I was just about to get Sparky off the ramps when I spotted a small drip of something on the bottom of the front brake caliper - :evil: and then realised also that I hadn’t fixed the fuel supply problem, so more under the car stuff to do yet. I really didn't fancy crawling around underneath, so I have started on the carpets, and other stuff. The carpets are designed for a manual car, and Sparky has an auto centre tunnel, so they don’t fit.
I removed them and cut to size, but the rubber mats were then too wide and I had to cut them down as well. Shame they were glued down as well as stitched.
Now I just have to sew the edging back on.
I have however, got underneath and taken the fuel pump off, along with the pipework and filter. The filter had some muck in it, but very little and nothing that would be restricting fuel flow in any way, so I am a little flummoxed by the intermittent fuel pressure drop. That will wait
Then I decided to take the roof off :shock:
Now before doing something like this, I first read up on it. I got the Haynes BOL (omission version) and found nothing at all? The Rover manual wasn’t much help either so I wandered into town and bought a copy of Classics Monthly.
For anyone trying this, it’s not a difficult job, but just be careful not to break stuff. I already had the seats out so didn’t need to remove them. You will need to remove the rear seats to get at the fixings of the rear screen pillars trim.
Remove the two screws and then it just pulls forward to reveal the inner fixings to the quarter panels. It may need a bit of a wiggle. There are three at the front within the door jamb and two at the rear inside the car (arrowed). The vinyl on the quarter panels had hardened and the corner of the metal had rusted away.
I then removed the two screws in the windscreen pillar cover and the seat belt mounting on the upper B/C post which released the cover. I then removed the screws holding the headlining supports on, one at the front, one centre and one at the back. There are also two screws which hold the coat hanger on the support. The support pulls downwards to release, BUT be very careful here, this is a possible time to break stuff. The support bars are covered in vinyl as is the headlining. They have been pressed together for several decades and can bond themselves together, especially around the coat hanger. I prised them apart gently, but still managed to get a small rip :twisted:
The front section is held in by the rear view mirror, sunblinds, a small screw at each end and four clips which hook onto the roof at the front.
With both of the supports gone the headlining is held in with a screw each side on the B/C post. I have left the front and rear screens in so had to remove the front seats. This is necessary to get the headlining out of the front passenger door. Just remember to let the handbrake off before dropping the headlining down as it will go through the headlining and ruin it. Best to have the car in 1st or 3rd as well for the same reason.
I’m not sure how much of the stainless trim to remove to get the roof off, but I wanted to have a good look at any possible areas of rust, so took it all off. That’s a bit fiddly :shock: The rear finisher on the rain channel can just be twisted sharply outwards from the bottom to release it from the underside of the channel.
I drilled out the rivets holding the A post cover and corner section, and just pulled these off. The front corner section was a bit of a devil, but with a bit of careful twisting and tugging, I soon had it free. The long bits from front to rear were a lot more difficult as there didn’t seem to be any way of removing them without force. I eventually found that I could get a flat bladed screwdriver between the underside of the trim and a raised profile on the body shell. By twisting the screwdriver at many points along the trim I managed to loosen it. Ignore the front wing which confuses the picture somewhat, it is laid on the roof
I then slipped a screwdriver into the rear of the trim and carefully prised it away from the car, then with two screwdrivers managed to gently prise the trim all the way along, until with a sudden ping, it sprung off.
The piece across the front was a lot easier, I just pulled the windscreen rubber back and eased it out.
I then removed the nut from under the aerial and took the cable off.
I took out the screws which hold the roof on, there were 27 on Sparky, but there was one missing, so look for 28. The windscreen rubber fits over the roof panel, so I gently levered the roof up from the front and allowed the rubber to drop under the roof panel as it went. Then lifted the roof panel a couple of inches on one side and put a small wooden block under it, then the same on the other side. It was obvious at this point that the rear of the roof panel was well bonded with the sealant along the back so I had to wiggle the panel, run a knife along the back between the roof and the stainless screen finisher, wiggle some more, cut some more etc, until it eventually let go and moved forward.
Apart from the outer lip, which has some surface rust, the main structure looks almost new, so very happy with that.
The only weird bit is the rear of the structure has been painted black and there is a screw missing. Looks like a repair has been done sometime in the past ?
I got Wendy to help me lift the panel off the roof and carry it out to the Audi, spent half an hour sweating and scratching my head, then put the roof panel back in the garage. A P6 roof panel doesn’t fit in a Audi A6 Estate :twisted: Oh well, will have to bring the van home one day to get the panel to work. I need more space than I have at home to re-cover it so will have to do it at work.