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Hi ,

long shot request , has anyone cut down a laminated windshield to make a racing style  shorter windshield ? Maybe that would wrap a round some , !

Maybe  from another small car ?

I have seen the short windshields on race cars but I think those are plexiglass ,

Just a thought

Last edited by imperial
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You can cut laminated glass , it's done on many choptops,

As far as tempered glass , I have never seen a way to cut it. 

I was told be an old glass guy that you may be able to un-temper the glass so it back to plate glass , them cut and temper it again.....

I have never been able to prove that !

I guess I could cut down a stock speedster windshield ,

I think if you cut a glass Speedster windshield you'd then have to fabricate a shorter frame and center tensioner (which would tend to put the frame right in the driver's field of vision). Either that, or devise and new and better way to anchor the windscreen to the scuttle.

Sounds easy and fun, no?

Another option would be to buy some lexan and shape it. A heat gun could theoretically work to do the whole thing but the way I see many of these on the real cars is there's a wide bend on the face of the windscreen, which stands almost vertical, and its base is cut to conform with the cowl, where it's riveted to an aluminum angle bit that is in-turn bolted to the car. As in:

So, also easy and fun!

Whereas, the no-fun way is to simply buy the available plexi short screen and screw it on.

imperial,Hi, I am an "old glass guy". been doing it for 45 years. The last w/shield I cut down was a pro-street  55 Chevy a few years ago. It was a 4" chop and the w/shield looked like a banana when I was done with it. Cutting down a w/shield the traditional way,with a glass cutter ,the glass can "run out" ahead of the cut, as you are working against built in stress's in the glass(more so with accutely curved glass). With that much curve it's very risky even handling the glass after it's cut down. Moreso if you were able to sucsessfully cut down a speedster w/shield it would be very vulnerable to cracking if not supported in a frame across the top. I think some shops have used a water jet, or a cut-off wheel to cut glass,but I have never been involved the process. The deal in the past was, the customer buys the w/shield first and we try and cut it down with no guarantee.(usually not a good outcome for all parties involved!)  As far as tempered glass goes. Untrue, you cannot un-temper glass.That glass starts out as ordinary float glass and then it goes through a tempering process in an oven. Once that glass is tempered it becomes very strong(hardened) but if you were to try and cut it, it would shatter. Both laminated and tempered are considered safety glass. Laminated for the w/shield and tempered for all the other windows. There you have it auto glass "101"

WOLFGANG, Yes laminated glass has been around for quite a while. To cut laminated glass, you have to first cut one side and break along cut. Then flip glass over and cut exactly over your first cut and break along that cut. Now you pour a small amount of alchohol along the cut line and light with a lighter. This softens up the plastic between the two layers of glass just enough so you can flex the glass and cut throught the plastic with a razor blade. Then the edges of the glass are polished with a water-fed belt polisher. It's a dying art in the auto-glass industry. There are only a few of us old guys left in our company that know how to do it. It's primarily done for street rods, antique cars and old construction equiptment.

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