recovering/restoring targa top - lessons learned
 

After some debate with myself, which I invariably lose, I recently took on the task of reconditioning my targa top. There are several Web sites that do a pretty good job of explaining the procedure so I won't get into that, but I did learn a few things that I wish someone had told me before I attempted this.

- IMHO, prepare yourself for dealing with a poorly designed and engineered apparatus. I've worked on British sports car erector set tops and thought they were bad, but for the engineering reputation that Porsche has and the fact that this top was left untouched for so many years was a mild shock to me. It has more than a passing resemblance to a Rube Goldberg drawing.

- On mine, the webbing that holds the three individual aluminum plates in position simply was not there. The top had been recovered (how many times I can only speculate) but the last one who did it failed to replace the webbing. Thus, my first critical lesson. The webbing is what provides the geometry for the entire top. The correct way to replace it is to put the frame on the car after removing all the materials and position the plates equidistant from the front and rear. Mark the location of the three plates and install the webbing while being absolutely sure they don't move. Put it back on the car after you install the webbing and check again. I did not do this, and the result was the plates were closer to the front than in the back. Attempting to resolve this by relocating the top clamps leads to the next lesson.

- The top clamps are held in by floating 'nuts' (metal plates really) and very small screws that don't tolerate being installed/removed more than a couple of times before stripping. Have a couple of spare plates, and several spare screws on hand before you start. They're cheap, unlike the next lesson, which most defintely was not.

- The latch mechanism is apparently made of 24K Unobtanium. Both of mine were weak and didn't work well to begin with (after 28 years of use, that's understandable). So, I went to Pelican and priced replacements - YIKES!!! $325 EACH!! When you see these things removed they are made of junk metal, and the handle is held in by a friggin' paper clip. Unbelievable. I found two options - (1) Stoddard's will rebuild them for $200 each; or (2) Parts Obsolete has them new for $265.

- Despite the above, I figure I still came out ahead (well, if you don't count the frustration factor). The new cover, foam and headliner cost $130 (including the 16% sales tax in CA!!!), and the new latches were $530. That's $660, and the prices I've seen for a recovering (without new latches) ranged from $700 - 850.

So, if you're considering doing this, by all means have at it. It can be done, albeit best not to try it on a Saturday night if you need the car on Monday. If you need some help, feel free to call anyone but me.

James--

I had this issue last spring and decided to go with JMPRO's hardtop for around $500. I don't know if that top fits the '76. I posted the replacement process with pics on Pelican. Of course, if you're concerned about originality, the new hardtop is out, but it's a lot cheaper and less hassle than refurbishing the folding top. I figure I saved $500-700 by going with the hardtop. Easily done in less than a day, not counting paint.