Surrey Top

[d2alfa]

One of those tasks you wonder if you should ever have started.

Just fitted a new fibre glass backlight frame to my TR4a and looking at fitting backlight glass and rubber weatherstrip.

I assume that I glue the weatherstrip in position taking it all around the extremities of the recess in the frame.

Do I then put a cord in the weatherstrip recess where the glass will go followed by an assistant pushing the glass into postion from the outside of the car while I use the cord to open the recess in the rubber also from outside the car thus allowing the glass to be inserted into position?

Words make everything sound easy but I bet it is not.

Any advice would be most welcomed.

[RogerH]

Hi (have you got a name),

on the front screen you normally put the glass into the rubber seal and put the cord around the frame groove in the seal.

So the glass AND seal are fitted into the frame. This takes a fair bit of stress from the glass.

 

I would assume that the backlight is the same. I will be interested in what others say as I need to do this job in the winter.

 

Roger

[Tom Fremont]

I can't guarantee the reproduction ( plastic ) backlight frames are exactly the same w/r/t installing the glass, but I've done 5 or 6 of them on factory frames and with these the seal goes onto the glass first, then the two are drawn into the frame with rope and copious amounts of lubricant.

 

As Roger says, ditto the windscreen glass.

 

Cheers,

Tom

[stuart]

Having been through this I would just say one thing and that is DONT.

Number of reasons.The fibre backlight frame needs very careful trimming of the lip where the glass sits (must be trimmed to 10mm depth)

The fibre frame isnt stiff enough across the centre top rail to provide enough support for the new laminated glass and any pressure down on the top rail will break the glass (An original toughened glass would be OK as they are inherently stronger.)

If you still insist on trying it then fit the rubber to the glass and using a bit of rope round the outside channel of the rubber then pull the glass in. The rubber will look to be longer than the glass this is correct and the excess needs to be located at the bottom corners to allow it to go right down into the corners of the frame. You will also then need to bond the glass to the rubber and the rubber to the frame using Sikaflex (same as the windscreen boys use to fit new bonded windscreens.)

I fitted a perspex window in mine in the end and even that was a struggle to get to sit right due to the flex of the fibre frame. Once it was in then it was fine and unless you actually tap on it you cant tell the difference see picture below.

Stuart.

[snowric]

As I have been battling with leaks in mine (I got TRBitz to fit the glass and rear frame) I would suggest you use a bead of Indasa screen sealant or similar to stop leaks around bottom corners and from water following the seal round and dumping in the back. Also my seal doesn't fit the glass very well, the rubber is not flexible enough so have had to fill gaps with silicon then indasa..

 

Good luck.