McMuttley Posted November 20, 2014 Report Share Posted November 20, 2014 Rather than polish out the olde screen I decided to buy a new one from Honeybourne. I knew from the Forum that they required some 'fettling' to get to fit and even Honeybourne pointed out that they had to be cut / ground down as they are oversize. However, I didn't appreciate that what they actually meant to say was that I have to be part of the manufacturing process and do the second and most difficult part ! What has arrived is in the region of 8cm too wide and deep. It may be that it is 4cm (ish) too wide all round but without any guide as to whether I take an even 4cm off, or 5cm at one edge and 3 off another - who knows ? So, I am expected to try a 3.2 metre long (curved) cut through delicate perspex whilst trying not to slip, scratch, crack, snag, burn etc etc - surely not ? The entire outer section is extremely wavy, which they have described and I understand as the 'spare outside of the mould'. There are also circa 1cm wide marks / depressions caused by high heat around much of the screen, but not evenly around all. It isn't clear if these marks are meant to be some sort of guide, but if they are, they are not regular in alignment and not very helpful as a guide. I estimate that if I were to cut inside of these wavy parts and heat indentations, then the screen would not be wide enough by a material degree, several cm (at best I would have to have these significant imperfections under / around the rubber seal - again surely not ? Are the ones from Moss and Rimmer also like this? How is someone expected to cut / grind fragile perspex to such a significant degree and without an accurate template? Although £90 seemed cheap - it would have clearly been better spent on a polisher and putting up with a slightly foggy screen. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Boyd Posted November 20, 2014 Report Share Posted November 20, 2014 I think you will find they supply the likes of Moss & Rimmer's..... Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don H. Posted November 20, 2014 Report Share Posted November 20, 2014 I would always restore original over new replacement, Austin. There's no substitute for parts that one knows to fit. BTW -- Mark Macy has introduced a TR2/3 hard top rear window in the last six months. Made by an aircraft canopy manufacturer near his garage near Dayton Ohio. I had a chance to view the tooling over the summer -- Mark has taken the project pretty seriously to make sure the finished product is the best currently available. Not at all cheap though -- US$595 (£380, without shipping!). http://macysgarage.com/myweb6/Parts/other_tr2_3_parts.htm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ianc Posted November 20, 2014 Report Share Posted November 20, 2014 McMuttley: What was the response from Honeybourne when you contacted them about your problem? Ian Cornish Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Motorsport Mickey Posted November 20, 2014 Report Share Posted November 20, 2014 Hi Austin, I see what you mean ! my heart would drop also. If you decide to persevere with it what about making a paper template from the original screen and placing it onto the new screen and see what area it covers, and does it look like you can cut around it whilst missing all the "corrugations" and other imperfections in the new screen. If you think you can do it, cover the side of the screen which for cutting will be placed downwards with a couple of layers of old newspaper masking taped up to the cutting line which you will have fibre tipped around the template and onto the new screen. Cover the new Perspex with masking tape on the inside of the line about up to about 3" in from the edge where a jigsaw cutting plate may rest on the opposite side of the material (showing to the top. Buy a couple of new jigsaw blades and attack the material cutting from the outside edge of the material(where it's all wavy)towards the marked cutting line and using a smooth curve join up to the cutting line and proceed to manoeuvre the screen around (I'd have placed it upon an old towel to avoid scratching it and allowing easy sliding /twisting)whilst cutting along the line. Make sure you know which side of the line you are to cut to, then tidy up the cut edge with a sanding disc in a 4" angle grinder and finally smooth off with a normal belt sander. Should cut it ok with reasonable finish. Mick Richards Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kiwifrog Posted November 20, 2014 Report Share Posted November 20, 2014 Austin It is a faulty screen send it back Alan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
McMuttley Posted November 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2014 (edited) Ian Initially Honeybourne said that the excess was how it came to them and that was that, they apparently cut off with a grinder - eek my angle grinding prowess is not suited to flimsy perspex. I did think about my worx vibrating cutting thing but that would take years and its burns when forced. I think the mould wasn't tight when this one was pressed. Having 'pressed' my concern and relative lack of skill at such extensive works - they were willing to take it back for a refund - I'll just be down on circa £30 posatge Are the moss and rimmer versions equally un-trimmed? Edited November 21, 2014 by McMuttley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geko Posted November 20, 2014 Report Share Posted November 20, 2014 - they were willing to take it back for a refund - Wow - hats off to Honeybourne, they deserve a medal for their customer relationship management... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
