The Clamshell Bent Today.

[Dave80GTSi]

While trying to lower the top earlier this week, as I've done a hundred times before with no drama, apparently the right side's motor mechanism failed in some manner.

But the left side kept trying to raise the clamshell, with the end result shown below:

[Dave80GTSi]

OK, an update.

The drive mechanism has been repaired, and the top / clamshell now go up and down as they should. (Side note: Failure was due to a broken cable end which disabled the drive on the passenger side).

Now my attention shifts to getting both ends of the clamshell to sit flush to the rest of the car.

Reference photo:



Driver's side:



Compared to the passenger's side, which is pretty close:



In addition, the front "point" of the clamshell is also off on the driver's side. Here's the correct-looking passenger side:



While the driver's side looks to be shifted:



The situation now is that, looking at the underside of the clamshell and the linkage between the motors and the bracketry, I see no indication of adjustment capability. Certainly there must be some means to fine-tweak the fit of the clamshell, but I see nothing.

Any hints? (A Search of this Forum for this info came up empty - can I be the first person to have ever encountered this?)

Thanks - DM

[997_986]

Minute 10:30 onward they give you some hints:
https://youtu.be/vfqFzFs3bmU

[Smallblock454]

This is indeed a very good video.

[blue62]

If there is a permanent twist in the clamshell
the arms that raise it or the mounting points to the body.
You will probably never adjust the twist out.
I would take everything apart and make sure there is no twist present in any of the parts.
Once your sure there are no twists in anything then you have a good baseline to start with.

[Dave80GTSi]

Update, with thanks for the earlier posts and recommendations (and yes, the video in Post no. 3 was very helpful!):

While removing the clamshell, confirming that yes, indeed, it has a twist in it, I found this item in the driver's side clamshell mechanism. Part number shown. There wasn't a similar one of these on the passenger's side.

Anyone recognize it and know what it (they?) is supposed to do?






Grateful for any clues!

[Starter986]

https://************************************************** **********************************.com/products/porsche-top-frame-distance-piece-boxster-97-04-986-561-657-00?srsltid=AfmBOoq6mm4B9YRvRtipSfI2J0CnBZoUfhCo2zp Frxp6QkEuEVsltLjg

Google revealed it in .0087656 seconds.


***** = sierra madre collection (with no spaces).

I just revealed the first Google result. Personally I purchase my parts from Pelican, but the Sierra site describes what the part is for.

Pelican... if you can hide the name of your competitors, surely you can provide a description for your parts. Up your game.

[jbar1]

I found the same part on Auto Atlanta's website with a diagram showing where the part goes. I agree with Starter986 totally.

John

[Dave80GTSi]

Originally Posted by Starter986

Google revealed it in .0087656 seconds.

Thanks, guys, for the reply. And I can now see what happened.

Before I posted the pictures, I too did a web search on the part number via my (non-Google) search engine. The difference was that I broke the 9 digit part number into 3 groups of 3 digits, separated by the pair of periods, exactly as shown on the part and on the paper as you can see. This search came back empty. But then, based on your reply, I went back and repeated the search using this same search engine, now as a single 9 digit number w/o periods. And yup, lots of hits! So, Lesson Learned, with my thanks to you all for the insight.

In any case, the various parts diagrams which are contained on some of these pages clearly show a pair of these parts are to be used. But in my case, there wasn't one on my passenger's side - thus my question.

The shape of the parts makes me think that they might be intended to be inserted as a bushing/spacer after the fact on an as-needed basis? If not, why not just make it in a conventional simple round washer configuration?

I'll be ordering a pair today, and I will install them as the final step, when and if I end up seeing a gap which they need to fill.

Again, thanks - DM

[elav]

If memory serves, it is a cam that you rotate to hold the foam tray liner down and out of the way of the transmission arms.

[Dave80GTSi]

Originally Posted by elav

If memory serves, it is a cam that you rotate to hold the foam tray liner down and out of the way of the transmission arms.

Ahhh - That makes sense!

[blue62]

You should be able to get the twist out (or most of it) by twisting it back the other way.
Heat the clamshell with a heat gun before you twist it back.
Heat it slowly get it good and warm so you can feel it with the palm of your hand.
This will encourage the metal to go back to its proper shape and will also greatly reduce any chances of paint cracking.

[Dave80GTSi]

Originally Posted by blue62

You should be able to get the twist out (or most of it) by twisting it back the other way.
Heat the clamshell with a heat gun before you twist it back.
Heat it slowly get it good and warm so you can feel it with the palm of your hand.
This will encourage the metal to go back to its proper shape and will also greatly reduce any chances of paint cracking.

That's an EXCELLENT idea - Thanks!

[blue62]

Originally Posted by Dave80GTSi

That's an EXCELLENT idea - Thanks!

No problem
When you twist it back twist it a little then let it come back then twist it again but a little more.
Then let it come back again keep twisting and letting it relax but twist a little farther each time.
You should eventually get to the point that you think you have twisted it to far.
But metal has memory and spring back so doing it this way along with heat you should be able to get it very close to what it was before it got twisted.

Let us know how it works out.

[Dave80GTSi]

Originally Posted by blue62

Let us know how it works out.

For sure, will do. But it'll likely be a while since the car is now off the road for the winter.

So I have a couple of months ahead of me to leisurely sort it all out.

Cheers - DM

[Dave80GTSi]

Update: Project is basically complete, aside from a few minor finishing details.

To straighten a bent clamshell, rig up a way to fully support the clamshell except for the bent side. Heat the clamshell with a heat gun until it is uncomfortably warm to the touch, and then place weights on the cantilevered bent edge so to push it back down into place. In my case I used plastic totes of old car magazines since they could be stacked securely one on top of the other.



Patience is the key here, as you need to repeat this process many times, slowly increasing the weight (i.e., adding just a few more magazines each time) and carefully measuring the results after an overnight's settling and cooling. Eventually after around 15 or so iterations (I did not bother to carefully count) over 6 weeks or so I got the two edges to match again, down to a height comparison difference of roughly 1 mm, one side compared to the other.

At this point, you are basically done and ready for reassembly. Four pictures taken this morning:













The clamshell gap edges and elevations when the top is both raised and lowered are still not 100% perfect when compared to the adjacent top edges of the fenders and the forward edge of the rear trunk. But to be honest, they likely were not perfect before the accident in the first place, and I never was bothered then. In any case, I can live with it.

All that remains to be done is to clean the top, polish/wax/seal the surrounding paint in the area (pictures show the dirt and smudges), and then address a couple of minor new cosmetic 'ripples' in the clamshell's sheet metal. I now have a paintless dent kit on order and I will see how that final work goes. Worst case, I can always visit one of those paintless dent job shops and turn them loose.

---------------

Moral to my story: This drama all stemmed from a twisting shear failure of the right-side square cable between the central top motor and the right-side top transmission.

Are the cables on your car original, such that the old internal grease has long since worn away? If so, yours is an accident just waiting to occur without warning, just like mine. Do yourself a favor and order a pair of new cables and replace your old ones as a preventive maintenance measure. It's fairly easy work, and the couple of hundreds of dollars spent on new cables could save you thousands of dollars (and yes, that's literal) in failure repair!

DM

[husker boxster]

Nice job.

As Blue62 mentioned, metal has a memory. Kudos for taking your time. Patience is very important. Most people would've tried 3 times, gotten fed up and cranked hard on it.

I learned about metal memory and patience from my dad when we rebuilt wrecked cars in the 70s and 80s. Learned a lot from him. He was great with a hammer and dolly.