Technical Hard top refurbishment

[Wiltshire Chris]

I picked up a tired steel (am I right in thinking Fiat supplied both steel and fibre glass hard tops?) hard top from a forum member last year knowing that at some time I'd want to spruce it up. Since I had a slot booked at the local tip I decided to rip out the mouldy headlining and get rid of it.. It looks like the headlining had been replaced previously as I can see signs of old foam underneath.

I've now got a sort of hard/card board rigid liner to the roof that needs its glue cleaning off before refitting but that seems a straightforward job. What would be useful to know is what the original headlining colour might have been? It's a steel grey roof in case that makes a difference.

Since there's a few rusty bits on the steel I thought I'd strip it right down and clean it up before respraying. The rear window seal has popped out nicely but the window has been bonded to the steel with some black mastic. Does anyone know if that is standard? I'm assuming that some heat will loosen it up but it'd be useful to know what it is so I can fit it back in correctly.

Thanks in advance.

 

[wapper]

Fiat only offered steel hardtops, but a lighter aftermarket hardtops were available from Wiesmann (dunno plastic or fiberglass, with huge rear window).

There are plenty of pictures on the internet where internal liner can be seen:
https://autobazar.hyperinzerce.cz/f...barchetta-pevna-strecha-nabidka-ustecky-kraj/
https://lesfousdebarchetta.forumact...ta-descriptif-revision-pannes-et-installation
Perhaps with some luck, the original liner can still be found somewhere.

 

[Wiltshire Chris]

Thank you, my google skills had failed me. The French article is very useful.

 

[Wiltshire Chris]

A year and a half flashes by ....
I'm still working on refurbishing my hard top and the metal catches are in a horrible pitted and tarnished state and I'd like to do a decent job of cleaning them up and maybe plating them? I'm thinking that I'll drill out the hinge pins but is there a name for that sort of rivert/hinge/pin thing that I've circled in red? If I know what they are then I can order some up and get them sorted.

One of the catches is missing its safety catch so I'm also trying out a 3D printed design that seems to be doing the job.

When I've finished all of this I'm not sure I even need a hard top so I might be asking for sensible offers...

 

[Wiltshire Chris]

To answer my own question, I've found out that they are called semi tubular rivets. I've drilled the old ones out and have some new ones arriving today so fingers crossed they work OK - they come in a box of 100 so I've got a few attempts to get it right. Not sure whether to get the parts plated or just clean them up and spray them with some satin black as this refurbishment (like all others) has the potential to swallow money.

 

[pablopablo]

Did you sort out the headlining?

 

[Wiltshire Chris]

Did you sort out the headlining?

Not yet. I've been slowly removing the old glue. I took it to a vehicle trimmer last week to see how much of the old glue they thought that I should remove. The answer was quite a lot, they thought that whoever had done it last had used some sort of carpet adhesive. I'm nearly there with getting it all off but it's taking a while:

You can see my home made wheeled hard top holder in this shot:

I have watched the video by the absolute hero that is pauliecabs which has been helpful:


The list of jobs to do is longer than I'd like:

• Clean up and plate/paint the catchs - underway. The semi tubular rivets arrived today and work nicely
• Design 3D model for the missing red part on the catch and test - done and available here https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5583049
• Find someone to sell me a spring for the release catch - underway, I've found Lee Springs who seem to have something similar. Sadly a spring stolen from a pen doesn't work.
• Scrape all the old glue off - nearly there
• Strip, prime and paint the metal pieces that surround the holes for the front catch and heater switch (they're bubbled with rust) - underway
• Either buy (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122698131011?hash=item1c9160e643:g:~SEAAOSwtZVZtaqO) or design and print trim pieces for the side as mine are missing. I've had a go with some CAD (Cardboard Aided Design) to get the shape about right - underway
• One of the terminals has become detached from the heating element, apparently conductive paint + epoxy glue should work to reattach it - not started
• Get the lining attached - I may pay the vehicle trimmers to do this part as I know how clumsy I am around glue.
• Lastly, given I've done all of the above I need to decide whether to get the steel resprayed as it has a few rust spots. This comes down to whether I keep it or not as, if I sell it, the buyer might as well get it painted in their chosen colour.

I slightly question why I'm doing all this for something I may never use but the reality is that I like a project to keep me busy!

 

[pablopablo]

Wow, this is definitely a complete restoration! It's worth doing even if you don't use it. As it's an original hardtop you'll always make your money back. I think the most astonishing thing is the 3D printed catch! Well done for that. I'd buy the side pieces then everything is original. These jobs always end up taking longer than you anticipate but worth it in the end.

 

[Wiltshire Chris]

Thanks. I may end up buying the trim pieces. They're reproduction ones but that shape is hard to model for me as I'm only up to bolt-geometric-shapes-together 3D design and the trim pieces have several complex curves. As they are quite large they'll take some time to print so I may end up spending as much in printer filament and electricity as it would cost to buy them.

 

[Wiltshire Chris]

Minor update. The catch parts have come back from the platers and I think they look good:

I've reassembled one with the semi-tubular rivets and the 3D printed red bits:

The long rivet is, perhaps, a little short as very little of it could be turned over so I may order some more that are a couple of mil longer.
I managed to find a spring that works for the red part. It's the button spring for a Leon Paul foil fencing tip https://www.leonpaul.com/foil-point-pressure-spring.html . By happy chance I'd decided to got back to fencing and was servicing my swords when I noticed the spring was a reasonable match for the one I needed for the catch so that's job done.

I've de-rusted and painted the various black metal parts that needed doing.

I also ended up soldering the connector for the heated screen back in place. With enough cleaning, heat, flux and solder it now seems solid. On a test run the heater seem to work but I'll give it a proper test later.

Just the headlining to get done and then reassembly. I've decided not to get it resprayed as I intend to sell it on once it's done and the buyer can then choose their colour.