windshield install, Roadster & D

[Jim Liberty]

I installed one in my B T-5 Roadster. Tom Keating and all of our gang drove to a Holiday in in the 70s. The windshield just cracked all by itself on the way. I put a kids brandade on it and showed the car. Ahhh, those good times. .....Jim PS. Speedster and Roadster windshields are one item we will not touch in our shop.

[Mike Wilson]

Years ago I met up with a fellow 356 owner at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. We went to check out his car, a Roadster. The windshield had cracked driving onto the golf course where the cars were placed. Seems like if you give them a hard look they'll crack!

Mike

[Martin Benade]

Knowing that lots of people would be looking at it, the windshield developed a stress crack

[Jules Dielen]

Knowing that lots of people would be looking at it, the windshield developed a stress crack

LOL

[Adam Wright]

I always cringe when I see people using the windshield frame to get out of the car.

[Jon Schmid]

I always cringe when I see people using the windshield frame to get out of the car.

Yeah, that I would never do, even if I could. My Roadster is on its second windshield in 60 years. The original got replaced 30 years ago when the car was restored and the frame pieces were re-chromed. The reason it was replaced was 30 years of micro meteorite impacts but mainly because of the car being driven with bad wiper blades, which left semi circular trenches in the glass. But no cracks...even when I took it offroading in the desert back in the '70's...

[Dave Erickson]

How many different manufacturers are there for roadster and D windshields? I purchased a new windshield from Stoddards, and the curvature is less than the original. Before I follow Bruce Baker's suggestion of bending the frame to fit the windshield, I was hoping there was an alternative source for windshields. The one Stoddards sells is marked Sigla but is made by Pilkington.
Here is a photo that shows the difference:

The new windshield is the tinted windshield in front. It is a good match for the shape and size of the original, but it has ¼" less curvature in the outer 5-6".

[Brooks Herrick]

Dave:
I feel your pain. I have the same picture, but of a speedster windshield. The last 4 speedster windshields that I have sourced from Stoddard and understand to be manufactured by Pilkington, have had the same issue you are experiencing.........not enough curvature in the glass to get inside the windshield post so that there is enough room on both sides of the glass for the rubber. Broke the first. Returned the other 3. I inquired at Sierra Madre Collection for another source and received murky info including their windshields might be made in China and were mostly sold for kit cars. Not enough confidence in that info to pull the trigger. I have heard of a solution of putting the glass out in the sun to initiate more curve, but at this point I can not authenticate. Apologies for the delayed reply. Still learning how to navigate the new website.- Brooks

[Dave Erickson]

Brooks, thanks for your reply. I hope someone responds who knows if there are any other manufacturers for these windshields.

[Bill Oldham]

I have a spare windshield I bought about 10 yrs ago when restoring TUB BLUE. Didn't need it. I can check on manufacturer etc when I return April 21, if you are still in need then. In East Bay, CA.
Bill

[Harlan Halsey]

1. I think the workshop manual mentions bending the frame to fit the glass. Repro glass may exceed what is reasonable.
2. Hard rubber will be an obvious problem.
3. Reproduction aluminum trim can (Has to be?) annealed. Particularly the wide lower edge outers.
4. Too much tension in the center rod can crack an otherwise good install.
There's no reason for a properly installed windshield to crack because it floats stress free in rubber.

Once in the early days of vintage racing I did remove the Convertible D windshield at the track. I removed the bumpers too. But there was no safe place to put it, so after that one race I decided not to remove it anymore.

The problem I had with Stuttgart Glass D windshield was that there was the idea floating around that the cowl curvature of the Roadster was a little more than that of the D. But Stuttgart Glass did not make a distinction between the D and the Roadster windshields. The windshield they sent, even after I gave them the dimension of the height at center was a little short of ideal.

[John Clarke]

Geoff and Adam
When our car 61 T5 Coupe went to the Body Repair Shop. I left it to them to order all the rubber body parts they needed for the reinstall, after all the repairs and paint. Think it all came from Roger Bray over here in the UK who I believe orders most of his parts from over there Stateside. All I know is when the car finally came back, we could not close both the doors ! But after adjusting the door latches and with the car standing in our garage through the winter, both doors now shut fully, albeit with a satisfying slam! But the new rubber seals finally get to adapt themselves to their new home/position.
Regards Jay

[Harlan Halsey]

John,
Novice body shops often make the mistake of not fitting the rubber door seals as part of the body work, prior to painting. I am amused to hear that your body repair shop returned the car as finished, and presumably demanded payment, with the doors not closing! Door seals have changed over the years, and there are a couple of different ones available. Rest assured that when the job is done right, the doors close tightly, seal everywhere and the panels are all flush.

[Roy Smalley]

The issue on cowl curvature on a roadster is not who made the car. Had 5 in the shop a few years ago and measured the curvature of the cowl. Cars that had not been wrecked from D to twin grill, two 60-61 B cars. No two cowl curvatures were the same, and variation was substantial. Before you body work a roadster, fit the windshield assembly complete.

[George Hussey]

no so bad when one removes the original windshield assembly and reinstalls as a windshield assembly. It is when one is starting afresh with the parts that the windshields crack.