Fitting MM windscreen.

[Johnno]

After trying a number of times to fit the screen in my `52MM and ruining two screen rubbers a friend and myself got our heads together to find a way to fit it.This is what we came up with; one,nearside door off,two,steering wheel off,three fit wooden frame as pictures,four make wooden wedges from 4x2 timber,five,cut piece of 4x2 to fit across both door pillars,six,place windscreen in ready position using lots of vaseline,seven,drive wedges on to screen(carefully) and tap in to opening.Gradually drive wedges in as outside lip is prised in position using a plastic tool designed for fitting mobile phone cases and string.I fitted this by myself in approx 4 hrs,in between tea and cursing(lots!)Any questions just ask,[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[mike.perry]

Well done!!

[alanworland]

We know how to have fun!! Congratulations.
My own experiences are on here somewhere and I remember it well (or not so well!)

Alan

[TvdWerf]

Never tried this trick, but its not a bad idea

[smithskids]

Looks a good rig, it wont get tired pushing the screen in either!

[Johnno]

Well anyone who is struggling to do the windscreen will find this works and fairly easy to do.
Cheers guys.

[RobThomas]

Fitting a windscreen? EASY!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbNaz8S-p2o 5:17 minutes in.

[alanworland]

Great bit of film, like the way the screens are ready mounted in the rubber!

Alan

[RobThomas]

Did you notice the SBMs on those 1950 cars built in the UK and the LBMs on the Molenaar ones in the other video from the same era?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDYKDdHg98E 2 mins, 7 secs in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbNaz8S-p2o 6 seconds and 14 seconds in.


[frame][/frame]

[RobThomas]

Soooooo, I decided to have a go this morning. I cleaned up the rubber with hot soapy water to get the crud out of it, cleaned the glass down on the edges with a razor blade and lubed the metalwork with Waxoyl. Getting the glass in wasn't too bad and the clean rubber stuck quite nicely. the manual says to use "Gold Size" to stick it but that is both expensive and hard to find. If it leaks I'll seal it somehow.
Putting the new rubber in the split section of screen was not easy but some chop sticks helped to move the glass apart to get the new seal in. The new seal was a poor fit and the holes weren't even in line (ESM) so I tried the old one. Perfect fit. I cut down an old chrome finisher to get it all held in place. Waxed plastic-coated washing line was used to take the place of the string shown in the manual.
I got the bottom in with difficulty since the bottom of the inner face of the seal got caught up and wouldn't sit flat. Chopstick time again. I started the rope-pull in the middle at the bottom and got 80% of the way round on both sides before I needed help. A well placed screwdriver forced the glass down enough to get the top of the seal in, albeit with one tear in the seal. Grrrrrr. I'll have a go at the chrome finisher later or maybe over the weekend.
Tips? Clean rubber, lube bodywork, waxed washing line, possibly using something smaller for the rubber seal between the 2 panes of glass to get more space, rubber mallet in your pocket and maybe a wood/plastic lever to help shift things about.

£3 in the swear box.

[RobThomas]

Woohoo. Even got an original 1970s tax disc that belonged to the car. Thanks, Carlo![frame][/frame]

[DAVIDMCCULLOUGH]

Well done!!

[RobThomas]

Thanks for that David. Now to clean it all up. The rubber seems to have had a waxy coating on it that is hard to get off. Any suggestions for what to clean the rubber up with? It also would benefit from something to 'blacken' the rubber a bit.

The rubber seals, apart from the big one, were not much use. The profiles were nowhere near the original and the holes look like they had been drilled freehand from the weird angles and poor spacing. In the absence of 'Prestik' I bought a long roll of butyl rubber strip used for sealing greenhouse windows (Thanks for the tip, Carlo).

Any suggestions for how to keep the trim strip securely wedged in the rubber seal? I'd hate to lose it on a bumpy road.

[WPR678B]

Woohoo. Even got an original 1970s tax disc that belonged to the car. Thanks, Carlo![frame][/frame]

Looking AMAZING Rob! Shame I couldn't offer you the '49 disc for her

[RobThomas]

That would've been the icing on the cake but we can always get one of those replica ones.

One of the chrome filler bits popped out due to the vibration during reversing. I'm making an engine steady for it today. Altas are not the easiest things to mount a steady onto! Pics to follow.

Any suggestions how to 'glue' the strips in, anyone?

[alanworland]

I must confess to using a neutral cure (non corrosive) silicone adhesive sealant for the main rubber seal and to secure the chrome trim in.
The trim was held in position with tape and pieces of wood while it all cured.
Looks ok though!

Alan

[DAVIDMCCULLOUGH]

Yes also had to use a silicone to hold it in place, few blobs mostly along the outer edge and tape it down for a couple of days. Been fine since

[sparesman]

I have used twice a drop of superglue at top and bottom corners to secure the chrome trim but you also need to make sure the chrome trim is gently twisted / bent to right profile so that it sits fully into the rubber all round.

[RobThomas]

An older fellow round the corner who probably remembers when mine was built happened to drop by a few days ago. He recalls that there used to be a known issue with the chrome that it started to curve if you took it out with force and that if you used any force to get it back in you could easily alter the profile until it would never go back in. Definitely not a good idea to use a soft rubber mallet to persuade it back into shape as it flattened the profile and curled it away at the corners, he warned me. Sage advice, methinks.

[tortron]

you can shape 2 pieces of Perspex tot he screen chrome profile, then stick them in the jaws of some locking pliers. now you ca reshape them perfectly.

I cant find the photos right now, but I used a couple of ratchet straps to hold the screens in place over night to let the rubber settle. 5 years on, and the rubber seems to have softened to what it should be! and I was able to massage the glass in a little further