It's an Art: How the Dolly Nissan Figaro Got a New Roof

Water, water everywhere; mould and wetness fill the air

Our first port of call for the wet and mould was an online search for ‘Why are my Nissan Figaro’s carpets wet?’ followed by ‘How do the leather seats in a Nissan Figaro get stained?’.  Both led to the same possible problem. 

Yes, Dolly most definitely had a leak.  Now Nissan Figaros have drains, not like the gutters and drains outside your house but something along the same lines.  Water collects around the retractable roof in little gutters and travels to small drain holes, before it exits the car.  An excellent invention you’d think but when the little cars were designed, no one considered the North Wales weather. 

Not my photo but this shows the route for the front two drains and there are two at the back of the roof too that go along the back of the car. 

We decided to wait until there was a dry day to investigate Dolly’s gutters.  We waited and waited and waited...

Meanwhile, the new roof vinyl and back window surround arrived and took up a lot of space in the dining room.  It made for an excellent trip hazard and a sense of paranoia that one of the dogs would take to investigating the packages, using them as a very expensive chew toy.  

Whilst waiting for the rain to stop, there were forays into ‘How to change the roof vinyl on a Figaro’ and ‘Fitting a new rear window surround’ videos on Youtube.  I watched them all and then forwarded them to the wonderfully tolerant man I married.  He watched them all too with a frown on his face.  I think he knew what was coming.

*Huge thank you to Kevin of The Figaro Owners Club here for his video in particular.

The sun has nearly got his hat on

Eventually, a dry day arrived but we weren’t going to count our chickens that it was going to stay that way so commandeered Mother’s carport in a little village a few miles away. 

‘Why don’t we do the roof as well’ I said.  Now let’s be honest here, I had no intention of doing the roof and it was the royal ‘we’. 

We got to mum’s and down came Dolly's roof.  We very carefully pushed a wire down each of the drains until we could see it at the other end.  Three drains were clear and out popped black splodge from the drain at the front passenger side, to make that one clear too.  It made absolute sense as it was the passenger seat that was stained and also where the carpet was at its wettest.

We carefully poured water using the best mini watering can Mother could find, along the gutters and the water disappeared.  Result!

The roof was closed and the water was poured again.  And dripped onto the passenger seat.  I pressed my nose up against the window and cried ‘What now?’.  The Mister rolled his eyes.

The roof is repaired, the window surround replaced.

This could actually be a very short section.  Tada! It was done.

However, I know it took longer than that, it actually took blood, sweat and I’d already done the tears - most of a Sunday.  Mother brought the cups of coffee, whilst I supervised mostly from the back garden.  Now I know he bought the car but he truly hadn’t expected to be doing big jobs on it himself and the roof was a big job. I absolutely admire him having a go and it turned out brilliantly.  He followed the instructions and the window was done.  The lower part of the rear window frame in the Nissan Figaro is prone to rust and now it is fibreglass and will outlast me.

I was initially excited for the eye lashes but apparently it was the corners of the roof vinyl to be folded over and glued.

The roof was a little more difficult to do as there was stretching to do. 

No, not the husband limbering up but stretching of the vinyl over the roof frame whilst making sure all the wires remained in the right place to fold the roof down. 

We were lucky that the inside frame of the roof was in reasonable condition. 

The interior of the roof remains the same but needed a big clean as did the interior rear window frame.  Out came the Bar Keepers friend and the magic sponges.  Not perfect but perfect would be a boring new car and that’s not what this is all about. 

Around the inside of the car when the roof is down is a trim which apparently used to be a bit furry when the cars were first made.  Good furry, not mouldy furry.  It’s no longer furry but that’s ok.  It is what it is.

Sorting out the niggles

So rear window frame done and roof vinyl done.  Big cheers for the clever and resourceful husband.  The roof, however, refused to catch so we couldn’t close it and the upper boot wouldn’t close either as it was catching on the bottom of the back window.  It took a few adjustments, trial and error, remembering that neither of us are professionals or experienced in any sort of car restoration and eventually everything worked fine.  Is it perfect?  No.  It is perfect for us and it is usable and mother pouring yet more water over the roof in a fit of helpfulness proved that it was indeed no longer leaking onto the passenger seat and carpet.

The back window has an old tax disc type thing from when the car was in Japan.  I triumphantly stuck it back on with my witchy tax disc holder and called the job finished.  And it didn’t rain!  We have twelve chickens by the way.

Maintenance Tips for Your Figaro’s New Roof

*Use a soft cloth or brush to clean away debris.

*Use a dampened cloth to clean away more stubborn areas - like the odd bird gift.

*Use a mild car shampoo and water to gently clean the roof vinyl - nothing abrasive or drying.

*Dry the roof vinyl with a soft cloth, trying not to leave any wet areas.

*Use a UV protectant for vinyl, or a sealant designed for the job to prevent the roof drying out and cracking.

*You can use a cover. I found one on eBay that looks like an old lady's rain hat to protect her shampoo and set. This doesn't cover the lower paintwork.

There are many arguments for and against covers. Window slightly open, remove the cover periodically and preferably use a garage instead, is what I've gathered from my own research.

Where next with Dolly?

#carrestoration #vinylroofreplacement #vintagecar #classiccar #nissanfigaro #figarocars #ilovemyfigaro