AlasdairMacKenzie
New Member
Hello fellow P6 Forum users
I recently moved to Berlin, Germany, where I own the only 1973 3500 Auto in (mostly*) Arctic White. It has a black vinyl roof including a sliding steel sunroof, which has been re-vinyled by a previous owner. The vinyl is cracked at the rounded corners of the sunroof aperture, and has started to bubble up away from the roof panel all around the sunroof section. The drainage pipes that I‘m told ought to run from the corners of the sunroof tray down the roof pillars berneath the stainless finishers are missing, and whenever it rains the water makes its way into the passenger compartment. The floor has thus rusted through (under the rear seat squabs and along both inner sills, not to mention the inner rear wheel arches**).The electric switch for the sunroof doesn‘t work properly any more, and on those occassions when it opens the roof panel it doesn‘t close it again, so I have to wind it closed with the little manual ratchet provided. In heavy rain the sunroof has taken to opening itself up! I haven‘t removed the headliner yet, but I fear that the roof pillars themselves may be rotted/rotting.
I‘ve been advised by one knowledgable P6 restorer to fix my leaky roof before I get started on repairing the Base Unit. Makes sense to me, I wouldn‘t put a new carpet in my house if it had a leaky roof! I‘d like to know from other experienced P6 restorers if I ought to:
a). repair my existing roof,
b). obtain, prepare (i.e: re-vinyl) and swap in a different roof panel with a similar sunroof (more expensive option, but perhaps less hassle given that I don‘t yet have a garage where I can work on the car and so will prrobably have to do it all out on the street), or
c). fit a roof panel without a sunroof and thus hopefully ‚leak-proof‘?
My aim is to get the car through the extremely strict TÜV inspection (the equivalent of an MOT) and get ‚Historical‘ (H- suffix) number plates, with which annual road Tax costs the same regardless of engine displacement. Otherwise with conventional number plates I‘ll have to pay exorbitant road tax for a 3.5litre! I‘ve been told I won‘t pass the TÜV unless I replace my front windscreen, because it is turning milky where moisture is creeping in between the sandwiched layers of glass. I need to get hold of an immaculate Sundym green front windscreen, and I suppose it would make sense to fit it at the same time as the new or renovated roof panel.
Can anybody help me locate get the green screen?
Does anybody know where to get the correct roof vinyl material (Everflex? Bison grain? What is the right stuff called?), and what I should expect to have to pay?
Furthermore how much of it do I need? Has anybody ever replaced their vinyl roof ?
I‘m after any helpful tips regarding fitting the stuff properly. Can anybody shed further light on exactly what is entailed in swapping the roof and the headlining?
I think that‘ll do for now, although doubtless I‘ll have many more questions regarding this and future new topics as my restoration project progresses. I look forward to your help. All suggestions very welcome.
* I‘m going to need a respray at some point, after all the other niggly things have been fixed, but I don‘t expect to be that far before next summer at the earliest. Paint is about the last thing on a long ‚to do‘ list.
** Once I‘ve got a nice dry passenger compartment I‘ll move on to welding/patching. If I get any helpful responses to my roof worries I‘d like to then ask you all about how/where to repair the Base Unit properly. In the meanwhile I would love to see some pictures of what the upper secttion of the inner rear wheel arch is supposed to look like! Mine are missing, rotted away completely. Perhaps somebody could provide me with photos or illustrations?
I recently moved to Berlin, Germany, where I own the only 1973 3500 Auto in (mostly*) Arctic White. It has a black vinyl roof including a sliding steel sunroof, which has been re-vinyled by a previous owner. The vinyl is cracked at the rounded corners of the sunroof aperture, and has started to bubble up away from the roof panel all around the sunroof section. The drainage pipes that I‘m told ought to run from the corners of the sunroof tray down the roof pillars berneath the stainless finishers are missing, and whenever it rains the water makes its way into the passenger compartment. The floor has thus rusted through (under the rear seat squabs and along both inner sills, not to mention the inner rear wheel arches**).The electric switch for the sunroof doesn‘t work properly any more, and on those occassions when it opens the roof panel it doesn‘t close it again, so I have to wind it closed with the little manual ratchet provided. In heavy rain the sunroof has taken to opening itself up! I haven‘t removed the headliner yet, but I fear that the roof pillars themselves may be rotted/rotting.
I‘ve been advised by one knowledgable P6 restorer to fix my leaky roof before I get started on repairing the Base Unit. Makes sense to me, I wouldn‘t put a new carpet in my house if it had a leaky roof! I‘d like to know from other experienced P6 restorers if I ought to:
a). repair my existing roof,
b). obtain, prepare (i.e: re-vinyl) and swap in a different roof panel with a similar sunroof (more expensive option, but perhaps less hassle given that I don‘t yet have a garage where I can work on the car and so will prrobably have to do it all out on the street), or
c). fit a roof panel without a sunroof and thus hopefully ‚leak-proof‘?
My aim is to get the car through the extremely strict TÜV inspection (the equivalent of an MOT) and get ‚Historical‘ (H- suffix) number plates, with which annual road Tax costs the same regardless of engine displacement. Otherwise with conventional number plates I‘ll have to pay exorbitant road tax for a 3.5litre! I‘ve been told I won‘t pass the TÜV unless I replace my front windscreen, because it is turning milky where moisture is creeping in between the sandwiched layers of glass. I need to get hold of an immaculate Sundym green front windscreen, and I suppose it would make sense to fit it at the same time as the new or renovated roof panel.
Can anybody help me locate get the green screen?
Does anybody know where to get the correct roof vinyl material (Everflex? Bison grain? What is the right stuff called?), and what I should expect to have to pay?
Furthermore how much of it do I need? Has anybody ever replaced their vinyl roof ?
I‘m after any helpful tips regarding fitting the stuff properly. Can anybody shed further light on exactly what is entailed in swapping the roof and the headlining?
I think that‘ll do for now, although doubtless I‘ll have many more questions regarding this and future new topics as my restoration project progresses. I look forward to your help. All suggestions very welcome.
* I‘m going to need a respray at some point, after all the other niggly things have been fixed, but I don‘t expect to be that far before next summer at the earliest. Paint is about the last thing on a long ‚to do‘ list.
** Once I‘ve got a nice dry passenger compartment I‘ll move on to welding/patching. If I get any helpful responses to my roof worries I‘d like to then ask you all about how/where to repair the Base Unit properly. In the meanwhile I would love to see some pictures of what the upper secttion of the inner rear wheel arch is supposed to look like! Mine are missing, rotted away completely. Perhaps somebody could provide me with photos or illustrations?