Removing rear and 3/4 windows

[Hollowpockets]

Hi all,

Not likely to generate much feedback I imagine but has anyone removed the rear or side fixed 3/4 panel type windows before?

It looks to me as if they may be bonded to the body, but, before I start to try remove them and do damage to something i thought I'd ask if its been done before in case there's a 'trick' to doing that.

I plan to replace the fixed glass windows with polycarbonate ones I'm making up.

Cheers

Graham

[djdubs]

I've done this. No different than a more modern car really so I asked a pal who works for a well known car window firm to come and take them out. He pulled off/cut off the external trim first but before he could even get the cheese wire out every window fell out!! Luckily we did one at once and were holding on to it. So I'd have a go yourself first, it literally took 5 mins! He said the surfaces must not have been primed correctly before putting them in. New trim is available at SW Lotus and cheap for when you come to bond them back in.

[Hollowpockets]

Top lad, just what I wanted to know!

The diet progresses!

[Adrian W]

If you are going to replace with polycarbonate it's a good place to put a naca duct for driver cooling

[Hollowpockets]

Hi Adrian, I still have the heater/fan box so use the forward facing dash vents, do you think a NACA duct would improve on this? Or just do it if I remove the heater/fan box?

Also I'm not doing the main door glass yet as I have reservations about it being a frameless door and the plastic bending outward at speed, what was done with the old race cars?

Graham

[5paulmv]

Mine ran with std glass and no heater box it had pipes from the front pointing at the driver were heater box once lived

[andygtt]

Removed mine a few weeks back... The rubber isn't that big as its mostly glued in with sicoflex, very easy to remove if your careful but you will need a tube of sikoflex to refit.

[TuxMan]

I would be interested to know the weight saving on doing this mod .

[Hollowpockets]

Sadly I can't share that info Simon, it won't be drastic but every few KG's helps, especially high up like these.

I spent a lot of time very carefully cutting the rear window out (about an hour as it was well fixed in place), to go and drop it as I walked back into the garage with it! Stood for a minute on the spot when it slipped out my hand in shock at what I'd just done! Bummer! Lol glass EVERYWHERE! Still finding bits all over the drive. Wooops

ETA, the glass one felt like about 4Kg, the plastic version maybe just 1Kg

Edited by Hollowpockets on Sunday 30th June 18:16

[TuxMan]

Ha ha bloody useless

[andygtt]

I have discovered deep swirl marks from an ordital sander on my rear glass (as I tried to clean it for first time in a year lol) so may well be taking mine out and putting perspex in as well... also one of the paint shops has removed the trim and its gone missing... only when I was looking at Tuxmans car at le mans that I realised it was supposed to have a trim lol.

bummer on smashing it... I dropped my spare passenger window about 2mm and it exploded, did much the same just stood there contemplating what a pillok Id been lol

will you be putting 4mm or 6mm perspex in?

[Hollowpockets]

Andy I just used 3mm sheet, I think the glass was maybe 4mm, any thicker than 4mm and the rubber trim won't fit when you try to re-fit it.