Windshield

I'm sure this is the baby you are looking for - OEM from Sierra Madre

Aha! I've always wondered where Kirk sourced the one on my car.

I believe Henry has his own extruded. 

At $6850 that turns to about 10k to get it here in NZ. I might have to make my own. Does anyone have a decent up close and personal shot of a vintage or any other brand of screen frame so I can have a really good look at the top extrusion etc. There web shots tell you nothing of the detail so it's really hard to tell how robust it is. After all I've herd of guys putting the top up and clipping on and pulling the whole frame top off the screen. Bugger.

I was over at Kirk's  (Vintage Speedster)  this morning and happened to take a close look at his windshield frame and the rubber "C" channel that goes between the glass and the frame. The frame wall thckness is approximately 3/32" thick and 1/8" thick at the top of the "U" shape.  The rubber "C" channel is a square "U" shape and is also approx. 3/32" in thickness. I don't know if this helps you but it is information.....Bruce

Cheers Bruce, Was the frame square on the top like a box section or rounded and more like a U shape?

Don...The frame is "U" shaped...round at the top...not like a "box........and a little thicker in that round area..........Bruce

That gives me a much better idea. Cheers

Does anyone know if the Vintage windshield frame is a close match to an original one like in the photo of Wolfgangs above?

IM make their own as Stan said

Since you have NO windshield, frame or even convertible top you have a blank slate to work with.  The brass replica was kind of a joke at near $7k un-chromed.

You could go with a D (Draus)  top frame with has stronger side posts and ~2" taller glass which allows for a taller top (for more head room and better visibility. $750 plus glass.

http://www.stoddard.com/64454110145-nla.html

Another alternative is a steel or fiberglass repro of the cabriolet top frame.  I've seen a fiberglass repro frame somewhere - maybe SAS?

Thanks for the feedback fellas, I'm a short ass so a Speedster screen is fine for me. I'll see what Henry has to offer. Does anyone have some good pics of one. No worries there Wolfgang the joke frightened me. Damn.  

Somewhere I have a photo of a Speedster replica with an MGB windshield frame and glass.  Are they easily available in NZ?  It didn't look bad.

Cheers Wolfgang but it's speedster or nothing. If it come down to it I'll go Emroy outlaw.

Don, there are a few folks here who have considerable experience fitting replica windshield frames to Speedsters. I was hoping by now some of them might have piped up. I don't have that experience, but can at least offer this.

The windshield and frame don't seem to be notable trouble spots on these cars if you understand the installation process, do your homework, and proceed carefully. The most common replica frames, being extruded aluminum, are a bit fragile, but once properly fitted, they do seem to support the glass well and allow the soft top to be put up and down with no serious issues.

You do have to be careful about not leaning on the corners of the frame heavily, as the flexing frame can cause the glass to crack, but it's not like every other car you see has a cracked windshield or the frames are constantly working loose in normal use.

I have had some issues in the three years I've owned a VS  (perhaps not unreasonable for a hand-made car from a small shop, produced at a very low price point), but the windshield hasn't been one of them.

Can you explain why you're particularly concerned about this?

If it will ease your doubts any, we can come up with a lot of things on these cars to worry about more than the windshield frame.

Cheers!

Thanks for the feed back. Fitting it isn't the problem. The one I saw the other day the owner said it was a proper Speedster frame and it looked the part and appeared solid. My issue I suppose is that the pictures the suppliers provide are far from adequate to be able to tell what it is you actually getting. A quality product or a s*** knock off. Some frames appear to be square edged and others are rounded. It's hard to tell and I'm so far away I need to get it right first time especially with the exchange rate and tax on top. Cheers 

Again, I wish someone more experienced than I were answering, but I think you won't go wrong from a cosmetics perspective with a VS frame. Its shape looks right and it's aluminum, so can be polished to a really nice finish.

Where the VS kit often falls down, though, is in the chrome plating on the windshield posts (which are steel, I think). Mine are textured a bit, but I don't spend much time on the Concours circuit, so it doesn't bother me too much. Besides, the mottled finish on the posts works well with my paint drips and orange peel. From a quarter mile away, they look just fine.

I'm guessing the products from Henry will be better in that regard, if a bit more pricey.

And oh, one more thing. VS uses a much cruder system of attachment clamps for the top ('roof' in the UK and OZ?). The bottom edge of the frame is flared a bit and the clamp just grips onto that. Henry uses dedicated bits, much closer to the original, I think. There may be some photos of this on his website.

Cheers, can you post a pic of the frame from up close

Don Harrison posted:

Cheers, can you post a pic of the frame from up close

Will try to do that tomorrow, although there are hundreds of photos of VS windshields already here if you search the archives a bit.

Sweet

The VS, CMC & FF windshield frames all work ok if, properly installed ( I've done a few dozen plus.) It's a project that takes a lot patience as it's a custom fit for each speedster. Yes Beck and IM have a better quality.

Don:  I sent you a PM with links to some photos - check your private messages.

Are you certain it wasn't just a Cabrillo that you saw? If you are new to all of this it would make sense. 

This is the vehicle in question. The frame looked very much like the $7k brass one. Thanks gentlemen your advice is always warmly received down under.

Hi Alan, What do you think are the differences between them? On a different note. My car arrives today. Yes. A little story for the boys. I went to the classic car show a couple of weeks ago and was standing around looking at 356's and started talking to this old for about an hour. He told me he had been a Porsche and VW mechanic his whole life. I said I had bought a Speedster from the states and was going to be looking for an engine, probably a type 4. He say's to me that I'd better come around to his place because he's got one type 4 engine out of a 914 that he built a few years ago. It's balanced and blueprinted and will pull huge rpm. So I went around and sure enough there it is and he goes, there you go sonny that'll scare the s*** out of ya in your Speedster. So I'm thinking that this is going to cost me a limb or something. Well anyway after chatting to him and his wife for a couple of hours  he turns to me and says you can have it for $1000. I nearly fell over. Obviously I'm in favor with the Gods or something. You just don't find that sort of engine lying around down here. Now I'll have to convert it to upright fan etc to get it in the hole. This'll be fun. 

Nice score! Converting it to upright and the exhaust will require a bit more wirk than a basic 1600 upright install.  Please document your progress as you go!

Ted

No need to waste $1k to convert to upright and make it harder to work on.  In pancake form it will fit just fine.  You may have to cut rear cross-member out and reposition it a couple inches back but not a big issue.

Don Harrison posted:

This is the vehicle in question. The frame looked very much like the $7k brass one. Thanks gentlemen your advice is always warmly received down under.

Well that is not a Cab.  It's difficult to tell from that picture, but it doesn't look any different than a typical Speedster windshield frame to me. 

It's a little picture there Wolfgang

Don, here are some detail photos of my windshield frame - as installed by VS on a new build. Again, note that VS uses a simplified, inexpensive method to secure the top clamps to the frame when the top (roof) is up.

IM and Beck (I think) use dedicated catches secured to the frame for this - like the original Porsche method. If you order from IM or Beck, I don't know if that additional hardware is included with the frame.

Click on photos for more detail.

They are some nice photos. Now I can see what I'm dealing with. Thanks Sacto. Does anyone have IM or Beck pictures so I can compare please?

Based on the wipers, the chrome trim, and front bumper... I'd venture to say thats a replica as well.

Just my 2 cents

It is, But it does have the original screen and frame. Obviously done when they were still cheap to buy. The car is a 1976 build.

A little bigger

It's in there just by the look of it

Guru's  if the windshield frame is cut off on a 1960 Porsche 356 Cab can a speedster or D's windshield frame be installed?