Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi folks, I live in Australia and have a 1949 series MM 2 door split windscreen saloon. I came out to the shed the other day and found the windscreens falling into the car. I have purchased the new windscreen rubber and dividing strips, all I need to do now is fit them. I understand the bit about the spray silicon and the nylom string but has anyone got a manual that they could copy the instructions for me. I have done a few minis before but this is worth getting right first time. Also its winter here so I don't want to be hanging around outside for too long if you know what I mean.
The car came with a set of twin SU's and an extractor exhaust (50's Monaro Motors conversion) on the little side valve engine........watch out!!

do a search for the various ways, been discussed a trillion times.

See here: http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f= ... eplacement

Thanks LouiseM, very helpful. Has anyone got a manual? That video mentioned in the link would be great. I'm using the original glass which is in good order. So I won't have the problems some had with the thicker glass. Onwards and upwards. Cheers.

Here are the videos of CKD Minor production at the Dutch factory. The short clip showing the windscreen fitting is in video 2, around 5.21mins in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocmqyDnEaR8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbNaz8S-p2o

Excellent.....I remember a lot of mallets were also used on the Mini production line, Thanks.

I GOT THE NEW RUBBER AND IT HAS A WEDGE INSERTED AT THE JOIN. DOES THIS GO TO THE TOP OR THE BOTTOM OF THE WINDSCREEN? I HAVE MADE MY OWN TEMPORARY JOINER PIECE OUT OF HARDWOOD FOR THE TWO PANES AND WITH THE OLD CENTRE RUBBERS IT HOLDS QUITE NICE AT THE CORRECT ANGLE. I WAS GOING TO SILICONE THE RUBBER TO THE GLASS AND DISCOVERED THE WEDGE WHICH PUTS A SLIGHT POINT AT THE JOINT IN THE RUBBER. ANY CLUES AS TO HOW MUCH SILICONE TO PUSH INTO THE GROOVE? WILL I NEED TO KEEP THE RUBBER STRAPPED TO THE SCREEN ASIT HAS A FEW CONCAVE RUNS AT THE BOTTOM? HOW DID YOU GET THE STRING INTO THE SMALL GROOVE FOR FINAL FITTING? WAS IT EASY OR NOT? CHEERS KEV.

if its a proper split screen rubber it will only fit one way becasue its shaped to fit the frame,fit it to the frame without the glass and you will see that the curves (radius) are different and it is obvious which way it fits,don;t understand what you mean by a wedge in the rubber.Don't silicone the glass into the rubber,if it sets and bonds the glass to rubber,when you come to fit the whole lot into the frame the glass and rubber need to be able to move independantly of each other, otherwise they will both prevent each other from settling into the right position.Just put non setting mastic round the frame to seal rubber and frame and after all fitted insert mastic between glass and rubber with the nose of the applicator.
I don't use the string method,I use the rubber onto frame,then fit the glasses then spread the glasses with straps then fit centre when spread far enough.One man job.
What ever way you do it you will still need to stick the corners of the rubber down,unless the quality of the rubber has improved over the last three years since I did my last change.

Thanks Kennatt, once you fit the rubber to the body (if it doesn't work its way off) how do you fit the screens? you can't slide them in because they are wider than the body opening which is made even smaller by the rubber. Cheers Kev.

The screens are/ should be smaller than the body openings,because on the split screen,the normal way, the whole lot is assembled,with a dummy centre section,which is basically the original with the top and bottom cut off,then the whole lot is offered up from inside the car,and the string is pulled from outside,to take the outer lip over the edge,the original centre is wider than the body,so needs the shorter dummy section. This is why it takes three man two on the inside and one outside pulling the string.
Put the rubber on,it will slip off a few times,insert one glass from the outside, this then holds that side of the rubber onto the car,then fit the other glass, it will very slightly overlap the first glass,just be careful not to force them too far appart at first. Ease them outwards untill they butt up to each other at the centre,then you need to find four thin straps,(I windsurf so have several roof rack straps the type that self lock when you pull them to tie boards onto the roof) You could probably use that plastic strapping that comes on large parcels and find some way of tensioning it ,twisting with a screwdriver maybe.
Fit the straps round the frame through the centre of the glass two each side and give them a slight pull all round and you will see that the glasses separate.Don't overdo it ,just a bit at a time to let the rubber and glasses settle into the frame, leave for half a day and do it again,leave and do it again,and again untill you can fit the inner centre bar and seal. Don't rush this stage if you try to pull them appart in one go you risk a break,just take your time.

Then remove the straps,a bit of soap helps them slide out of the glass without distrubing the centre bar.Fit the outer centre and job done one man.
As an asside, Splitscreens are notorious for leaks at the bottom corners,so long as you are confident that the metal lip on the frame is well protected with sealant and paint,so that any water that gets under the rubber is not going to cause it to rust. I used mastic in the normal applicator and you will see on the inside of the car there is a large rubber lip on the screen rubber,which overlaps the actual rubber to frame join. I inserted the tip of the applicator under this overlap and went right round the whole frame letting the mastic ooze out. Then trimmed it off when set. I did this three years ago and have probably got the only splitty in the UK that stays dry Good luck its probably one of the worst jobs on a splitscreen second to maybe headlining.

Both my splitscreens are bone dry - non sealing mastic around the lip, and between glass and rubber. In fact, I do this with all modern rubber on a Minor due to less than perfect fit.

Pete

Thanks Guys, that gives me enough confidence to have a go this weekend. Just got to find some of the non hardening mastic and make sure there is no potential rust spots as mentioned. I can do that in the evenings. Cheers Kev.