Replacement sun visors and complete fitting kits are available in both right-hand drive and left-hand drive specification. Twin sun visors are fitted above the windscreen at each side, providing sun shading for the driver and front passenger, pivoted to the front roof header rail and swinging down for use and up for storage. The visor material and pivot mechanism deteriorated over the years, and many cars have visors that are cracked, faded, or no longer hold their position when adjusted.
Visor Construction
Original specification visors comprise a steel frame covered in vinyl matching the headlining, with a pivot bracket at the inner end mounting to the windscreen header rail and a clip at the outer end engaging with a stowage hook. The vinyl covering ages and cracks with sun exposure, and the foam padding underneath crumbles with age.
Replacement visors in matching colours are available for restoration work.
Brackets, Clips & Fitting
The pivot brackets at the inner end mount to the windscreen header rail with self-tapping screws into a reinforced area of the bodyshell, and replacement brackets and the small fixings are available individually where brackets fail or pull out. Visor clips at the outer end engage with stowage hooks on the headlining, holding each visor up when not in use, and worn clips or missing hooks allow the visor to drop unexpectedly during driving, a small but irritating fault that clip and hook renewal addresses. On the Roadster, pre-1977 cars that have never had visors fitted, or where the original mounting brackets have been removed, require the full bracket and fixing kit rather than a straight visor replacement, as the mounting holes and bracket positions must be established from scratch, while cars from the 1977 model year onwards had visors as standard and need only a straight replacement.