Wedge Roof Adjustment

Wedge Roof Adjustment

Author
Discussion

Ian B

Original Poster:

126 posts

275 months

Wednesday 6th November 2002
quotequote all
How do you adjust the rear section of the roof so that it clamps the centre section more tightly?
I tried packing out the stays with washers which has helped, but at speed the gap at the trailing-edge of the centre section gets wide enough for the two rear locating tabs to pop out!

Any help much appreciated.

19560

12,837 posts

269 months

Wednesday 6th November 2002
quotequote all
Given that you live in Blackpool I'd call in at the factory - they are both your local dealer and quite helpful - but it sounds like you need new stays. The roof should not move at all.

>> Edited by 19560 on Wednesday 6th November 18:10

Ian B

Original Poster:

126 posts

275 months

Thursday 7th November 2002
quotequote all
I’ll go to the factory as a last resort but I presume there must be a way of adjusting it.
The roof was recently taken off and not put back in exactly the same way.
Has anyone else needed to adjust theirs?

shpub

8,507 posts

283 months

Thursday 7th November 2002
quotequote all
One other issue is that the windscreen can flex and all that you end up doing is moving that rather than tightening anything up. It could be that the location tabs in the roof panel are worn and this is causing the movement.

Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk

SEVANS

1,165 posts

278 months

Thursday 7th November 2002
quotequote all
The hoop that the stays attach to is pivoted at each side of the car. These pivots are at the top of a bracket that is mounted to the chassis at the bottom, the door latch and the rear wheel arch. Mine were completely corroded away at the bottom and this had caused things to sink slightly. This also caused problems with the door alignment. It may be worth checking this.
The stays are bolted through the rear fiberglass section. Have the holes become elongated and dropped down? I would have thought that moving the stays up should have the desired affect.

350matt

3,799 posts

290 months

Thursday 7th November 2002
quotequote all
I fiddled with mine quite a bit (ooer) and you can slot the stay mounting holes to increase the tension at both ends and there is also adjustment for the solid 'roll-over' bar its underneath the trim on the 'b' pillar just above the hinge.
Also make sure that your roof panel isn't catching on the perimeter seal around the corners, a bit of vaseline rubbed into the seal keeps it soft and prevents the roof from sticking onto it.

Matt

Ian B

Original Poster:

126 posts

275 months

Thursday 7th November 2002
quotequote all
Is it necessary to rip the trim off to check the B-pillar attachment point? Unsurprisingly there doesn't seem to be a convenient way in.

SEVANS

1,165 posts

278 months

Thursday 7th November 2002
quotequote all
Yep, there should be a fiberglass panel covered in trim. It should only be a couple of screws to remove. Mine have the speakers mounted in them.

gf350

805 posts

277 months

Saturday 9th November 2002
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SEVANS said: The hoop that the stays attach to is pivoted at each side of the car. These pivots are at the top of a bracket that is mounted to the chassis at the bottom, the door latch and the rear wheel arch. Mine were completely corroded away at the bottom and this had caused things to sink slightly. This also caused problems with the door alignment. It may be worth checking this.
.

I would very much agree with the above. I have just removed both pillars from my car, its a bit of a nightmare but they do come out.
The rest of my non waxoiled chassis was fine, with just some surface rust but the passenger side pillar inside had started to rot at the bottom and had lost one of its mounting holes to the outrigger. On my car these pillars were unpainted therefore its a potential rust spot.
As these pillars form 2 of the 3 seat belt mounts it may be advisable to have a look in there. It may not get picked up in an MOT as the pillar is attached to the fibre glass body by the door lock mount, two bolts that attach by the door and two more to the wheel arch and the bar that runs between the pillars has a bracket fibre glassed in.
This will make it seem quite secure but in a big crash it might be a problem?
Any Idea what I should be paying for a simple bit of welding like this and a repair to a seat base? Plus what is the best sort of place to get this type of thing done. The bits are removed from the car and stripped and I'm quite close to Tower View.
Any advice much appreciated.
Gareth


SEVANS

1,165 posts

278 months

Sunday 10th November 2002
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I repaired mine myself. It is necessary to remove the outer sill to get to the old bolts and to mark the holes for the new plates from the outside of the car. Took out the brackets by removing door lock and 2 bolts on wheel arch. Ground off the old plate from the bottom. Made new plates out of mild steel, this takes a little time as they need to be a sort of 'L' shape to fit around the shape of the fiberglass.Marked holes from outside the car and drilled. Assembled everything backup, making sure the door will shut properly and with the bottom of the bracket sitting on the new plate and tacked it together with a mig. Took it all apart and welded up properly. The plan is to have the bracket powder coated.
I did think of making the plates out of stainless so they wouldn't rot again, but decided it wasn't worth it as the roll bar that is mounting on the top of this plate is only mild steel.

gf350

805 posts

277 months

Sunday 10th November 2002
quotequote all
SEVANS,
Thanks for the tips on re-fabricating the bracket. I don't have the right tools to do this myself bit I will produce a template for the bit when I take it some where. Fortunatly it is only the very bottom edge that is corroded on the passenger side bracket so its not too bad.
I didn't think I could get them out, it took me quite a while to figure out that only one side was welded to the bracket in the middle! Were yours painted at all? Did you take the frame at the front out as well? Which roll bar did you get as this is one of my wish list items but I'm a bit scared of welding anything myself, the Tower View one looks excellent but is there a cheaper alternative that also doesn't need welding?
Sorry for all the questions.
Gareth.

>> Edited by gf350 on Sunday 10th November 09:47

SEVANS

1,165 posts

278 months

Monday 11th November 2002
quotequote all
Gareth, no problem with the questions.
I think my brackets were painted but after 19 years of sitting in water there wasn't much left. As I said earlier to remove them you will have to remove the sill to get at the two bolts at the bottom. Remove the door latch, as this bolts through the body and into the bracket. Remove the two bolts that go through the wheel arch. Remove the seatbelt mount in the hood pivot and it should lift out.
When I enquired about roll bars last year nobody made one for the earlier wedges (mine is an 83 tasmin 200 with trailing arm suspension). So I bought a hoop from the roll centre (this forms part of the roll cage in a Tasmin race car) with brackets and extra tube to make the two diagonal supports. I have to say that this has been a time consuming job. I had to modify the bottom mountings by elongating the holes and grinding a small amount off. This was to get the hoop sitting below the hood and back as far as possible. I didn't want to cut holes in the boot floor to bolt the diagonal stays to the diff mount, so I used the bracket above the shocks thatthe body sits on.
There are two problems which I have yet to solve:
1) The roll bar is in the way of the original seatbelt mounting position. So I either ditch them and use a harness or they need mounting close by.
2) The side trim that holds the speaker needs modifying to fit around the roll bar and if the seat belts are refitted, then a new exit slot.
If you want more info or pics email me.