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Replacement Windscreen


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Preparing my 4A for the Italy weekend I noticed that the screen was very pitted which I was disappointed with as I had replaced it a few years ago. On checking however I found that it was around 25 years ago so perhaps it has done too badly!

On the way back from the weekend I suffered a chip near the centre of the screen so I guess a replacement is now inevitable.

Looking at the Moss catalogue I can replace it with a plain or tinted screen for around £100, or a Triplex screen for around £215.

Has anyone any experience of these or alternative screens & what is the benefit (if any) of the Triplex?

How easy are these to fit? Is the tool offered any help or am I best to use a professional fitter?

thanks,

Allan

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Preparing my 4A for the Italy weekend I noticed that the screen was very pitted which I was disappointed with as I had replaced it a few years ago. On checking however I found that it was around 25 years ago so perhaps it has done too badly!

On the way back from the weekend I suffered a chip near the centre of the screen so I guess a replacement is now inevitable.

Looking at the Moss catalogue I can replace it with a plain or tinted screen for around £100, or a Triplex screen for around £215.

Has anyone any experience of these or alternative screens & what is the benefit (if any) of the Triplex?

How easy are these to fit? Is the tool offered any help or am I best to use a professional fitter?

thanks,

Allan

Hi Allan

 

Just a thought. If it's quite badly chipped can you not get it changed under your insurance? I think if the chip is larger than a 5p in within your direct area of vision, it might qualify under glass insurance?

 

Kevin

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Hi Allan,

fitting can be easy or very frustrating. If you haven't done it before then it may be cheaper to use a decent fitter.

My first attempt 2 years ago ended up with me owning the window for 1 hour before it was scrap,.

 

Autoglass wanted £400 to fit and me supply. National windows charged £200 and they supplied the glass.

 

Roger

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I recently had the screen replaced on my TR4 by Jaycee at Marches Autoglazing, 07866219488. He was prompt , quick and very clean and loves the older cars, especially triumphs of any type. For 2 visits he charged £70, he needed 2 visits because the first rubber i purchased was on special offer from TR London last year and although it fitted the car it would not hold the inserts, neither the older metal ones nor the newer plastic type. A new rubber from Moss/Rimmers did the trick.

He works the West Midlands and East Wales

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Thanks guys,

It would seem sensible to buy a new rubber after 25 years & will definitely go for the Moss one. Good point on the insurance, I will check that. I guess it depends if I am confident enough to do it myself or not.

Nobody had any thoughts on the Triplex screen, has no-one used one?

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Hi Allan,

the standard screen works very well. Not seen or used the TRiplex but it does sound good.

 

The silver finisher can be a problem to insert.

Some people suggest to insert the finisher in the rubber before fitting the rubber & glass in the car.

Others, me included, have fitted it afterwards. I would have thought fitting afterwards would allow the rubber to fit easier into the frame.

 

Actually inserting the silver finisher can be a nightmare (hence fitting before onstalling the whole lot). I have had no luck using the special tool.

My TR4 took a couple of hours. Priseing open the gap in the rubber with a blunt blade and pushing the finisher in and then doing the next inch

 

Roger

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Word of warning before removing the insert. Cut the rubber out of the car - do not try and lever out the insert- you will bend it and it will not fit properly. People have even sent the metal one away for re-chroming, as they are now unavailable. Don't do it, they will come back distorted in some way and could be US!

 

The fitter I used did not use a special tool for the insert, just a blunt screwdriver and very strong fingers.

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  • 2 weeks later...

An update with particular thanks to Alan T & Kevin.

I am insured through TR Insurance & checking my policy showed a £75 excess for screen replacement. Obviously we cannot lose no claims bonus as there isn't one so I gave them a ring to see if my premiums would be affected if I had to claim for a new screen. NO I was informed.

As a new Moss screen was around £100 anyway I decided to replace the screen on the insurance. A quick phone call to the Insurance broker routed my call direct to National Windscreens who had the screen in stock & fitted it two days later. I mentioned that water had been forcing its way around the screen in the bottom corners so they brought some 'special' mastic to cure that problem with the new screen. I had not had time to get hold of a new insert so they have offered to fit that when available at no extra charge.

Excellent service from both TR Insurance & National Windscreens

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"I gave them a ring to see if my premiums would be affected if I had to claim for a new screen. NO I was informed."

 

 

mmmmm, I suspect on renewal they will try.

 

I had a minor dink in the non-TR a few years back - one stationary car and one moving at 0.5mph, the net effect being that whilst my non-TR insurance did not change - the then register insurer put my premium up by 25% !

 

My view of insurers is that whilst they may pay for your initial claim, they get it back off you in premiums over the subsequent years :angry:

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Whether they penalise you for a windscreen is unlikely - most insurers ask if you have had a claim other than a screen claim.

 

Whist not directly applicable to the TRR scheme a lot of insurers up your premium even if you have a protected no claims bonus which allows them to skirt around this as a way of upping your premium.

In the same way they up your premium for a no fault accident that the 3rd party pays in full for.

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If you have a stone chip, the sreen must be triplex, Multi layer glas with a plastic foil between. IMHO it's the only way to go

 

My 70 TR6 had from origin a Securit windsceen which lasted for around 25 years. One day during a club rally I received a stone from an on-coming car and the sceen exploded in a million of tiny pieces, with a big hole where the stone hit. To our luck we were wearing sunglasses , if not we could have turned blind as even our mouthes were full of glas splinters. :(

 

I think a good windsreen is as brakes a safety item, not to gamble with... ;)

P.S Most stone chips can be fixed as long as they are not too close to the frame, in general more than 2 inches away .

If they are in the line of sight it might become an MOT issue.

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Hello All,

 

"Most stone chips can be fixed as long as they are not too close to the frame, in general more than 2 inches away .

If they are in the line of sight it might become an MOT issue. "

 

I think that the MOT states that any stone chips must not be in the swept area of the wipers.

 

My last FX4 London Taxi (with a flat screen) had a chip just going into the swept area.

 

Every year, the cracks got a bit longer.

Every MOT, I used to cut a bit more off the wiper blade...

 

 

Problem solved............

 

Charlie D.

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