FHC window frames
Discussion
FHCNICK said:
Has anybody out there ever tried to get the door window frames remade by anyone and if so who by and how much ?? i'm going to have to bite the bullet soon, cleaning and painting has delayed the inevitable till now.....
No, but I know someone who might also be interested in getting a set. Could help with negotiating a price!
E me via profile if interested.
Leo
I have got window frames from a capri which I intend to adjust 
, weld and fit..... however... if we all get together to find a supplier at a group rate that would be even better 
. From following other threads even the originals from Blackpool didn't fit that well but I have no first hand knowledge if that is the case or not!!!
, weld and fit..... however... if we all get together to find a supplier at a group rate that would be even better . From following other threads even the originals from Blackpool didn't fit that well but I have no first hand knowledge if that is the case or not!!! I got a ' new ' passenger side one as a spare with the car. It came with a reciept from a well known dealer for £250 plus vat !
I tried to fit it but the A pillar part starts off ok but then bends very slightly upwards making door closure impossible !
Guess it just needs a little ' tweaking ' ......
I'm just glad I didn't fork out £250 plus vat for it and then discover it doesn't fit !
Cheers
Al.
I tried to fit it but the A pillar part starts off ok but then bends very slightly upwards making door closure impossible !
Guess it just needs a little ' tweaking ' ......
I'm just glad I didn't fork out £250 plus vat for it and then discover it doesn't fit !
Cheers
Al.
grahamw48 said:
Can I join the club too, please !
Mine will need replacing in the not too distant future.
I'll look in B & Q first.
Hmm, some of that bathroom cabinet channel ?
Solid Mahogany ???
>> Edited by grahamw48 on Monday 31st January 22:42
Looks like we need to find a man who can then, so far i count 7 sets required and i'm sure there will be more peeps out there in need.
>> Edited by FHCNICK on Tuesday 1st February 14:19
More on Window frames. I have a series 2 FHC and some years ago got what was apparently the last spare window frame available from the factory, albeit somewhat bent. I took this to a specialist to get it fitted; said specialist also said they would make up a jig for the other side.
When I got the car back there was evidence of surgery on the rear face of the door, just below the level of the horizontal 'top' of the solid part of the door. Apparently the new frame would not fit, even when straightened out. On the other side the original frame had just been welded up (so much for the jig). Now both sides are going again, so I would certainly be interested in new ones, even at £250 + VAT each, if that included the fitting.
The fitting problem makes me wonder if the design was changed slightly between the Series 1 and 2, with or without the +2 variant. Had I got my spare one for a different variation? I have tried measuring the inside angle at the top rear of the frame on both sides and it is the same on both sides, within the limits of my protractor, 88 degrees. The above is the "good news" scenario; the "bad news" one is that they were all different and hand-fitted at the factory!
What about a measuring session at BBWF, perhaps making cardboard masks of the visible parts of the frames, if anybody expresses an interest in manufacture? Apparently aluminium has been tried, but found to be too easily bent, e.g. if your mother-in-law tries to heave herself out of the car using the window frame. I suspect that moisture gets trapped between the frame and the felt channel in which the window runs, leading to corrosion. How about getting any replacement frames galvanised before powder coating? I suspect that any adjustments of the fit would have to be done before galvanising and powder coating, if the rust prevention is not to be compromised by the adjustments.
When I got the car back there was evidence of surgery on the rear face of the door, just below the level of the horizontal 'top' of the solid part of the door. Apparently the new frame would not fit, even when straightened out. On the other side the original frame had just been welded up (so much for the jig). Now both sides are going again, so I would certainly be interested in new ones, even at £250 + VAT each, if that included the fitting.
The fitting problem makes me wonder if the design was changed slightly between the Series 1 and 2, with or without the +2 variant. Had I got my spare one for a different variation? I have tried measuring the inside angle at the top rear of the frame on both sides and it is the same on both sides, within the limits of my protractor, 88 degrees. The above is the "good news" scenario; the "bad news" one is that they were all different and hand-fitted at the factory!
What about a measuring session at BBWF, perhaps making cardboard masks of the visible parts of the frames, if anybody expresses an interest in manufacture? Apparently aluminium has been tried, but found to be too easily bent, e.g. if your mother-in-law tries to heave herself out of the car using the window frame. I suspect that moisture gets trapped between the frame and the felt channel in which the window runs, leading to corrosion. How about getting any replacement frames galvanised before powder coating? I suspect that any adjustments of the fit would have to be done before galvanising and powder coating, if the rust prevention is not to be compromised by the adjustments.
Both my FHC tasmins' window frames came very close to the door box section skeleton , touching in places. I would say the fitment is more sensitive to the door box sections not being made exactly the same.
The stiffness of the FHC window frames is quite low, and I'm sure you could easily break the glass if you gave a moderate tug on the top of the door. The TVR solution on later cars was to bin the frames and to roll up the window when the door closes. Bit of a faff that. Does anyone have a FHC where the doors actually fit nicely? They all seem to suffer from big gaps, especially where the window frame meets the door shell.
The stiffness of the FHC window frames is quite low, and I'm sure you could easily break the glass if you gave a moderate tug on the top of the door. The TVR solution on later cars was to bin the frames and to roll up the window when the door closes. Bit of a faff that. Does anyone have a FHC where the doors actually fit nicely? They all seem to suffer from big gaps, especially where the window frame meets the door shell.
Now I've not looked closely at the channels on my 390 (DHC, obviously, but same glass) but I did have to do some extensive repairs on the Tasmin FHC frames.
Not sure about later cars, but the early frame channel is actually quite complex. In section it looks like an unequal 'H'. If you cut through it and look closely, it's actually formed from a flat strip of steel, rolled and crimped into the H shape, making it very rigid - though it's very thin tin and the crimping makes it easy for water to get trapped, and hard to plastic coat (which they were).
My Esprit, dating from '83, uses a solid channel: I can't decide whether it's alloy or steel (suppose a magnet would tell me) but it's more like an extrusion than a formed section - still an unequal 'H'.
As for the formed channel, I found that I could make short lengths of strip with a folded edge, that could be 'let in' to damaged areas - it seems to be the 'sidewall' of the H that corrodes through first.
The tricky bits were the top rear corner and the area where the triangle at the door front is joined (brazed, IIRC).
One trick I found: the Sierra had the same curvature of glass. I was able to chop good lengths of channel from inside the Tasmin doors to transplant further up and replace it with lengths of galvanised channel from inside the Sierra doors, appearance wasn't so important inside the Tas doors of course. No doubt someone has come across my handiwork and gone
WHAT THE F...
Not sure about later cars, but the early frame channel is actually quite complex. In section it looks like an unequal 'H'. If you cut through it and look closely, it's actually formed from a flat strip of steel, rolled and crimped into the H shape, making it very rigid - though it's very thin tin and the crimping makes it easy for water to get trapped, and hard to plastic coat (which they were).
My Esprit, dating from '83, uses a solid channel: I can't decide whether it's alloy or steel (suppose a magnet would tell me) but it's more like an extrusion than a formed section - still an unequal 'H'.
As for the formed channel, I found that I could make short lengths of strip with a folded edge, that could be 'let in' to damaged areas - it seems to be the 'sidewall' of the H that corrodes through first.
The tricky bits were the top rear corner and the area where the triangle at the door front is joined (brazed, IIRC).
One trick I found: the Sierra had the same curvature of glass. I was able to chop good lengths of channel from inside the Tasmin doors to transplant further up and replace it with lengths of galvanised channel from inside the Sierra doors, appearance wasn't so important inside the Tas doors of course. No doubt someone has come across my handiwork and gone
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