Roof trim panel

[Hector2021]

The plastic trim panel on my roof is very broken. Whilst i dont believe it is obtainable as a replacement part, i also dont believe its unfixable. I have all the parts of now brittle plastic to put it all back together, but have concerns over the best method of repair. My plan was to epoxy resin the pieces together, create a rough finish to the rear face and then use a thin layer of fibreglass bond to add back some rigidity.
I'm not 100% sure that the plastic will lend itself to an epoxy repair though and wonder if anyone else had had to do anything similar and how they went about it?

[Tuga2112]

have you seen this kind of solution before ?

i never tried it. but i hahve a somewhat similar issue with my door card. curious to find out how you repair this.

[dapinky]

Hector,

You have succumbed to the (all-too-frequent) issue with the S2 roof panel - I don't know why, but an awful lot of S2 owners have had the same issue...."we" assume that it was a part which was re-ordered for the run of cars, and made either to a different design, or from a different material.

I have never had to mend one, and I know that many people have sourced an earlier one and I have never known an SE/NA/Fed owner to have a problem with one (cue:- numerous posts from early-car owners who have had a broken one )

I would do a combination of the methods above - a bit of plastic stitching (or just use a soldering iron to melt the back of the panel pieces), or even just a dab of superglue. The idea being to hold it together well enough and long enough to allow a layer of matting and resin to bond to it.... I suppose you could even use thing metal plates and pop-rivets, but that would need some cosmetic work to the visible inner side.

In my case, I wouldn't be too worried about its looks, as I keep the car in a garage, and only put the roof up if driving and it tips down during the drive - but if you keep it outside, and/or use it in all weather conditions, then it will get far more use.

[HJ2]

Superglue + activator and then after that a mat + thin Epoxy would be my approach as well.
Soak it good and let it cure @ elevated temperature for good end hardness & proper bonding.
After that some tlc to the front Filler & sanding and a quick respray with epoxy (2k) paint (in a can)

[exeterjeep]

On my S2, the plastic handle/ recess was knackered plus the screw holes had enlarged, used glass fibre and filler etc. Mine was not as broken as yours though, it also rattled at each end against something above, so also added some foam blocks to quiet it down.
But did buy the GRP one that SJ make in house, but not used that one yet..

[Jon]

My handle was very brittle and regularly had bits breaking off (which I dutifully glued back on) - it just got worse and worse.

In the end, I bought the SJ replacement (must have been at least a decade ago) and have no regrets - it looks much tidier and seems to be very robust! All in all money well spent - tread t yourself (and/or the car)!

I had the same problem with the post cap flaps and replaced those too around the same time - though I think they were supplied out of the Middle East...

[Hector2021]

My handle was very brittle and regularly had bits breaking off (which I dutifully glued back on) - it just got worse and worse.

In the end, I bought the SJ replacement (must have been at least a decade ago) and have no regrets - it looks much tidier and seems to be very robust! All in all money well spent - tread t yourself (and/or the car)!

I had the same problem with the post cap flaps and replaced those too around the same time - though I think they were supplied out of the Middle East...

I hadnt even realised they were attainable from anywhere as a new item. I considered contacting some breakers but had the expectation of a ridiculous price for a potentially untidy looking piece of 30 year old trim.
I have just looked it up on SJ Sportscars and see that it is still available - But its £161 including postage! Definitely a plan B, but i'll spend a few hours trying a repair on the existing one first. If it fails at least i've tried, and then i'll go for new.
Repairs are all part of the fun

[HJ2]

Good for us that we owe a 'funny' car then

[exeterjeep]

The SJ one comes without the holes actually created, the hood release handle ones are marked, but the 3 in the centre handle area are not marked, so need your old one to use as a template.
Having repaired my old one, I did not get the middle hole quite in the right place so only use 2 of the 3 fixings.
Did buy some new bolts off ebay to replace the rusty topped ones on the car.

[Jon]

The SJ one comes without the holes actually created, the hood release handle ones are marked, but the 3 in the centre handle area are not marked, so need your old one to use as a template.
Having repaired my old one, I did not get the middle hole quite in the right place so only use 2 of the 3 fixings.
Did buy some new bolts off ebay to replace the rusty topped ones on the car.

Yes, now you mention this, I recall having to drill the holes. Honestly wasn't an issue really.

OP mentions the SJ part is £161 Inc postage. I'd have actually thought I paid significantly more - still good value either way. 10+ years on it still looks brand new (better than the original ever did (and I've had the car since it was 5 years old).

[Jon]

Just to add some actual facts to the conversation, I actually ordered the SJ Sports Car Hood Header Rail and Grab Handle in May 2014 (so just 15 months under the decade I thought...it really does feel a lot longer!)

