another roof post!

[ambivert]

Devon side-hinged pop top.
One of the 3 hinges (the back one) has broken away from the bodywork, it looks like the weld has cracked.
The roof still seems secure though, although at speed the wind seems to get under it and the catches start rattling like mad, and in fact the internal catch has gone all limp, as the roof must have moved over slightly.

Is it saveable? Can it be rewelded without removing the roof?
Or do you need a photo to answer that?

Oh yeah, and is it driveable? By that I mean:

a) Will it now be putting such great stress on the remaining 2 hinges, that they might fail perhaps spectacularly and without warning whilst I'm on the motorway and suddenly it flies open and turns into a giant uncontrollable air brake / rudder?

b) Is it still roadworthy & legal?

[samk]

Hi,

i dont have particular experience of the devon roofs but once my pop top became weak and stressed it had a knock on effect on other areas and I had t fix it pretty quickly to avoid catastrophe! as my post says, my roof is fixed for now but its a botch fix. my woes are mainly caused by previous leaks that were not addressed by the previous owner hopefully you'll be ok and manage to save the roof. If i was you i'd be worres about how safe it is to travel at speed while it's insecure, also if it vibrates you'll be causing more damage. perhaps you can strap it down in the short term with ratchet straps?

[Ian Hulley]

http://www.timbertechnicians.co.uk/9301/13301.html