so my vert top is tore above the window pretty damn bad and on the sides a little bit do any of you think i could buy a nice black sheet of vinyl and make a big C to go over the top of the window and down the side a little bit and get a nice strong heat resistant glue and then pick up the rubber seal on the window and tuck the new vinyl in and press the seal down? or will that not work because im my head it seems like a good idea for now til i can buy a new top

 

After experience with myriad British convertibles...don't waste your time.

Were your top canvas or something cloth-like, it could be worth fixing semi-well but vinyl, nope.
I'd duct tape the best you can and save for a new top, rather than spend time/effort on a more elaborate repair that is doomed to failure anyway.

 

ditto that, it will just tear again in a different spot, if you even manage to get it looking half decent with any sort of patch.

just replace it and keep the car out of the sun/weather/elements. is why i will never own another vert after seeing the tops only last a few short years.

 

okay guys wish me luck!! picked up a huge sheet of braided cloth with a thick rubber bottom and a can of loctite spray adhesive heat resistant super strength. all for $20 gonna re do the whole top ill let you guys know how it goes with my crap reupholstering skills :p

 

Oh boy

 

lmao it's sure gonna be fun

 

honestly, you have enough material to just make a new top, which might be easier than trying to do a repair.

but of course an industrial sewing machine isn't something in everyone's shed, heh.

 

didnt come out as bad as i thought it would! kinda hard to make a square piece flow perfectly with the shape but this is just temporary lol its better than a 3 ft hole above the window and 2 8 inch holes on each side. still got some cleaning up and gluing too do but im done for today

 

doesn't look too bad, but about as good as you can expect without seaming in some corners.

 

Looks a bit better than my duct tape and RTV job (gorilla duct tape rocks btw!).

For the last three years everytime I have the money to throw down on a top and for someone to install it...I have a wife and daughter, do I need to say more?

 

You have a dog and cat?

 

lmfao! yeah its not too bad i tested it with a hose and it doesnt leak...thats all i wanted lol

 

satch i got a question for you one sec

 

women are good at sewing, put em to work!

when they're not in the kitchen that is.

 

this is a semiconductor in my ECU...looks burnt right? from water. would that be why my ecu isnt working

 

hard to say, 30 year old electronics can look like that naturally but the corrosion on the solder isn't a good sign.

i believe both chips are replaced if you install Rtek 1.x versions, so that might be one way to fix it, or just buy another ECU.

 

alot of them are corroded from water im using alcohol to clean them..doubt itll work but idk what the conductor is hooked up too and if its actually BAD or not..idk where id even find a replacement to check

 

i also reflowed all the connections for the plug but still doubt itll work :p

 

It would be much easier, obviously, just to replace the item outright because even if you got your hands on another chip you will have a hard time switching it out. Sometimes you need to know when to say adios and just move on.

 

hmm okay if this doesnt work then ill search for a new one its just sketchy buying them because it seems like FCs are prone to ecu problems

 

It's not FCs specifically, it's 30 year old electronics in general.
Any electronic device from that era is just one step removed from gears and levers.

 

maybe FCs that have been submerged under water for unknown periods of time, or i guess i'm used to west coast cars.

i never saw one bad ECU, ever, even the cars that smoked an oil metering pump didn't fry the ECU circuits pertaining to that problem. IMO, its one of the more solid pieces of electronics on the whole car, and that's saying a lot.

these computers aren't super sensitive like the newer ones, they can take a beating and usually pull through. but water and electronics generally don't mix, especially if someone tried to turn it on before allowing it to air out thoroughly.


i guess what i'm trying to say is, avoid wrecking yards for ECUs, since those cars tend to sit in the rain with the doors wide open and are probably in as bad or worse shape as what you have.

 

well i didnt start the car knowing it had all that water :/ i bought it and it ran but was in limp mode. got it home and it was checking **** out and the carpet was wet i was like wtf! picked up the carpet near the ecu and like almost 2 inches of water on the floor panels and i was like welp this isnt good but its all dry now

 

I want in on this fun too . Mind sharing where you got that sheet from?

 

+1

Also, it looks like you layered that material on the top itself. Would it be difficult to work with something like that and try and fold it under where the top bolts to the body?