Sunroof could do with a refurb

[Straightsix]

Having spent far too much time online trying to find out ‘how to do’ this and that, thought it best to ask the question here.

I’ve been unable to find where or how to restore vitesse/herald vinyl top sunroofs. Mine is looking a bit tired and a replacement vinyl top wouldn’t go a miss. It’s another one on the To do list and as the weather is so miserable thought I’d try and do a little research.

Cheers.

[Paul H]

There's a new one on Ebay NOS , https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276129977476  starting price £150 though should go for serious money . You can replace the vinyl  sunroof yourself for about £150 and a lot depends on the condition of the metal headers as they tend to rust. Adding a headlining is about £30 for the material. To get somebody to do it professionally is close to £1,000 nowadays. I did my Vitesse together with a new headlining . If you want to DIY i can let you have some suppliers and Uncle Pete may still have some NOS headlining for sale 

 

Paul 

 

Edited October 30, 2023 by Paul H

[Straightsix]

Thanks for the reply Paul and photos I have the same wing nut style fastener as yours as opposed to the lever type shown in that eBay listing. Will need to check the size and will watch with interest.

l will save this thread for future reference, as I’m just looking for ideas at this stage. Looks like you made a good job there too, and doable.

Like most I have a to do list, and need to prioritise jobs. 👍

[Jon J 1250]

I have have just been through this myself on a 1965 Herald 12/50.

Headlining in original Triumph longhorn pattern from Newton Commercial was about £50, but I had somebody recover it for me as the front and rear plates of the sliding roof sections had rotted at either end an needed to be remade, as did the ends of the two sliding framework sections.

The plates need to be made on an English wheel as they have compound curves and the back one usually needs new threaded studs on the outer ends too.

You'll be looking at close to £1000 to pay a pro do all this.
The chap who did it for me said it was the earliest, most basic one heed ever done, but rather more fiddly than the later Weathershields Ltd roofs, by which time they had perfected the design and had a nicer headlining that covers the frame.
He offered me this option, but I chose to keep mine original.

Kind Regards

Jon

[Straightsix]

Wow Jon! Scary looking phots, l certainly hope I’m not going to experience that.

Note to self .....remember to leave those rose tinted glasses at home when thinking about buying classic cars!

[Jon J 1250]

16 hours ago, Straightsix said:

Wow Jon! Scary looking phots, l certainly hope I’m not going to experience that.

Note to self .....remember to leave those rose tinted glasses at home when thinking about buying classic cars!

Yes fingers crossed, you may be lucky, they were improving the design all the time so if yours is later than mine you may be in luck, plus yours might have had some work done in the past.

Mine had not been repaired before (aside from bit of wedgewood blue paint on the interior frame) and was surprisingly crusty for a 60k mile car that has always been garaged, but I guess at 60 years old, I shouldn't be too surprised, plus the original paint applied by Weathershields to the steel parts was laughably thin!.

Looks as good as new now though. ( I will get round to refitting it over the winter)

Regards
Jon

Edited November 1, 2023 by Jon J 1250

[Straightsix]

That looks top dollar 👍🏻 I’ve noticed both yours and Paul’s have the slats exposed where mine are presumably inside.

Mine being a ‘69 Vitesse. At the moment getting that sorted is low on the priority list.

[Pete Lewis]

the spars or not  depends if its webasto  or britax  or some one else

mine was a 1964 britax   similar slides  but hidden spars /listing rails 

Pete

[Jon J 1250]

1 hour ago, Pete Lewis said:

the spars or not  depends if its webasto  or britax  or some one else

mine was a 1964 britax   similar slides  but hidden spars /listing rails 

Pete

Hi Pete,

My roof is the factory original from my Herald 12/50, it is a Weathershields Ltd roof (I have the little paper label somewhere), clearly with exposed spars and the Triumph longhorn headlining..

Out of interest, do you happen to know if the Canley factory ever fitted anything different to the Herald/Vitesse on the production line?

I would hazard a guess that Britax and Webasto roofs would be DIY or dealer fitment, and factory orders for sunroofs would be like mine.

Jon

Edited November 1, 2023 by Jon J 1250

[Mark B]

I've got to look at the sunroof on my Mk2 Gt6. Not opened it in years for fear of not being able to close it or the vinyl tearing. Very stiff despite oil/grease on the runners, so must be the sliders worn. Car has lived outside in the 20 years I've owned it. It was only a couple of months ago I notice a new split, then realized it was being caused by the metal pieces rusting and festering away, expanding under the vinyl causing a tear. The more I looked the more bumps I could see and feel. I'll need to research if I can get new vinyl, last time I looked they weren't available, think they're an odd size on the Gt6,  wider than they are long. I should be able to fabricate new metal work. The inside roof lining, last time I looked was in good nick, but that may have changed by now.

