently keep it in position but I don't know.

I would be very interested to here any other members fix for this.
 
80 views and no suggestions. I'd really like some help because my normal luck is to screw up whatever I'm doing so it costs twice as much to fix my mistakes.

Thank,

Ron
"Baldie88"
 
If its any help, I have a targa top I will give you. Its for a 86-88. There were 3 different targas with different measurements between the front mounts. The dimensions are below

1st Design 84 - Early 86 28.5"
2nd Design Late 86 - 88 31.5"
3rd Design 89 - 96 32.5"

I have the 2nd design and I can send pictures later when I get home. It seems to be in good shape, but I'm no expert, no scratches/gouges on the top. The previous owner of my 89 bought it in Carlisle 10 yrs ago and didn't realize he bought the wrong design until he got home. It was given to me when I bought the car. Might be worth the shipping costs if you are interested.
 
One viewer with same issue, but no solution.. sorry. :w

I'm sure C4/C5 specialist can help you with this issue. I saw him working on C5 targa roofs at Carlisle this year and he had a wealth of information. He (and his daughter?) put on an excellent exhibition regarding targa top care.
 
Otter, thank you for your generous offer. My top is in excellent shape, just the trim piece coming loose. I'll keep your offer in mind in case I need another one.

JJS, thanks for the suggestion. I was going to send him a pm today as I figured he may have an idea.

Ron
"Baldie88"
 
HI there,

Thank you for the kind words, JJS. And while this is a C4, the basics hold true, simple repairs make the difference.

Now, for that particular type of repair, I am more inclined to use a urethane adhesive so that it will truly bond to the Lexan. BUT I am not sure if the primers will harm the lexan plastic. Urethane is usually for glass to metal bonding so I will have to do some research on the potential reaction to Lexan.

I will check on this and report back.

Allthebest, Paul
 
Where is Waterloo IL. Baldi?~? I'll be running that way in a few weeks for the Holidays and could maybe do a fly by and fix that for you if it's not too far outta my way.(Not sure on the dates yet) The molding needs completely removed and carefully re-crimped across the front and reseated,Won't take long unless some a-hole urethane it down the sides!:hb
I'll be going through St Louis to Ewing Mo,Kirksville Mo,Quincy IL,Peoria IL, (MQQN"s),Galesburg IL (no1agitator's) and maybe even a Moon Shine Raid on 6Shooters in Lebanon Mo.(I still owe'em for the "Taxi Cab" Bumper) :D

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Hey Junk, appreciate the offer and I got your pm. Waterloo is about 25 miles south and east of downtown St. Louis. I know I'm going to be out of town from roughly Dec 12-16. Let me see what Paul comes up with and go from there. I don't want you to delay your trip because of me. In the mean time I hope to have a chance this weekend to check it more closely. My schedule has been way to busy and now I found out my son-in-law is broke down in KC so I may have to go there tomorrow and rescue him (darn Audi - I told him to buy a Chevy!)

Thanks!

Ron
"Baldie88"
 
(darn Audi)
an aside: I have a BMW 745Li story or three, that decries "German Engineering". :pat

They have perfected one helluva money-in-wallet sensor, tho. :w
 
Success

Well I finally had time this morning to check out the top. It looks like just the trim piece around the targa top was coming off and not the frame separating from the acrylic which would have been much worse. Taking Junkie's suggestion I crimped the trim down and then using a rubber mallet I pounded it a little bit to seat and it held. I can't pry it back off with my fingers so I think it's going to hold and it held when I tightened the top back down. So I think my crisis as been averted and I didn't screw anything up.

Thanks so much to Junk and also Paul for your help and everyone else for your assistance. I've had so much help for the past 13 years on this site I don't know what I would do without it.:happyanim:


Ron
"Baldie88"

P.S. For Whalepirot, my son-in-law put the Audi out of its misery. He had the turbo 4 and I guess the turbo let go and took most of the engine with it. Quoted $5000 to fix it and it just wasn't worth it. Being stuck out of town and not being able to get the help he needed, he sold it to the shop for $650 and drove a rental back to St. Louis. I'm sure the shop is going to make a bunch of money parting it out but sometimes you just have to cut your loses.
 
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My German Car garage pal buys them all the time for a song, fixes and resells. Audis were never long for the world, IMHO, and BMW is closing in on that. I claim they only care about the initial sale.. the rest can dangle in the wind. Once, resale was important.

Problem is, all brands are going the same direction. I think they want to lease, not sell us cars.

I am building 2 1955 vehicles to fight back.:w
 
If it should come loose again pick up a tube of E6000 Adhesive from the craft store or WalMart in the Craft dept.

Karsten
 

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