Bugga - cracked windscreen

[stephen low]

Went out to the garage this morning to continue fibreglassing new dash - see other thread, only to spot that the windscreen has cracked in the car overnight.

I think we had a low teens temp. overnight but I was mighty pissed.

I am vaguely aware that the screen needs not to be held in place by rubber but what is it that is recommended as the glass retainer?

Can anyine suggest which Melbourne screen repairers I will need to contact to have this unused screen replaced? What do they cost?

Any other tricks I should be aware of, particularly how I determine whether my installation has streesed out the screen.

I'd have to admit, now thinking about it that I've had the car jacked up at all sorts of odd angles working on it with the screen in place over the past two months. Is this the most likely cause of this cracking?

Look forward to some good info. in response.

Pissed off but cheers

ps this didn't happen on Friday 13th eve!!!!!

[david dickinson]

hi mate i would think that it has cracked under stress from jacking , it depends how much your chassis moves when jacking up . think they are around 300 bucks nz ,it is a little tricky fitting new glass remove the side pillars and then undo the screws around the edges ,seperate the pieces and remove glass,you will need new retaining rubber .this is put around the edge of the glass and cut to length. cut off the excess rubber with a razor blade to give a neat finish. be carefull fitting the screws as the screen is chromed brass and will strip threads if too much torque is applied.

[Bryan Wilson]

Steve,
I broke mine a while back and found that Windscrees O'Brien have Cobra glass.
Don't know the cost as insurance payed for it.
Cheers,
Bryan

[Rebel1]

Make sure whoever fits the new glass allows clearance for the side pillar screws.

Those in the know insist of the glass being notched for the screws.

Urethane is said to better than using the rubber section as it doesn't stress the glass.

[Tony Cram]

Stephen,

Novus in Mitcham do them, may need to order in screen (takes a day or so) Windscreens O'Brien do them also. I paid $180 fitted and garanteed for mine when did roadworthy a few years back.

Rubber holder strip can be picked up from any auto rubber joint. Bill Thompson Auto rubber in Ringwood will have it.

Cheers


Tony

[sambo]

I've been following this thread and noticed that the cost of glass is fairly affordable and if the rubber parts are fairly generic, then why is it that a whole windscreen "kit" can fetch as much as $1400? Surely the chrome surrounds aren't worth $1000? What am I missing here?

[400TT]

Sambo, yep, getting glass installed is the cheap part. Chromed brass surround & side stanchions(uprights, side posts) is where the money is.

Rebel1 is right on the money, Urethane is much better than using T rubber. Although we owned a Cobra for 6 years without a windscreen breaking and it was mounted with rubber. Headlights were a different story though, went through a few of those.

Haven't heard of notching the glass for side stanchion screws. We've always just made sure the screws don't protrude enough to touch the glass.

There is also different brands of glass and some glass suits particular screens better.

Main cause of windscreen breakages(other than rocks, birds etc) seems to tension on the side stanchions. Make sure there is no tension on the side stanchions from where they mount on the chassis, space/adjust as necessary.

Also don't forget to silcone where the side stanchions protrude through the body to stop water entering as this is a major water leak source.

My brother is the king of getting windscreens replaced. After having no trouble with the first Cobra, this second Cobra will break a windscreen relatively quickly. We were very careful to make sure there was no tension on the side stanchions. Even Urethane did not help. Eventually Don Pilling from Snake Bite helped and it was concluded that the frame was out of shape, as in made incorrectly. The windscreen was not bought from Snake Bite. The frame has only just been replaced, lets hope the breakages stop.

[sambo]

Thanks mate. Do we buy this Urethane by the roll or is there a specific product for the Cobra screens?

[stephen low]

Thanks guys.

Tony what is the rubber holder strip you mention? I want to also replace my sealing rubber at the bottom for a slightly longer version, it's not that is it?

Cheers

[Tony Cram]

Stephen,

You will be able to get both.

The bottom strip is available in different sizes (width). You buy by the length.

The other strip I mentioned is the one that seals the screen to the frame.

Cheers

TC

[400TT]

Originally Posted by sambo

Do we buy this Urethane by the roll or is there a specific product for the Cobra screens?

Urethane is in liquid form, like silicone.

Don't sweat it, your windscreen glass will come supplied in frame with T rubber mounting, it should be fine, if the screen frame is mounted right. I personally prefer the look of T rubber mounted glass, but it's easy to see the advantages of Urethane. T rubber is not quite as capable of providing the same tension across the entire glass windscreen, whereas Urethane certainly does.