Plastic windows into frameless doors?

[Al Weyman]

I think I see how the americans do it with a tube frame bent to the top of the window and bolted to the plastic, any other suggestions or pictures. I broke a side glass on my IROC so have decided to go the whole hog and strip out the steel doors. I gave cut the windows out from a sheet of 4mm PetG and have rolled and heated a curve into them but need to fit the things now.

[tzei]

A friend of mine made frames from some junkyard car door frames. Cut and weld to suit his door openings. No bolts thru plastic etc. - very oem-ish appearance. I'm thinking to go this route myself when i get around to fabricate my CF doors & PC windows.

[Al Weyman]

Thanks for the suggestion but I have bought some tube and will try to fabricate something up tomorrow. The bending or curving of the PETG was remarkably simple, I suspended it between two pieces of 2 x 2 timber then warmed it with two heat guns then I rolled over it back and forward with a heavy roll of magnetic signmaking material, it worked remarkably well.

[FastDB2s]

I didn't think you were allowed to use anything other than Polycarbonate or Lexan (which is a trade name like Hoover for Polycarbonate ) sheet, isn't Petg just Perspex which breaks into shards, very dangerous like glass. Possibly corrected by someone who knows better but that's what I have always led to believe & use.

[Al Weyman]

No its not its as tough as old boots trust me, I use a fair bit of acrylic in signmaking and just score and snap it on my special machine, you cannot do that with this stuff it has to be cut with a fine tooth bladed saw. Lexan is just an American product trade name PETG is just another name for the same product.

[GORDON STREETER]

I've used polycarbonate for windscreens for years as it's virtually impossible to break compared to laminated glass.
The only problem I find with it is micro scratches with wiper blades, even the so called "scratch resistant" stuff does, however seeing that you can make a windscreen cheaper than buying a heavy laminate glass one that could easily be broken several times a year on the circuits, even if you made a new one every year it's a no brainer as long as it's allowed in the regs.

[Al Weyman]

That's what annoys me with CTCRC regs, they allowed side and rear plastic windows but not screens and when I raised the subject the most voiciferous opposition came from someone who promptly left and went and done special saloons his argument was one of expense which is rubbish as I keep getting screens broken and can make a plastic screen for under 50 quid the IROC screen I would get no change out of 3 or 4 hundred! if i fit a plastic screen i will use rainex and avoid wipers as much as possible.

[GORDON STREETER]

Blimey Al you actually agree with me on something !

[Al Weyman]

I agree with you in most things Gordon apart from how to spend our heating allowance lol! Btw I have trial fitted one side and its coming out good and the window is firmly held in place a lot of work though!

[Al Weyman]

I have seen a few side windows fly out on the circuit so I think its very important to get this right, these wont go anywhere!

[JohnD]

Al,
The windows of the Triumph Herald and its derivatives were all frameless, so I've seen a lot of variations on this theme. None use a fabricated frame and two I can recommend are:

1/ Hang the window from the A-post! I think that Caterhams do this by two plastic rising hinges. The lower edge is kept to the top of the door by a length of plastic angle extrusion, and because the top hinge can be near the top of the A-post, the top edge cannot lift out of the door frame easily. Needs a sign on the door for a marshal, "Open door and lift window to access driver"!

2/ The window is fixed to the top of the door by another lenth of angle, but this time alloy, and rivets. It extends downwards through the original window slot into the top of the door, where two bolts tension the lower edge outwards against the inner frame of the door itself, forcing the upper edge inwards, again to stop the top edge lifting out of the door frame. This one's adjustable too!

John

[Al Weyman]

Thanks for suggestion but niether would work because of the rake of the screen and the modified T Tops on the roof.

[Al Weyman]

If anyone is interested how I finally did this here are the pictures, the installation worked perfectly with no movement whatsoever even down the 140mph straight at Silverstone at the weekend and in the ****ing rain and let no water in either!

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/199/xtcf.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/199/xtcf.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/819/y2ir.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/407/otgt.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/443/cgjy.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/534/nrcp.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/844/kxnq.jpg/