Ped
Club Member
I had been looking for a spare wheel cover in blue for the Zed, but nothing was coming up. I did spot this one, but though it was a bit too far gone. The zipped had disintegrated, the cover hinge was ripped and it was all a bit crispy. Looks like one edge had been in a puddle for some time and there were some plant roots in behind the lining.
Niro kindly picked this one up when he was looking at other parts for his 280zx and donated it (cheers!). I needed some extra vinyl to repair the cover ‘hinge’ and to patch the underside of the top where it had gone crispy and was starting to break up. Sean managed to get hold of a targa top bag in the correct colour, so a big thanks to him too.
I found a really good match for the zip on eBay, you just cut it to length, and got some needles and thread. Ended up using some thick thread for sewing leather.
I had some Auto Glym Vinyl and Rubber restorer so gave it a wash and spray. I soaked the crispy top cover by sandwiching it between some plastic sheets. It came up surprisingly well. the vinyl did get a bit softer too, but that may have been down to the hot weather back at the time.
I patched up the top and hand sewed in the new zip… which took a while.
So it ended up looking OK. The only minor problem is that it does not fit. I reckon it has just shrunk too much over time. I thought I could deflate the tire a bit and blow it back up, but there is just no way. I even took out the foam lining, but it is still about 2” off - see image below.
Anyway, I had suspected this early on and had trial fitted it. When I realised it was probably not going to fit, I put it aside for a few months.
However since I had all the bits and some spare time I thought I would give it a go.
I may look into getting a new one made up by a timmer (at the right size) when lockdown is finally over, using this one as a pattern.
Niro kindly picked this one up when he was looking at other parts for his 280zx and donated it (cheers!). I needed some extra vinyl to repair the cover ‘hinge’ and to patch the underside of the top where it had gone crispy and was starting to break up. Sean managed to get hold of a targa top bag in the correct colour, so a big thanks to him too.
I found a really good match for the zip on eBay, you just cut it to length, and got some needles and thread. Ended up using some thick thread for sewing leather.
I had some Auto Glym Vinyl and Rubber restorer so gave it a wash and spray. I soaked the crispy top cover by sandwiching it between some plastic sheets. It came up surprisingly well. the vinyl did get a bit softer too, but that may have been down to the hot weather back at the time.
I patched up the top and hand sewed in the new zip… which took a while.
So it ended up looking OK. The only minor problem is that it does not fit. I reckon it has just shrunk too much over time. I thought I could deflate the tire a bit and blow it back up, but there is just no way. I even took out the foam lining, but it is still about 2” off - see image below.
Anyway, I had suspected this early on and had trial fitted it. When I realised it was probably not going to fit, I put it aside for a few months.
However since I had all the bits and some spare time I thought I would give it a go.
I may look into getting a new one made up by a timmer (at the right size) when lockdown is finally over, using this one as a pattern.
