I've dented the side of my car - the left rear side panel and don't know if the convertible roof will still work. Don't want to try it in case it gets stuck open!

Can anyone advise on what is inside my car behind that panel? 

Big Thanks, Elizabeth Rose

Is it a cloth roof or  folding tin top? if the former its probably not a good idea to drop the roof in this cold weather anyway! (The handbook for my MX5 warns against this due to possible damage to the fabris, though I've often ignored this advice the roof is very stiff to fold the last couple of inches). In any case, I'd pop to a local garage and ask them to remove whatever bit of trim there is inside the car in that area and have a look for you, that way they can tell if the dent is deep enough to cause a problem, and if any part of the roof or mechanism in there is already damaged. Anything else is just guesswork I'm afraid.

Hi,

your judgement to not to operate the roof is good. The space behind the rear L&R panels house a roof assembly/mechanism  that (of course) needs to operate without obstruction.  The only way to be 100% confident is to get the damaged panel back to 'pre-damage' condition.

If the roof fails, specific allen key and procedures are needed to recover as per attached Youtube video.  Hope this is of some help.

 

 

On 12/8/2022 at 5:18 PM, RMurphy195 said:

Is it a cloth roof or  folding tin top? if the former its probably not a good idea to drop the roof in this cold weather anyway! (The handbook for my MX5 warns against this due to possible damage to the fabris, though I've often ignored this advice the roof is very stiff to fold the last couple of inches). In any case, I'd pop to a local garage and ask them to remove whatever bit of trim there is inside the car in that area and have a look for you, that way they can tell if the dent is deep enough to cause a problem, and if any part of the roof or mechanism in there is already damaged. Anything else is just guesswork I'm afraid.

How did you get on with this?

OPW I suspect 😧