At the time it was £85+delivery+VAT (so about £120) - honestly I'd have figured more and in retrospect seems like a total bargain! (Bank of England indicates that's £146 today based on annual 2.5% inflation - which I think we can all agree is unrealistically light)

Based on my emails with SJ at the time, they remade this part themselves in fibre glass rather than the plastic molding used by Lotus. Certainly it seems to be far stronger than the original part and actually darker black than the Lotus molding which was grey.

Ps. Just seen your photo - that looks much worse than anything which happened to mine (albeit yours does not seem to have faded like my original had).

[Tuga2112]

Based on my emails with SJ at the time, they remade this part themselves in fibre glass rather than the plastic molding used by Lotus.

no wonder you are pleased with the purchase. a fibreglass one would be a lot more sturdy than the original.

[exeterjeep]

When I was there at some time last year I actually spoke to the guy who does the fibreglass stuff.
It does feel quite well made - inside you can obviously see the fibres etc, but the visible surface is fine.

[Saltire]

Just to add some actual facts to the conversation, I actually ordered the SJ Sports Car Hood Header Rail and Grab Handle in May 2014 (so just 15 months under the decade I thought...it really does feel a lot longer!)

At the time it was £85+delivery+VAT (so about £120) - honestly I'd have figured more and in retrospect seems like a total bargain! (Bank of England indicates that's £146 today based on annual 2.5% inflation - which I think we can all agree is unrealistically light)

Based on my emails with SJ at the time, they remade this part themselves in fibre glass rather than the plastic molding used by Lotus. Certainly it seems to be far stronger than the original part and actually darker black than the Lotus molding which was grey.

Ps. Just seen your photo - that looks much worse than anything which happened to mine (albeit yours does not seem to have faded like my original had).

I have one too, and have been very pleased with it

[Hector2021]

I thought i would just post a follow up to the repair i attempted on the trim panel. First off i can confirm that the one i have appears to be made out of bone china. There is zero flex in the plastic now and i broke another section just picking it up at one end without supporting the weight of it towards the middle. It seems that any 'plasticity' it may once have possessed is all but gone now. Regardless however, i pressed on and added another repair to my itinerary.
Another thing to note is that the middle section that looks to be the actual grab handle part of the panel is a different kind of plastic and is glued into the main moulding. This has a certain amount of polystyrene quality and responds quite well to the cement used for plastic drain pipe connections. It is however paper thin and is probably the first part of the panel to fail due to its use as a closing handle. There were a couple of broken pieces here that i also needed to fix back into position before filling.
For the first stage of the repair i used an epoxy resin to glue and hold all of the main broken pieces together.
Once set i then used a soldering iron to heat up some fine metal mesh and pressed it across the breaks to further reinforce the repair. The warning here is that when melted the plastic stinks like nothing else. I only had an open window for ventilation but ive probably taken off a few months of my life with the fumes i must have inhaled.
I then roughed up the rear surface and added a layer of glass fibre and resin over the broken areas to act as a further solid backing. The finished repair is the opposite end of the spectrum to a pretty job, but this side of the panel will never be seen so i wasnt worried at how shabby it looked.

IMG_20230207_203124.jpg

I then added a layer over the curved surface of the middle handle moulding to give that some extra strength when being used as intended to pull the roof down onto the windscreen header rail. The smaller broken pieces in the handle were then filled with a bit of good old 'Davids Isopon' body filler (not used that in a loong time) and sanded down once set nice and hard.

IMG_20230208_203546.jpg

I'd got this far without any further casualties to the panel so i figured i was on the home straight now with only the respray left to do. I didnt have any grey paint in close to the correct shade so i went for a layer of primer followed by a couple of layers of satin black. Although its not the factory colour, i thought it went quite well with the latch handles and other parts of the interior.

IMG_20230218_140705.jpg

A couple of things noteworthy. As i'm sure your well aware, Glassfibre and resin makes an almighty smell and really needs to be done outside of the home environment and not in the utility adjoining the domestic living room (even with an open velux). Luckily i have pretty ok other half and she didnt offer much more than a headshake and a yellow card.
The other thing is that since one of my glass fibre mats had to go over the three fixing holes in the point where the trim screws to the roof it needed to be as thin as possible. The first fitting showed that it acted as a spacer and screwing the roof latch down ended up with the hooks not being able to pull down on the roof receiver with sufficient tension. I had to remove the whole panel, file down some of the resin thickness and try again (twice).
Upshot is though that its done now. Not a professional finish, but it doesent get a lot of viewing being where it is so i figured it worth the effort in trying.
How long it will last is the unknown unknown, but at least i had a go. If it does fail then i'll have a dig down the back of the settee and buy a new one from SJ.