roy53 Posted November 20, 2014 Report Share Posted November 20, 2014 Well i am a bit surprised by this as i have 2 tops from them and the glass is fine.None of the deflections that show in your photos. I think when they view this they will understand your upset. But i did purchase complete tops and not just the screen. Roy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Boyd Posted November 20, 2014 Report Share Posted November 20, 2014 Ian Initially Honeybourne said that the excess was how it came to them and that was that, they apparently cut off with a grinder - eek my angle grinding prowess is not suited to flimsy perspex. I did think about my worx vibrating cutting thing but that would take years and its burns when forced. I think the old wasn't tight when this one was pressed. Having 'pressed' my concern and relative lack of skill at such extensive works - they were willing to take it back for a refund - I'll just be down on circa £30 posatge Are the moss and rimmer versions equally un-trimmed? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alec Pringle Posted November 20, 2014 Report Share Posted November 20, 2014 Don't forget that the manufacturing tolerances on the original hardtops were, shall we say, a tad on the generous side . . . . . no matter whose they were, factory or whatever proprietary brand. The screens have to be oversize to some extent, or the chances of even a halfway decent fit would be sod all . . . . self-tailored to fit, sir, is probably the expression ! Cheers Alec Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted November 20, 2014 Report Share Posted November 20, 2014 Ive had to do the same for a perspex Surrey rear screen and yes it turned up rough cut with about 3" excess all round. I laid an original screen inside it worked out where it corresponded correctly to the curve then put 2" tape round where it would need to be marked and marked round with a black marker. I removed the excess with a flap disc on a 4" grinder then finished the edge with some 80 grit as it was well inside the rubber. Bit of a faff to fit as any perspex screen is due to their "floppyness" but it went in in the end and TBH unless you actually tap on it it looks like a proper glass. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted November 21, 2014 Report Share Posted November 21, 2014 (edited) I would always restore original over new replacement, Austin. There's no substitute for parts that one knows to fit. BTW -- Mark Macy has introduced a TR2/3 hard top rear window in the last six months. Made by an aircraft canopy manufacturer near his garage near Dayton Ohio. I had a chance to view the tooling over the summer -- Mark has taken the project pretty seriously to make sure the finished product is the best currently available. Not at all cheap though -- US$595 (£380, without shipping!). http://macysgarage.com/myweb6/Parts/other_tr2_3_parts.htm ... and in the past, he was not to keen on sending parts outside CONUS (the CONtinental United States...). It took some persuasion before he sent me various parts... That said, I think that the parts he sells are very good! Love the looks of that hardtop, btw Menno Edited November 21, 2014 by Menno van Rij 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Vincent Posted November 21, 2014 Report Share Posted November 21, 2014 To be fair to Macy's, it is not down to them that they don't want to ship outside the continental US it's because of the anal attitude of the US credit card organisations, a lot of them won't accept non US credit cards. When I was working in Canada, I sometimes couldn't even get US companies to ship there because they could only accept a crediut card with a US address. And when I first got my car in 2006, I did order some bits from Macy's without any problems. It was only after about 2008 that they rules changed. Rgds Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted November 21, 2014 Report Share Posted November 21, 2014 To be fair to Macy's, it is not down to them that they don't want to ship outside the continental US it's because of the anal attitude of the US credit card organisations, a lot of them won't accept non US credit cards. When I was working in Canada, I sometimes couldn't even get US companies to ship there because they could only accept a crediut card with a US address. And when I first got my car in 2006, I did order some bits from Macy's without any problems. It was only after about 2008 that they rules changed. Rgds Ian True perhaps, but in this day and age of PayPal, I think that it's a problem that's easy to overcome. Having said that, I've done numerous transatlantic transaction (mostly watch related) and I've never encountered a problem like that. The problem was always the shipping arrangement to Europe. Menno Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don H. Posted November 21, 2014 Report Share Posted November 21, 2014 I think shipping is indeed Mark's concern, from talking to him when I've visited his shop. Probably the best route is to find one of the companies to which he wholesales the parts he's reproduced -- those parts vendors have a business around shipping parts to people, and this isn't really what Macy's Garage does. Or come visit us over here and take home a souvenir. PS: That's not my car in his website image, Menno, in case you wondered. It does look nice, but since I'm 6' 6" (198 cm) a hardtop really isn't in the plans for my car... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tr4Tony Posted November 21, 2014 Report Share Posted November 21, 2014 Austin That just looks like a duff one ... Surely they are not that bad. I had one via Revington TR and it was a bit shave here and there with a wood plane, but that was it! Only a days work and a huge mess in the garden. Regards Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted November 22, 2014 Report Share Posted November 22, 2014 PS: That's not my car in his website image, Menno, in case you wondered. It does look nice, but since I'm 6' 6" (198 cm) a hardtop really isn't in the plans for my car... Wow, you're tall for an American! Most I've met in the US are a lot shorter. You can also adopt the trick Tony did on his 4: raising the roof Abarth-style! Menno Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ianc Posted November 23, 2014 Report Share Posted November 23, 2014 But Tony, who is tall, raised the roof on Beastie to clear his helmet - I think line of sight might be prejudiced if top of one's head were inside a bump in the metal top. Ian Cornish Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted November 23, 2014 Report Share Posted November 23, 2014 Fair point! I hadn't thought of that. Menno Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.