We all waited so many years for the main Targa top side seals to become available again. After purchasing a new seal through Pelican Parts a few years ago i discovered today the the sides are coming apart and one side has split. My car has seen very limited exposure to outside and has been kept in an environmentally controlled garage. I guess it's time for the liquid rubber repair so it looks just like my 30 year old seal it replaced.

How are Mickey914's seal holding up, do you think they are they better than the factory ones, cant be worse and a hundred bucks less.

That sucks!

technically no, sucktion requires a good seal

It could just be that the stock from Peli was on the shelf somewhere for 30+ years & was as brittle as the ones on your 914. Mikey's parts are good rubber from what I've seen, but can't yet speak to longevity.

Whether Factory or Mikey repros - they should last in your case for 10-20 years or more - unless you use a supposed rubber treatment which dries them out instead (Armor All & silicone products are famous for that).

Maybe check with Peli & see if they can talk to Porsche for a replacement of a defective factory/OEM part, since they should want to stand by "Genuine Porsche" parts!

The rubber still looks and feels fresh on these but are separating where the rubber is melded or joined together, after some research i have found out that there were some quality problems with some of them, i may have ended up with one of the bad ones.

What you may be looking at is rubber shrinkage. It will do that over time. I have made mine longer than they needed to be to allow for some shrinkage. You will find that ozone will also accelerate rubber decomposition. I have also started pretreating the seals with 303 Aerospace protectant to try to slow the process.

You can repair the seal carefully and continue to use it as long as the rubber itself isn't cracking. That's what I'd do unless it's a show car.

Chappy, your seal should carry a 2 year warranty on it. Hopefully your within that time frame. How's your quest for the perfect boost setting progressing?

My new seal also started to separate on the driver's side...shrinkage. It started splittig on one corner within a few months. I repaired the split and it hasn't shrunk anymore in the last two years...still kinda pisses me off.

My car has been outside so little that that rubber seal should still be like new. I need to dig up my order and see when i purchased it, i think it was more than 2 years since they became available again.

Tod, I am waiting for my Kevlar clutch from Renegade, otherwise i am enjoying my car as is, even at the lower boost set at 11 it still slips a little mostly because i burned it pretty good a few weeks ago

They are guaranteed for two years so you can get a replacement.

Just curious why the original factory stuff tended to last a bit longer? German mojo?

I found my order from August 2008 and Pelican will replace it for me, Yahooo.........

I hope the new one is not the same batch as the old one.

i bought one 1 year ago from mikey914 and i am having the same thing. i think these cars are cursed to leak forever

car is a daily driver, and usually parked outside. have a look...

I had two AA repro seals pull apart on me, with in a month or so, that was some many years ago, now i try to find good used original ones. on cars that i dont remove the trag top often, I silicone the seal onm the top, just a fine bead fromt eh seal to the roof (use masking tape to keep it clean looking0 then a dab of silicone on teh top to front seal, and it is leak free for years. you may consider this for the raining season even if you drive top of the rest of the seasons. the silicone is so thin, it peels off when your ready to take off the top. this a a good rainy season preventative measure me thinks

I would like to see a seal made that has a groove in it the window can roll up into
to help prevent leaks. I can't seem to be able to adjust my windows so they
contact the seal tightly all the way across along the top.

John

Is this what you mean
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...0seal&st=75
Check out the picture on posting 83 (I'd post it here, but I'm on a work computer so I can't download it and post.
jsayre914,
contact me so I can help you out with this.

Mark,

That picture looks familiar, I think I have those seals and never installed them.

They look different than whats on my car now, I'll check if I have the new ones.

I usually buy whatever pieces you make because my original rubber was all
shot.

John

The OEM ones have the "fin" shown. Someone was making these without the fin. I have seen them on a few cars, the problem is the factory had it right, the fin prodides an outer barrier as well as the bulb on th back side. The two work together to get a better seal.

Mine did the same thing.. OEM Porsche... Car was kept in a garage, driven 500 mines, 6 months later started to split and separate completely!!!

Nice to talk with you, excellent service!!



I would highly reccomend all rubber for your car be purchased from this vendor. I have bought almost every seal. Thanks again Mikey

Joseph