FAUEE

Recently I've noticed that at speed I have an air leak dead center of the front side of the targa, just above the mirror. It doesn't leaked water though. Any thoughts? I'm not sure if the front of the targa needs adjusted, or could the frame and roof be delaminating?

Anyone had this issue before? I've yet to do some troubleshooting, but figured I'd see if others have had similar issues.

383vett

Have someone outside use a compressed air nozzle on different parts of the roof while you feel inside for the air leak. You should be able to pinpoint the area with 100psi exiting a 1/8" orifice.

Hot Rod Roy

A new air leak in your targa roof is an indication that you are about to be initiated into the FRC! And that's not good!

Here's a link to the re-bonding procedure I used on my acrylic roof about ten years ago, and it's doing fine. You didn't say whether you have an acrylic or solid roof, but the procedure should be about the same, except for the headliner in a solid top.

Don't try using epoxy or RTV. You'll end up doing the job again in a short time.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ir-advice.html

FRC= Flying Roof Club. There are quite a few members here.

i987c0sw0rth

Had the same problem with my C 4. The acrylic panel parted company with the aluminium frame at around 90mph on a busy motorway. Luckily it did not hit anyone. I came off at the next exit, rejoined the motorway in the opposite direction and then rejoined the motorway in the direction I was travelling when the panel took flight. I found it, damaged but repairable. The incident was I am sure down to a leaking roof, which had caused the aluminium frame to oxidise and de-bond the panel adhesive. If you can hear wind noise, get to it and remove the acrylic panel and clean and re-bond it. Wire brush the aluminium frame and paint it to prevent future oxidisation.

FAUEE

I investigated it a bit more over the weekend, the top has definitey come unglued from the frame. I can push on it with my fingers and see it move, quite a bit. Sonim going to be fixing that soon.

is that glue something that can be purchased locally very easily?

Hot Rod Roy

So you weren't able to see my link in post #3? There must be a windshield repair shop in your area!

FAUEE

Got the top separated, got a question. On the free there is a bead of something, it has partially separated from the frame, so I can see it sits down in a groove. Is this the adhesive I'm supposed to remove? It doesn't feel like a glue, but the top was attached to it. It's also about a a cm thick, which seems thicker than i expected for the glue to be.

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Hot Rod Roy

You still haven't said whether you have an acrylic or a solid top. Not sure what you mean by "on the free". There are pads near each corner of the frame that are used during the factory assembly process. Don't destroy those pads, but they need to be clean. If that stuff can be removed with a single edge razor blade or a sharp wood chisel, it needs to go. Both the top and the frame need to be clean.

batmanrobinwilliams

A couple years ago, I was driving in the mountains (while raining) during the winter and heard a hissing sound that kept getting louder, with no water leakage. The temperature in the cockpit kept getting colder as well. Noticed that the acrylic panel was separating from the frame above the mirror similar to how you described. Pulled over at a rest stop and used a whole roll of electrical tape (all I had) to keep it there, and also had to have the windows down and squeeze the acrylic panel to the frame while driving because the tape could only do so much...talk about a cold two-hour rest of the trip!!

Glad it was caught before it flew off. Anyways, after I got back, I tried removing the panel carefully from the frame so I could glue it back on, but the panel cracked in the process. I had gotten tired of how hot the cockpit got with the sun shining through in the summer, so I sold it to one of the targa remanufacturing companies for around $100 and got a used fiberglass top. Personally, that was the best choice for me as the fiberglass top seemed to be bonded better and also kept things cooler in the summer. To each their own.

FAUEE

It's a solid top. And auto correct got me, it was supposed to be on the frame. There is a bead that goes around the entire frame, tucked into a channel or groove on the frame. I'm not sure if this is part of the frame, or if it's the old adhesive. It is coming out of the channel in the frame at a few points and feels quite stiff.

Maybe the easier question to answer is, when applying the urethane, does it go into a channel and expand out to meet the top, or did you apply the glue directly to a contact point of the glue and frame?

Hot Rod Roy

I don't remember a bead going around the entire frame, unless you're talking about a rubber trim strip around the inside edge of the frame. My top is acrylic, so maybe the solid top has a different feature. Can you post a photo? The adhesive would be applied at the contact areas.

FAUEE

I looked at it a bit more tonight, it' a thick bead of adhesive, and it has some.spill over. There are two "troughs" that the adhesive bonds into on the frame side, and then it meets the fiberglass top. My adhesive is cracking in a few spots, which made it easier to identify.

So now I need to remove all that gunk before I start with the new glue.