Deft Needlework

It had always been very tatty, but I thought I’d leave it be until it was too bad to go on. It needed tidying up every time it was closed, and was a bit of a pain. Then on the way to meet on the ledge with Richard at Cwmorthin in the summer, the Webasto sunroof let go on the M4 and started flapping about annoyingly. The vinyl tore and at certain speeds made a very loud noise which was a tad irritating. It was much better when closed, as the loose torn parts could be tucked in, however, I very rarely have the roof closed. Eventually while touring in the Lake District, the braided tensioning wires tore through the stitching down each side of the roof, and flapped around with the loose vinyl, wrecking the still-soft paint on the C posts as they bashed against it.

Enough was enough, and I set to making a new roof. A length of correct fabric-backed vinyl of the correct type, thickness and pattern was bought from Woolies trim, along with some high strength adhesive and a curved upholstery needle. I sourced some rot-proofed black sailmaking thread, and set to making the roof for a few days over Christmas when I was drinking and not using the car.

The old roof was disassembled, and the headlining repaired. The locking mechanism was also repaired and overhauled, then the vinyl was removed from the frame, and stretched out to form a template. The pictures show the rest.

Nailing it around the Lake District, sadly quite often with the roof closed and needing constat tweaking and tucking in. At every photo stop. Bahh, that's not impressive.

First step- a big piece of cloth-backed vinyl. The outline and features of the old roof was chalked on, and with a lot of courage the new roof was cut out with dressmaking scissors.

The rear rail positioned correctly, new tensioning wires routed down each side. This showed where the vinyl had to be sewn together to make a length of piping to hold the tensioning wire. I used PVC-coated electrical cable, instead of the wire rope used originally, this had a habit of cutting through the stitching allowing the roof to fall apart. The front and rear frames were cleaned up, and the sharp edges at the front were sheathed in the outer insulation of mains electrical cable. This gave a softer, rounded edge to wrap the fabric around, so it would be less likely to wear through.

Scary 2" curved needle, and a cunning stitching technique learnt from me mother (thanks mum)

At the front, the front rail is put in place and the tensioning wires looped through the U-bends. It can just be seen that the sunroof fabric has had an exra layer glue to the underside in all the places there is a lot of load on it. Where it is folded over the edges of the frame, the double-thickness should make it stronger, less prone to wearing through and tearing.

The vinyl is then glued onto the front and rear rails, and pegged in place with lots of pegs. LOTS of pegs! At each corner, the vinyl was folded over itself several times to produce a smooth curve around the frame, hopefully this will be less prone to falling apart than cutting slits in it to allow it to be curved.

The finished roof, with the frame and repaired headlining in place. Will it fit though?

Oh yes! It works, smooth as you like. And fits a treat, and looks like the original did when new.

And it shuts, locks and seals perfectly. Note the stitched piping should be flush with the roof to give a seal, but it is slightly higher at the moment. In about a year, the vinyl will have reached its full stretch, and the tensioning wires can be tucked under the transverse frames, rather than alongside them, giving the correct chape to the finished roof. Better too tight for a while, than have the vinyl stretch and give a loose-fitting roof.