Lexan fabricated windows

Larry Stock's PPC (Pantera Parts Connection) also stands for Polymer Plastics Corp. so he's probably a good 'go to' guy in this instance.

He made me some lexan front quarters so I could drill and bolt mirrors on. They required forming in an oven to get the curvature.

As the main side window would be fixed (i.e no up/down) for the lexan slider style shown I would think the pain would have enough flexibility to form to the curvature naturally. Glueing the slider rails etc. is not that difficult with appropriate glues. Cutting the hole is a little more of a challenge, especially without marring/scratching the lexan.

Julian

A few notes on making Lexan side windows at home: first, it's simple to make your own curved plastic pieces when your wife is not around. Place a glass window in the oven with a rough-cut Lexan piece on top. Turn the oven to ONLY 150F degrees; about 10 minutes will soften the Lexan enough that it sags to conform to the shape of the glass. Then after removing the glass & plastic and letting them cool together, you can trim the Lexan to exact size. That low temp does nothing to the glass at all.
Second, select UV-stabilized Lexan or other plastic; 'regular' plastics will sun-craze within a year.
Third, the plastic can be stained or dyed to have a tint matching your windshield, by using 'RIT' brand dye from the drugstore. This is exactly how custom sunglasses are darkened by your Optometrist. The tint finishes off the lightweight windows off appearance-wise IMHO. And as Julian said, outside mirrors can be securely SCREWED to the Lexan rather than depending on adhesives.

Hope I'm not veering too off-topic, but I wonder if I could use Lexan to affix on top (to the inside) of my back windshield glass to cut down on noise.

I remember others using 'double pane' to a great 'claimed' noise reduction and that the Maserati Bora did the same with success. Any input on this?

Adams,

What's up can't hear the stereo

A dual pane lexan screen is available from the vendors, or Larry Stock at least.

Julian

quote:

Originally posted by Joules5:
Adams,

What's up can't hear the stereo

A dual pane lexan screen is available from the vendors, or Larry Stock at least.

Julian

What's that? Speak up! I love the way my car sounds, but on occasion I get out and my head is buzzing from the noise.

I just read some articles after your post about dual pane glass and the 'stethoscope effect' by the rear quarter glass. I may try to plug that before I go nuts on this thing. For the record, couldn't find PPC's dual pane glass on line, so I may have to call. Thanks for the lead!

Hustler, the pictures you posted didn't come up when I opened this thread. If you can't find what you are looking for there is an aircraft window manufacturer in Los Alamitos CA who use to make all sorts of odd ball stuff. They use to make DOT approved windshields for really odd ball cars and they did really nice work with Lexan also.

I like Jacks tutorial on making your own Lexan pieces. Pretty cool.

Yeah sorry about the pictures, my host moved its server to another provider this morning, so i had to make some changes to point it to the new host. They should be showing up again.

quote:

Originally posted by Joules5:
Larry Stock's PPC (Pantera Parts Connection) also stands for Polymer Plastics Corp. so he's probably a good 'go to' guy in this instance.

He made me some lexan front quarters so I could drill and bolt mirrors on. They required forming in an oven to get the curvature.

Julian

How much did they cost? I would be interested if they're not outrageous.

I can see the pictures...those are pretty typical race fare. I had some made like that done years ago by:

Aircraft Windshield Co
10871 Kyle Street
Los Alamitos, CA 90720-2410
(562) 430-8108

I tried to call them and had to leave a message. The name of the company on the answering machine was Metcaf?

Mr Hudson, a dual-pane rear window was fabricated by Ron Wade in WA quite a few years ago, but Ron thought it might keep heat out of the cockpit. The inner panel was Lexan with a low pressure N2 fill between the panes. I wound up with the prototype, mounted it on our '72 L as a test (at Ron's suggestion) and recorded exactly 1.0 dB of 'quietness' improvement from the installation. There was no discernable improvement in heat insulation- at least as I tested it.
Because it's such a b**** to change these windows with stiff 40-year-old rubber gaskets, it's still in the car today. Most people never notice it. Ron still offers these on a you-order-it-and-I'll-make-one basis, if you're interested.

I never cease to be amazed. I post a fairly obscure question, and a 'maybe they exist' posit. Bosswrench shows up with the history, fabricator, development, and a recorded stat on the result.

All I can say is 'thanks' and 'wow'.

For a 1db drop, I'll just put cotton in my ears. Makes me look sophisticated too.

Thank you SO much for the reply.

It is obvious that as a red neck you cannot appreciate the glorious sound of the “Cleveland Symphony”.
So ……………….Adams just turn up the volume on the built in speakers in your Fiero seats and enjoy your Carpenters cassette.