 

Edited November 1, 2023 by Mark B

[Paul H]

1 minute ago, Mark B said:

I've got to look at the sunroof on my Mk2 Gt6. Not opened it in years for fear of not being able to close it or the vinyl tearing. Very stiff despite oil/grease on the runners, so must be the sliders worn. Car has lived outside in the 20 years I've owned it. It was only a couple of months ago I notice a new split, then realized it was being caused by the metal pieces rusting and festering away, expanding under the vinyl causing a tear. The more I looked the more bumps I could see and feel. I'll need to research if I can get new vinyl, last time I looked they weren't available, think they're an odd size on the Gt6,  wider than they are long. I should be able to fabricate new metal work. The inside roof lining, last time I looked was in good nick, but that may have changed by now.

You can still buy the vinyl about £40 using your old one as a template . I

Paul 

[Pete Lewis]

dont have the heritage cert. now (went when i sold her }

but im sure it was on the orig build spec  of 1964 and was a Britax as far as i remember from the makers plate in the header

i would think it would be quite normal for triumph to use multiple suppliers of the  day .

Pete

[Paul H]

On 30/10/2023 at 17:18, Paul H said:

There's a new one on Ebay NOS , https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276129977476  starting price £150 though should go for serious money . You can replace the vinyl  sunroof yourself for about £150 and a lot depends on the condition of the metal headers as they tend to rust. Adding a headlining is about £30 for the material. To get somebody to do it professionally is close to £1,000 nowadays. I did my Vitesse together with a new headlining . If you want to DIY i can let you have some suppliers and Uncle Pete may still have some NOS headlining for sale 

 

Paul 

 

The EBay sunroof sold for £920 . If the top vinyl was black instead of brown I believe the price would have topped £1,000

Paul 

[Mark B]

On 01/11/2023 at 17:21, Paul H said:

On 01/11/2023 at 17:18, Mark B said:

Expand  

You can still buy the vinyl about £40 using your old one as a template . I

Thanks for that. I would like to replicate the welded seams, but the machine to do that are pobably prohibitively expensive. I will definately make my own if that's the price they go for, gt6 versions iam sure would go for more. Only need to replace the outer vinyl. If a complete gt6 mk2 roof came up at a reasonable price I would be tempted to delete the sun roof altogether, lot easier to do on the Vitesse/ Herald.

[daverclasper]

I've often wondered why repro folding sunroofs aren't manufactured, I thought there must be a reasonable demand for conversions and replacements?.

Probably a good reason?  

[Paul H]

8 minutes ago, daverclasper said:

I've often wondered why repro folding sunroofs aren't manufactured, I thought there must be a reasonable demand for conversions and replacements?.

Probably a good reason?  

Probably volume plus a lots of hours to produce 

Paul 

[Jon J 1250]

On 05/11/2023 at 16:22, Mark B said:

Thanks for that. I would like to replicate the welded seams, but the machine to do that are pobably prohibitively expensive. I will definately make my own if that's the price they go for, gt6 versions iam sure would go for more. Only need to replace the outer vinyl. If a complete gt6 mk2 roof came up at a reasonable price I would be tempted to delete the sun roof altogether, lot easier to do on the Vitesse/ Herald.

Hi,

if yours is a Weathershields roof, I don’t think these have welded seams so far as I know everything is machine stitched.

Jon

[Paul H]

My understanding is that welded seams were used by all manufacturers, which are no longer available unless you can buy NOS which is very rare . All replacements have stitched seams 

Paul 

[Jon J 1250]

On 10/11/2023 at 19:48, Paul H said:

My understanding is that welded seams were used by all manufacturers, which are no longer available unless you can buy NOS which is very rare . All replacements have stitched seams 

Paul 

Hi, thanks you're probably right for some of the later roofs, I have no experience with them.

Just for clarity though for any future viewers of this conversation:
What I can say, because I took apart my original Herald 12/50 roof to save cost, is that there are no plastic welded seams on it, they are all stitched with heavy duty cotton/natural fibre thread, and the front and back edges are glued, and the inner frame covers on each edge are stapled on. (the thread was upgraded to nylon when making the new cover.

I am sure my roof has never previously been re-covered, as the car has never been restored, and i've owned it 30 years (I'm the 2nd owner)

Regards
Jon