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

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And last but not least---lexan in place.---and Damn Don--You're right. We're getting a spring blizzard here today--its snowed 6 friggin inches since last night and its still snowing

Brian, your idea is really good, but may i suggest some sort of channel permanatly attached to the lexan sheet at the top and bottom to act as a stiffener. I know from experience that highway speed side winds cause alot of issues with plexy type material.

On my last run to daytona in the merc i had the same idea about a windscreen as you to keep the cold out, so i made removable inserts that i could take out when it got warm, but the wind really gave them hell! I had to screw them in every few inches to keep them from flopping around. Just a thought for you.

I just checked with a local glass and mirror place---If I bring in the templates of what I need they will cut the peices of 1/4" lexan (approx 15" x 34" ) to size for $60.44 each. Its probably worth that to keep from having the wind blowing my head off during a 2500 mile trip. ---And yes, Hotroddaddy--I will get a peice of steel channel and epoxy it over the bottom of the lexan, with a strip of foam or felt glued to the bottom of the channel to protect my door tops. I think that I can get enough contact (from the rear of the lexan to about 1/3 of the way towards the header) between the lexan and and the top steel tube to do something up there with velcro. (the lexan will be about an inch (the tube diameter) taller than I have shown in the model)

Brian, I know what you mean about wind chill. I had a CJ7 with a soft top that I nearly froze to death driving across Texas in the winter, heading out to Florida from California. The heater just couldn't keep up with the cold that seeped in there, even though it was a good soft top. By time I sold my Jeep, I had a full soft top, a bikini top, hard half doors and a full hard top and door set. Nothing worked until I got the hard top and full doors. On your truck can you eventually get a second set of full doors with roll down windows, or is that not an option? It seems they would be easy enough to switch out from cool months to warm months. There is a lot to be said about having a glass window that rolls up and down!
Looking at your roof design I'm guessing you would need a custom door setup, but the nice thing is you could lock your car on road trips, and not mess up your current doors. Just a thought(I know an expensive one!)

Originally Posted by stovens

Brian, I know what you mean about wind chill. I had a CJ7 with a soft top that I nearly froze to death driving across Texas in the winter, heading out to Florida from California. The heater just couldn't keep up with the cold that seeped in there, even though it was a good soft top. By time I sold my Jeep, I had a full soft top, a bikini top, hard half doors and a full hard top and door set. Nothing worked until I got the hard top and full doors. On your truck can you eventually get a second set of full doors with roll down windows, or is that not an option? It seems they would be easy enough to switch out from cool months to warm months. There is a lot to be said about having a glass window that rolls up and down!
Looking at your roof design I'm guessing you would need a custom door setup, but the nice thing is you could lock your car on road trips, and not mess up your current doors. Just a thought(I know an expensive one!)

Stovens--It would take a total redesign of the entire cab to put doors with a top and roll up windows in it. If I had wanted a coupe I would have built a coupe. This hotrod is strictly a summertime hot weather driver.--But even in summertime hot weather driving, I've found a few wet cold days that made it miserable.

Brian, When I first read your thread I remembered back to the side curtains that I had on the Triumph TR3 which were similar to the ones Don had on his bugeyed sprite.

Your design looks very good, but the only question I have is what do you plan to do at highway toll booths and at the fast food places when you need to pick up your goodies? Are you planning on having an resealable opening in your plexiglas to get the arm out for these activities? Or are you going to just piss off every one behind you in line while you attempt to remove the plexiglass?

Maybe should try a heated union suit and a full face motorcyle helmet for warmth.

Keep up posted on how you end up making the windows, I might one to do the same someday in a future roadster.

Keep in mind people---THIS IS A TEMPORARY MEASURE FOR A ONE TIME TRIP!!! I am driving to the east coast of Canada and back. There are no toll booths on Canadian roads. These windows will get popped in in the morning when my buddy and I leave whatever hotel we stayed in the previous night, and won't get out again for 400 miles except for pee breaks. In fact, if the weather stays warm and doesn't turn cold or real rainy, they may never leave the back of the truck.These are not "cruising around town" windows. They are not a long term be there forever deal. Thats why I don't want to take more permanent /expensive measures. Very probably after the major trip is over, they will end up in a closet for the next 10 years.

In that case, the design you have come up with looks like ti will do the job quite well. No toll roads in Canada?? Lucky guy!

emergency escape plan:

Keep a knife handy. Cloth top, right?

Brian,
This is my suggestion. You could mount this frame work to the door jams with some L brackets. I don't know if you have solenoids in your doors or you reach in side to open them manually. If you have electric doors then this could work. I was trying to think of a way where you can put the window up and sown without removing it from the car each time. Trying to minimize paint damage. If you used an old seat belt, attach the buckle to the lower tube then the other part of the seat belt with the strap attached the right length and loop it over the upper tube you should raise and lower the window and not risk any damage to your truck. I have the belt going around the tube the wrong direction but I hope you get the idea. My 2 cents.
Ken

So, today while I was driving to a jobsite and thinking about this, the idea struck me "Hey---I have a milling machine!!! Lets build that front Lexan mount out of 1/2" square aluminum and polish it. I called my aluminum supplier, and 36" of 1/2" square aluminum is only $3.00---Hell, why not!!!

TaDa--$3.00 worth of 1/2" square aluminum and a couple of hours on the milling machine---and we have the front mounts for my Lexan sidewindows. This stuff will polish up like chrome if it ever gets warm enough to work with my garage doors open.

Does anybody have experience with riv-nuts or nut-serts (same thing I think). I am thinking it might be easier to but three 1/4-20 nut-serts into the top frame tubes at the rear of the window opening, then loctite a 1/4-20 stud into them. This would give me a permanent spot to mount the lexan on when I needed to, and they would not be nearly as obvious as a peice of plate like my first idea. The topframe tubes are relatively thin wall---too thin to tap, but with a nut-sert locked into them it might work fine.

Ive used them. The key with nut-serts is taking the time to install them right. Your a man of high detail, and fine craftsmanship so i dont think it will be a problem for you. they hold better in metal, but can work in glass too. The only problem i have encountered with them is area`s that get dissasembled alot. They tend to get loose in high traffic assemblies.

brian I was looking at this and wondering if you used kens idea you could weld 2 thin alum. tabs to each upright that you could use dzus fasteners to the door in the jamb area that way you could slide the it up and down plus in summer mo. remove them and just put the dzus buttons back in and when you opened the door it would still look cool just a thought .....ted