Convertible D windscreen frame

CMC actually made and sold a Cabriolet version of their Speedster and they had nice roll up glass side windows. I think they are rare but the parts should be out there. THe first Speedster I owned was a CMC widebody Cabriolet and I thought all the Speedster were like this at the time. It was an interesting car. It was supposed to have been built by CMC as a factory Demo car and it had a Mazda 13B rotary engine mated to the VW transaxle with a front mounted radiator and it had a regular heater core and heat. The top was a nice Sta-fast canvas convertible top with glass roll up door windows. The car was watertight in the rain and much more usable in all weather conditions. The car also had a weird whale tail truck which could have been swapped out for a regular one easily enough.

There's another thread here where a SOC poster in S FL is replacing the Conv D windshield with a Speedster one (or plexiglass).  I've never seen repro parts for sale - only costly used OEM pieces.  You'll need to top (frame/fabric) - wind-up window doors.  What seems like a great idea becomes complicated.

Here's the $995 option CMC had for their cars (you couldn't buy it separately as it swapped in different pieces).

Thank you for the info

@jimmy , yeah that is a great looking car. I wish there was a CMC or IM stock of parts somewhere, but I reckon it is not to easy to find.

@Wolfgang, thank you for the nice CMC add. Good info. I did find the thread you mentioned, and had a read. Very interesting.

And yes, it is a lot of work, and a lot of things will not fit as expected, but... this is what we do I reckon, make our version of the dream happen

Try Stoddard and Pelican Parts.

New windshield corner brackets for a 356 Convertible D from either Stoddard or Pelican (both good places to look) will cost both arms and legs and WELL over $500 the pair because they tend to be rare.

You might try contacting Adam Wright at Unobtanium Porsche Parts in New York.  He has a very surprising array of stuff parted out.  I won't say that they'll be cheap, even from him, but if that's the direction you wish to take, he should be included.

https://unobtanium-inc.com/contact

The people restoring original Convert D and Roadsters have had problems for years installing windshields ,  not sure if the glass supplier fixed that problem or what the problem was ,

Check out the 356 Registry talk list , I just heard of a newly restored twin vent roadster that was on its 3rd windshield.

@panhandle Bob . Thank you. I have looked at Stoddards page, but not Pelican parts, but yes, I reckon contacting them directly instead of just browsing, is smart.

@Gordon Nichols Thank you Gordon, that is a source I did not know about. But you are of course right, the price might be way more than I can imagine. As in more than it is worth spending money on.

@imperial heh, I have also stumbled upon a few stories of problems fitting roadster windshields, and how it gets expensive when you have to use several pieces of glas to get it right....

I know that the MGB "idea" might not be very good looking or smart, but for some reason it sticks to my mind, hence the request if anyone has seen an MGB windshield frame on a 356. Or is it just something I imagine that I have read

In any case I really appreciate all the information, and advice.  Cheers.

"I know that the MGB "idea" might not be very good looking or smart, but for some reason it sticks to my mind, hence the request if anyone has seen an MGB windshield frame on a 356. Or is it just something I imagine that I have read "

The MGB windshield frame looks enough like the 356 Convertible D/Roadster frame that someone may have mistaken one for the other.  I would suspect that the dimensions and contours are different enough that it would be difficult to make that swap work.

@Lane Anderson I have a feeling that you are totally right Lane. Both in terms of mistaken identity of frame origin, and as well when it comes to trying to fit another cars frame on a speedster.

I did try to contact Chamonix cars in Brazil, as they seem to have a Convertible D model, but no answer so far. I do not know if they are still in operation...

Even if you can find a Conv D windshield you will have a very difficult time finding the convertible top mechanism. When I was discussing building a Convertible D with Carey at Beck the windscreen wasn’t the issue. We were going to have to find an original Conv D mechanism or find one from intermeccanica. Henry copied one years ago but is not willing to share his blueprints at this time. I’m actually in the process of buying a used IM Conv D from Greg Leach at Vintage Motorcars. Sitting in a hotel in LA this moment. I’ll post some pictures of VM later today.
But if you need any info or maybe parts from a Conv D top I’d contact Henry or Carey.

@550 Phil Heh, yes that is true. Shame there aren't any current solutions that are off the shelf available. Thank you for the lead towards Henry and Carey, and yes, please post pictures of your soon to have D. Must be an exciting day for you

And we haven’t even mentioned the role up windows. I explored many options to get a comfortable weather tight vehicle and finally came to the conclusion that if I wanted a civilized 356 replica it would have to be a used IM. I want the high windshield and the nice top. I want role up windows. I want those cumfy roadster seats. I’m also doing AC.  Good luck. Henry really perfect the Conv D replica. Too bad it ended.

Good luck with this Tomman.

Found this thread on Pelican.  Angela (Laneco) was a respected, active member here several years ago (RIP).  She had a 911-powered 550 that she drove like she had stolen it!

Speedster Windshield - Pelican Parts Forums

It sure looks like it's from an MGB!

I too remember reading an article on using a complete MGB windshield on a Speedster.  As I recall it looked great.  Ha, I had a '69 MGC (same windshield) and it has 3 wiper blades with multi speeds!  Below complete MGB windshield is $359 on eBay.

I'll see if I saved the photo or link.  You'd think if it were done the UK builders would have picked up on it.

Maybe ask the seller to measure the width  of the MGB frame

@WOLFGANG heh there you go, not quite a MGB screen on that Convertible D, I must admit. And yes, one would expect the UK crowd to have tried it out. But then again, who knows, maybe there is a 356 or two that have it done. There are a lot of surprises in the world of homebuilt wonders

@imperial Yes, hmm... In any case I knew from the outset that the MGB road was either a pipe dream, or a nightmare to get right.

Ideally a simpler solution would be at hand. I will see what can be found out with a bit of digging around. And I appreciate all the comments and possibly solutions, and also the "think about what you embark on" advice as well

@WOLFGANG You think the car that is on the picture from the pelican forum has a MGB frame? Does it not look like a "real" Convertible D frame? Just making sure that I understand what you think

I believe it is an MGB frame!  D frame below

@WOLFGANG Cool, and inspiring 👍😊 Only one way to find out I guess 😉

Hi, I wanted to fit a Conv D windscreen to a Speedster body too. After some research on the obsolete parts, Henry from IM came to the rescue and sold me a set of his newly cast Conv D windscreen posts and frame, under one agreement, I was never allowed to make a copy of the posts or my modified Speedster/Conv D body.

By the way, I had to modify the fibreglass cowl/scuttle area under the glass quite a lot as the bottom profile of the Conv D windscreen is very different to a Speedster.

Best of luck with this, Max.