Roof Stitching

[JNA]

Does anyone know where you can get a chim roof re stitched, I have a 98 R chim and I have 6 stitches which have come loose no real drama I just dont want it to spread any further(probably due me putting my hand on the back of the roof when putting the top pannel back in place) I contacted my local dealer somewhere near leatherhead and they have quoted that I need a new back section and new top pannel to match !!!!!!!!!! Six stitches !!!!I could just glue it but I want to get it done right as I am planning on keeping the car for a while as I love it.Any help would be great

[SwanJack]

Mine has done the same thing. I bought a 'sailmaker's palm' and tried to stitch it back up myself. Had a degree of success. You need a very stong needle and it takes ages. I encountered great difficulty in getting the needle through the fabric and screen.

[big rumbly]

If you dont mind travelling to Essex, a firm round the corner to where I used to live does this sort of thing. Ring them to check they're still there.
Essex Autotrim
Benton Road
seven Kings
Ilford Essex

[macca]

Do it yourself, it won't take long.

About 6 weeks ago I was locked out of my Chim and did a really stupid thing - I pushed the rear window to open the struts - big mistake as I tore the stitching, about 100 of them .

Using a standard needle with extra strong cotton I set about stitching back together using 'backstitch' (if you really want to know what this is I'll try and explain in another post).

The holes are already there from the previous stitching so I just followed these to keep a really neat line. The underside looks a dogs dinner but you can't see that unless you really look for it.

Edited by macca on Thursday 11th October 19:06

[aphelion]

Re-stitching in situ is best done with two of you - one to sit inside on the tunnel to push the needle through and one to guide and pull the needle through on the outside. We've stitched short sections of rotted stitching this way. A pair of pliers also helps if pushing the needle through three layers (mohair/screen/inner trim)is a bit tough. An upholsterer's needle (from most haberdashers) is also useful as it's curved in a semi-circle and means you don't puncture the ends of your fingers with the eye end of the needle when pushing. Back stitch does look like a dog's breakfast on the inside of the hood, but it's pretty tidy on the outside if you stick to the holes already made for the original stitching.

[wow400]

Took the Chimaera to Fernies & had the 36K service - when I picked it up they were busy trying to repair the roof! They had put a bit of the plastic through ('stitching rotten, - they all do that'!) so I was left with a bit of a bodge job as they refused to do a proper repair without me paying for it.
Funny old thing, went to put the back bit down & put my hand through the other side of the plastic - bugger. Am now in the market to have the whole rear window replaced.
Any ideas - am just about to start ringing around all the local dealers & auto-trimmers.

[trefor]

Peninsula do a replacement rear screen for a sensible price - not sure how long they need to do it though.

T/.