No wonder the previous owner didn't drive in the rain. After searching the forums --- seems I need to keep a set of colour matched towels in the car if I decide to take it out in the rain again. Anyone replace the seals on their targa top and have any luck keeping out the water? Sorry gotta ask... David
I have not replaced my seals but I have not had any leaks in the rain or when washing. The only time I get a trickle of water down the inside of the window is when I spray the door near the seal directly on it. I don't know if I am lucky or this is normal. I have heard of others having issues with leaking tops.
Not out of the ordinary. Of course, I don't think ANY T-tops or targas of this vintage are particularly great at keeping water out. Heck, my Trans-Am was band new when I got it and it leaked from day one. All of my seals look and feel great, so I'm not sure switching them out would have much effect, but maybe I'm wrong. I just don't drive it in the rain
David, You just need to adjust the latches on your top. You probably have too much shimming. It's really easy to tighten the fit of the top. Just loosen the four allen screws on the latches, then remove the desired amount of shims to get the top to latch more firmly. Give that a whirl.
Ernie, I'll give that a try. However, the darn thing is pretty tight at this point -- to the point of semi-deforming the rubber up near the front windshield. Which I thought might be the location of the leak --- running under that section. However, it seems to be leaking back a little farther than that... I'll take some pics of it tonight and indicate the location of the leak. I normally wouldn't take her out in the rain on purpose but I wanted to get the inspection done and figured if I take her away for a weekend, she's liable to get in the rain anyhow. While it wasn't a downpour, I'd like to get it limited and have a mere drip. David
I drove from Raleigh, NC to Arlington VA, 4hours, in a raging downpour (had no choice)...no leaks. When I got the car I noticed that part of the front seal on the top was "folded over". I check it and move it to its correct position each time I put the top back on. It's close to being "trained" to seat properly. Terry
Mine used to leak like an old wooden sailing ship in the rain. New seals somewhat solved the problem.... but still, driving in the rain was so unpleasant, it wasn't worth it anyway.
My 348 leaks quite bad I'm afraid - don't really use it in the rain and when I wash it I'm careful not to spray the area with a hose and also put cloths down on the seat bolsters before starting. All seems to be down to a poor fitting seal at the leading edge - its almost as if its been assembled wrong :-( Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Wow, mine aren't that bad. Stock was a black top right? Maybe when the painted it they altered the seals. But you are right something looks amiss. mine has p-zero shoes on her, so the leak coupled with piss-poor wet traction, I'll only drive her if I'm away for a weekend and get caught in the rain. David
I haven't risked it yet but I'll start keeping a towel with me just in case something arises. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I'll take some better pics today and post them up - as mentioned top used to be black but was painted red (grrrr!) and Ive always suspected seals were no put back right as front of lid doesnt sit rigt either - would love to get it sorted! Id put the car outside to get a pic but its raining like a goodun!!! LOL :-(
I nice strong thunder storm would put a 1/4 inch of water in a targa top 348 with 19k miles on it I had one. Adjusting helps, but if it leaks, it will continue no matter what I suspect. 355 spider doesn't leak even when in the driving rain.
Here's the pics As you can it doesnt sit so well leading to a gap and leak. My lid has been repainted from the original black to red so I dont know whether it was disassmbled then reassembled wrong maybe? Anyone got any pics the same as mine but one tat doent leak so I can see what it should look like? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi Jeff. Looks to me like your roof isn't being pulled down properly by the clamps as the seals aren't aligned, ie the ones on the car aren't in line with the ones on the roof. Mine's not perfect but it's a lot closer. Had to adjust the clamps in order to get it closer. Mine's a colour coded roof so will try to get a snap later today.
I think its actually the rubberry bit that sticks out too far back and for some curious reason cant be forced forward any further???!!! I've taken a pic of the faulty side and used photoshop to mirror it round so it can be easily compared with the good side - notice how it sticks too far back - it just ends up getting trapped and stops the lid going all the way down. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Got to confess, even the good side doesn't quite look clamped down. Mine doesn't have the extra rubbery bits, guess they're missing. Get the odd drip in but not too much. Will get a pic to you in a bit, got to get her out of the carcoon first. Will get back to you. Btw, had to add a couple of washers to the camping mechanism on one side on mine to get the roof fully clamped, guess they just give a bit with age.
just to clarify the lid in the pics is not clamped down - its just resting on top - if you clamp it down its not so clear what the difference is as it all gets squashed - its just to illustrate one side is different from other.