The hood el is unfortunately relatively sensitive. With loads very easily cracks in the hood develops. Frequently these occur at the bar between glass roof and side window or between the side window and lower edge. With emergence of a crack is important to drill this out as fast as possible i.e. a 3mm drilling at the end of the break. A successful repair includes glass fiber on the inside of the hood with two to three layers. If a gap remains, with resin fill up. With larger damage the hood must be exchanged. All risks insurance on vehicles the insurance covers partly this damage (glass damages).
As Ralf notices below, a lot of US City-El have different hoods:
Hello Ryan,
I have seen at the pictures of your website, that the top of the city el s in US are different than the European version. In Europe the top of the city el is made of transparent plastic. Your city el top is made of glass fiber? The windows on the side are separate? In Europe we have a lot of problems with broken tops, it's very expensive to change or repair the top.
That is a modification particular to City-Els used by Sacramento Municipal Utilities District (SMUD) in an EV study they did starting in 1994. It is very hot in Sacramento in the summertime, and the vehicles were unbearably hot. Plus they had problems with cracking. Bill Warf, of Pacific Electric Vehicles, who did all the maintenance and development for SMUD, tooled up the molds to make fiberglass hoods. The original windshield and mirrors are used. He also had the little convertible tops made up. Yes, the side windows are separate, I don't know if they were cut from the original hood, or from virgin lexan or acrylic. They are fixed in place.
I think Peter Senkowsky probably has the molds for the fiberglass hoods, or knows where Bill hid them when he left for Germany. - RRY
The body el consists of two stamped, fiber-reinforced thermoplastic bowls (ABS), which are filled out with a polyurethane foam. This foam is strongly hygroscopic. With damage to the body the open places should be protected as soon as possible from penetrating humidity.
With experience in plastics processing, el can be repaired relatively easily with aramid fibers and glass fibers. Importantly is the expert estimation of the damage. With larger damage the complete tub is to be exchanged. In the picture here an auto going approx. 70km/h drove into a City-El traveling 40 km/h. The bowl was pushed up to the wheel housing, as well as broken at the taillight.
| Colour | Crimping color number |
| Blue | Ral 5002 |
| Bordeaux | TOY 3J8 |
| Dark's building | TOY 8E3 |
| Yellow | CM 425 B6 |
| Green | Ral 6001 |
| Red | CM 408 B5 |
| Silver-grey | SEC.9941 1+2 |
| White | 00 white |
Status 07.01.98