LHD 2005 F430

[GimmeShelter]

When we were setting off into Europe on the Alpine tour, just departing the Eurotunnel at Coquelles, the headining decided to detach itself and fall onto us:

It's a leather rectangular-ish panel with this grey foam above it, which was once glued to the soundproofing attached to the roof.  But the foam deteriorates and starts to disintegrate, such that seemingly at about 17 years of age, the glue no longer holds it up and suddenly it falls ... along with several thousand little grainy crumbs of grey foam.

Well, there was no repairing it at this stage, so it spent the rest of the Alpine tour folded in half, in the front boot, and I've ordered some replacement interior foam and interior bond glue.  Watch this space!

[GimmeShelter]

Finally (I think!) on the penultimate day of our tour, the car seemed to pick up a slow puncture in the rear right-hand tyre.  I'd fitted new P Zeros just prior to going away, partly to reduce the risk of punctures (and partly because they really suit the car - very rewarding to drive on), but now one was losing about 5 psi every 80 miles or so.  Hence we were stopping about every 80 miles to plug the tyre compressor in (a Draper item - they work well), including on the Eurotunnel:

The strange thing is, that having taken it to my local tyre dealer on returning home, there was no sign of a puncture or of any foreign object inside the tyre.  So the guys refitted the tyre, putting sealant on the rim, and fitted a new valve.  So far, it's lost no air.  Has anyone else had this happen?

Edited July 9, 2022 by GimmeShelter

[Beaky]

Only once, for some reason, pothole maybe, the tyre had lost its ability to seal against the rim.

So the local garage took the tyre off, inside of the rim finely sanded just to take out any impurities, etc. new sealant and all was well again! 

[GimmeShelter]

Well, that figures, as the Belgian motorways are now in a very poor state of repair, with potholes and patchwork tarmac.

Edited July 9, 2022 by GimmeShelter

[mean in green]

They’ve been that bad for years, easily the worst in western Europe.

[Ian Comerford]

32 minutes ago, mean in green said:

They’ve been that bad for years, easily the worst in western Europe.

I was about to say the same

[Beaky]

Not picking on the Belgium's, but the only two times our Europe road trips have ever encounter road rage was on the Brussels ring road!  

Edited July 12, 2022 by Beaky

[sopor]

Must be able to blame the EU for that, somehow!?

[ALEX P]

Just caught up with this thread - Those Italians have really got on top of those build quality niggles haven't they 

Lovely car though & great to see you getting stuck into it!

[GimmeShelter]

So, to address the 'falling headlining' issue, I purchased some 10mm scrim (a new term to me) foam and cut it to shape:

Then using Livedale Trimbond spray adhesive, I glued it to the leather panel and offered it up in a trial fitting:

 

For some reason, that last photo keeps rotating upside down, no matter what I try to do to correct it.  The car wasn't really on its roof.

Edited July 25, 2022 by GimmeShelter

[GimmeShelter]

Then, being a bear of little brain, after getting more glue on me than the workpiece, I realised the right answer was to peel it back a bit at a time and spray just a section and press it back into place:

Then push the edges into place, using a round-ended trim tool:

And amazingly, the finished result looks remarkably professional, so I'm pleased.  Hopefully it'll last another 17 years before it falls on me again ...

Edited July 25, 2022 by GimmeShelter

[jellyfishfields]

I must've missed this thread before, what a beautiful car 👍

[GimmeShelter]

8 hours ago, jellyfishfields said:

I must've missed this thread before, what a beautiful car 👍

Thank you!