Zitat:More News on C6 Painted Tops.

At the NCM Labor Day celebration in Bowling Green, Tom Hill stated that all the 2005 and 2006 painted tops are going to be replaced. The glue/foam is merely a band-aid.

The problem is that the top skin is polycarbonate and not the SMC fiberglass used on the fenders, hood, etc. Apparently it's coefficient of expansion under heat is much greater than expected. When the top gets hot (and this has been the hottest summer for a long time), the polycarbonate material expands. The magnesium frame does not -- and that breaks the glue bond.

Tom says you have three indications of problem:

1. The creaking, popping sound

2. A partial separation of the skin from the frame and resulting wind noise as the wind finds its way under the top skin and

3. the top skin blows off leaving you a frame and headliner.

The fix they came up with was to replace the top film with SMC material, the same as fenders, etc. This plastic has a much lower heat expansion property. They fixed this just as the 2007s were rolling off. The recall (when it comes) will affect all 2005-6 painted tops whether or not you've had the quick fix.

Two problems ensue:

1. The removable top supplier in Vermont has to ramp up to make 40,000 unexpected tops and

2. the weight of the top will go up by three pounds. They used the poly material in the first place to reduce weight. Unexpected consequences.

The dealer will receive an unpainted top for your car and will paint it locally with the same paint and process the Vermont factory uses. Should be OK. The tops aren't painted in Bowling Green anyhow so there's no new "paint match" issues introduced.

Zitat:1. Customer Satisfaction program 05112D address 2005 and some 2006 painted roofs. Some 2006 and 2007 Corvette may experience the same concern. Should a vehicle outside the original bulletin breakpoint or VINs come into the dealership that is experiencing the same complaint, they should be handled with same process as outline in bulletin 05112D

2. Dealerships should always inspect a complaint roof to determine if the roof has been previously foam filled. This can be determined by looking through one of the front or rear openings and checking for the presence of foam material. If there is no evidence of foam between the roof panel and roof frame the roof should be checked for the type of material the roof panel was manufactured with.

3. Verify the roof material.
A) Original roofs were manufactured from Polycarbonate ABS material. Polycarbonate roofs required the foam fill process. If the vehicle in question has a Polycarbonate roof it should have foam filling. Polycarbonate roofs can be identified by checking the bottom or the underside of the panel. If it is all black in color, including the area beneath the headliner it was manufactured from Polycarbonate material.

B) Roofs produced after August were manufactured with SMC material. SMC roofs can be identified by checking the bottom, or the underside of the panel. An SMC roof will have a black border however the area covered by the headliner will be a light white/gray color. SMC roof panels do not require foam filling

4. Use the procedure outlined in bulletin 05112D to determine if the complaint vehicle has signs of delamination or separation If there are no signs of delamination or separation, the dealership should add the foam fill and release the vehicle. A replacement roof is not required. The foam fill material will provide increased stiffness to the magnesium frame, reduce noise transfer and adhere the Polycarbonate panel to the magnesium frame.

5. If the Polycarbonate roof has evidence of delamination or separation, the roof should be replaced. SPO is only stocking and shipping roofs manufactured with SMC material. This is the only roof that should be used as a replacement. The SMC replacement roof does not require dealerships to add the foam fill process.

6. A safety recall will be announced very soon. The recall will use the same process as outlined in the bulletin 05112D.

7. If there are no indications of the roof delaminating there will be no need to replace the roof.