hello

i'm new to this forum and also a new owner of a 1996 barchetta.
unfortunately i'm having some trouble with it, starting with the hood which is not closing completly, that means it remains an aprox. 2inch gap between the roof and the tonneau cover.
i can't figure out if the problem is from the soft cover or if it is from the metal bars on which the cover is mounted. is there any system to adjust this?
i'll attach an image to understand what i'm talking about..

Hello, and welcome to the Forum. Is this the same problem as Shelx was/is having?

thanks but i cannot find shelxs' problem with the hood.. i'd appreciate if you could point me to the topic..

Try this link about the 4th page.

https://www.fiatforum.com/barchetta/149553-raising-lowering-hood-6.html

Yes it does sound like the same problem. I never really sorted it out. We tried adjusting the arms at the back of the hood, but that just made it worse and I think that adjustment is for the reverse problem, i.e. if the hood becomes too loose and sits too much on the car.

It was suggested that I try some adjustments lower down inside the side panels of the car (behind the seats). This would lower the whole back of the roof, but after a period of time of playing around with the roof the gap got a lot smaller so I am living with it mainly because I'm worried that lowering the whole thing will mean having to adjust the windows, and if I do this then my hard top won't fit when I put it back on.

Let me know how you get on I'd be very interested if you find a solution.

xS

Has anyone called DTR about this problem?

I have always found them to be extremely helpful and willing to give advise.

bof, it only means adjusting the windows twice a year

but there must be a setting in between somewhere... which might take a lot of minimal adjustments. Most likely the whole softtop needs to be lowered a millimeter or 2 as a whole. Then the curvature of the roof needs to be changed by adjusting the length of the roof. All millimeter adjustments... it might take up your day .. it might be faster to adjust the windows


For me, when the hardtop is on, the passengerwindow doesn't quite fit snug.. resulting a lot of whistling at a decent speed...:
recommended solution : adjust window inclination setting to "lean inwards" a bit more
actual solution used: tape it shut with transparent tape before doing long motorway hauls

I didn't have any time to try any of these advices, but i've noticed that the gap is smaller on both sides near the windows and is increasing its size to the middle. On sides it's about 1cm and it's getting about 5cm just in the middle.
Does it have any sense to take off the hood and just leave the metal frame naked to see if there is any change? The hood is made of vinyl and is not in a very good shape.
I'll try to work this out on weekend and i'll keep you posted.
Thanks for your support.

Yes mine is just the same, but I also have a damaged rubber on one side that gives a gap there too, right over where the cable sticks up for the hard top so that will be a perfect place for water to get in!

Here are some photos of mine:









This last one is the adjustment that we tried that definitly does NOT work, so don't bother trying that one!

Out of interest have you not been using your softtop for a while? Mine has definitly relaxed a little and gap has got smaller.

xS

I'm opening/closing the soft-top almost every day when I go to work, anyway the gap on my barchetta is too big to hope this will go away by itself just by doing that
In the weekend I'll try to take off the vinyl hood and play with the metal frame..

Good luck! Let me know if you sort it. Take photos! I will need detailed instructions....

xS

don't think you will be able to take the cover fully off without destroying it as it's wrapped onto the cross spars

I know this is probably a totally stupid thought (I have lots of them) I suppose there is no way that the bottom rail of the hood has bent, possibly when the hood was lowered onto something in the hood well and forced down? Another daft thought, it could be that the hood has shrunk if left lowered for a long time. Had a similar problem trying to put the hood up on an MX5 (not mine) when the hard-top was removed, the hood, which is fixed at the back would not meet the windscreen, had to run the car up with the heater on full blast for ages till the vinyl became flexible enough.

Cant you just undo the main bolts on each side of the car that hold the hood frame onto the car and let the hood drop a a few mm more before doing the bolts back up, will this not fix the problem?

SirTainlyBarkin said:

I know this is probably a totally stupid thought (I have lots of them) I suppose there is no way that the bottom rail of the hood has bent, possibly when the hood was lowered onto something in the hood well and forced down? Another daft thought, it could be that the hood has shrunk if left lowered for a long time. Had a similar problem trying to put the hood up on an MX5 (not mine) when the hard-top was removed, the hood, which is fixed at the back would not meet the windscreen, had to run the car up with the heater on full blast for ages till the vinyl became flexible enough.

Click to expand...

I think you could be right about the shrinking daft as it sounds. Mine wasn't used for a long time and it's definitly getting better. Specially if there's been a bit of rain then its warm it seems to almost fit right now. Doc your solution was the next step to try but I was too scared to do it been a total novice.
xS

you should be able to adjust the hood completely by removing the side plastic trims around the seat belts. There are two bolts to each side and the hole hood will move up or down. they have more likely come loose and when closed lifted the hood. Its easy to do and you cant do any worse trying.

hope this helps.