Now I have to come up with some sidecurtains---

I was looking at that channel at the Hardware store at lunch today thinking of you! Thats the same stuff I used to hold my frameless glass to my 27 posts on the T.

 

Well, we have windows. The operation was a success. I left the furnace on in the garage overnite to cure the silicone, and this morning I glued the 3/8" wide x 1/4" thick closed cell foam weatherstripping onto the aluminum bottom channel. I had to make a few last minute adjustments to the Marguard with my trusty Dremel tool, but now the windows slide into place very easily, and the foam seals the gap at the bottom of the window very well. This has been a very good project, in that I didn't scratch any paint, didn't mark up the top material in any way, and didn't break anything. My total cost for the project, including taxes amounted to about $230 for everything. These windows are never going to be equivalent to roll up windows mounted in the doors, but they will be darn close. I think my 2500 mile round trip to the Atlantic nationals just got a lot more comfortable. I hope that all who followed this post enjoyed it.---Brian

 

Looks real slick Brian, did the supplier give you tips on cleaning?
You must have power door opener eh!
Get your buddy out this weekend, (spost to be nice) and do a shake down run...oh ya, no Chilly and beers...

 

No power doors--you reach in to operate the inside door handle. The windows install after you get into the car. They can aso be slid into place when you are standing outside the car, but you can not run the nuts onto the threaded studs that hold the windows in place from outside. These windows are not "convenient" to use. They are intended to be put in place for long trips and removed when I reach my destination.

 

And, as a finishing shot, here are the knurled knobs I made on my lathe installed, as seen from inside the car, and from outside when the windows are not in place.

 

Looks like a successful endeavor. And you can barely see them in the pictures unless you really look.

Something you might consider taking along 'just in case' would be some "U" shaped clips or pieces of metal that'll fit into the channel and around the windows. This way if for some ungodly reason they get to a point where they don't fit the openings you have a way of extending the channel.

I just know how Murphy's Law works. If I've got the clips or extensions if you will, then I'll never need them.

 

Duct tape, my man. Hell, even Red Green knows that!!!

 

So---Today we had the real "test" of the new side windows. I went to see a new customer in Bradford, about 25 miles from my place. I went down Hwy 400 (Which for you American boys is similar to one of your "interstate" highways. The windows kept most of the wind out, but they were flexing bad in the center at the top.--Not enough to break them, but enough to make me a bit nervous. (The top of the side windows is not attached to anything.) The bottom of the window where I siliconed the aluminum channel onto were solid as a rock. On the way home I got caught in one of those pop up thunderstorms---the kind where the rain drops are bouncing three foot up of the pavement. I stayed dry as could be, and thank the Lord for RainX I was able to see out the windshield with no problem. When I got back into Barrie I stopped at the glass shop and bought another length of the same aluminum channel and siliconed it onto the top of each side window. This job is still evolving, but I feel good about doing all my testing close to home, instead of finding soomething out 500 miles away from home and all my tools.

 

Yeah, but as clean as that creation is, I'd hate to have any image of it soiled by something like duct tape.

Glad to hear they work.

 

This thread rocks! BTTT

 

nice work there!

 

You have resurrected an old thread from last year. The side windows were a great success, but they did show up one evil deficiency. When the local fellow sewed my top, he did a beautifull job on it, and I couldn't have been more pleased. When I drove down to the east coast in July to the Atlantic nationals, I drove through the rainstorms from Hell all the way down and all the way back. No rain came in through the windows, but the seam in the top right above my head leaked water like a dirty Bastard. The side windows cause a bit of a low pressure area inside the cab, and the guy who sewed the top didn't use any waterproofing at the seams. It rained as hard inside the car as it did outside, but the water came though that top seam, not through the side windows.---Brian

 

3M / others make water proofing sprays - used on shoes, boat tops, camping equipment, etc. Gary