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Has anybody installed one of Wilkinsons bonded windscreens? I would love to see a picture of it in the car. I am curious as to how wide the blacked out band is around the edge (the bit that hides bonded area). I have seen some fitted to Panteras in the past that have a very wide back blacked out band that looks too wide.

Johnny
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I do not have a photo, but I did see one installed at Steve's shop a couple of months ago. All I can say is that I am having one in my car when I get to that place. There is no trim, just the material to set the windscreen in place, and it is very narrow.

Maybe Steve has a photo that he can send to you -- just give him a ring.

Thanks,

Mark
Thanks guys. That blue car appears to have no rubber trim around it at all? I would expect there to be a rubber trim about as wide as the rain gutter trim. I agree with Larry, I am not sure it looks right. Lets wait for more pictures. I will call steve today and ask him to send some. If he does I will post them.

I be the car will be more aerodynamic with the trim gone. I was hoping for 210MPH this year!

Johnny
Johnny,

You are correct -- there is no rubber, or any trim, for that matter between the windscreen and the frame. That black substance that you see is the bonding agent. I would also agree that it looks acceptable on a blacked out trim car, but may look a little more obnoxious on a chrome trim car as it will stick out like a sore thumb.

To each his own, but I really do not like the bulbous piece of trim that was on my car, compared to the "flat" and minimal look. The bonded windscreen also makes the car a little more rigid -- which is nice.

Cheers,

Mark
This is more of a question than a statement. Wouldn't you be more concerned about the windshield cracking as a result of the body flexing if bonded to the body? My windshilds seem to have plenty of room in which to move inside their stock gaskets. I would think, that if bonded to the car any twisting would put stresses on the windshield that could cause cracking.
I have seen cars in Vegas with a little rubber trim around the bonded screen. I have also seen them with a very wide blacked out band that I did not like, it made the screen look very small. Should have taken pictures.. I dont think there would be any cracking problems, the Pantera is a little flexible but not nearly as bad as some. There are lots of Panteras out there now with bonded screens, has anybody heard of one cracking?

I think the Lanica Monte Carlo was the first car with a bonded windscreen.

Johnny
Mine has not cracked yet on my black Ultra car. I never really noticed that black band before around the outside, maybe due to being a black car. Not sure why it is there, since inside the car there is nothing messy to hide there. At the same time I was considering buying my black Ultra, I was also looking at this blue/white 5S to buy in PA and it had a similar windshield, but overall it didn't seem to have as good a build and finish. However looking at the windshield, I see the black trim on the blue/white 5S is thinner width than on my car. But all & all, I suppose prior to windshield installation you could trim that stuff down or just eliminate it. On that blue/white 5S when I was there I noticed they had trimed one spot of that black trim even further for the ugly state windshiled sticker they must have in PA. Some photos below and more high resolution in the links.

http://www.poca.com/index.php/...g2_imageViewsIndex=2

http://www.poca.com/index.php/...g2_imageViewsIndex=1

http://www.poca.com/index.php/...g2_imageViewsIndex=1

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Last edited by does200
I too was at Wilkinson's and saw one of the windshields...they look great. The windshield fits really tight to the body recess, maybe 1/8-1/4" gap all the way around which is filled in with and adhesive like RTV type filler. I gather that they paint the underside of the glass (I've done that before) with black paint and its just enough to cover what every you want to hide underneath the glass. So if all you want to hide is a small uneven bead of adhesive (say 1/4-1/2")once it's squished down, then you mask the underside of the window leaving 1/2" of margin on the outside of the glass, and then paint it black. Not sure if Steve's windshields are laminated with the black in between the layers. If the body area where the windshield sits is 1" and you want to hide all the ugly from outside view the black band would be 1" or larger. There is an aircraft windshield manufacturer about two miles from me that makes all sorts of custom windshields(laminated glass and plexiglass)...they made one for me. I wouldn't be surprised if they make the glass for the Pantera vendors.
quote:
Originally posted by Johnny Woods:
I have seen cars in Vegas with a little rubber trim around the bonded screen. I have also seen them with a very wide blacked out band that I did not like, it made the screen look very small. Should have taken pictures.. I dont think there would be any cracking problems, the Pantera is a little flexible but not nearly as bad as some. There are lots of Panteras out there now with bonded screens, has anybody heard of one cracking?

I think the Lanica Monte Carlo was the first car with a bonded windscreen.

Johnny


Often a problem with bonded windscreens, in combination with a "flexible" chassis, is the wear they cause. They can "scrape" off the underlying paint, and cause rust after a while. Maybe not a real issue though, since most Panters are driven little, but it is a common issue with "modern" cars.
There was a Group 4 conversion at Monterey last year which had a bonded screen. I talked with the owner as I was impressed with the look, no trim and no black curtain around it. I thought I took some photo's but can't find them at present.

Julian
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