Polycarbonate Windshield

[Travis]

Anyone interested in a polycarbonate windshield? I'm considering having a windshield made up for my GT in polycarbonate. I don't yet have full details but if we can get an order together for 6 pieces, it shouldn't be much more than $310 per piece. This would be for a 3/16" clear windshield with the factory contour at the top. The other sides would need to be trimmed prior to installation.

Anyone?

-Travis

[pvcar]

i doubt i would get one but what is your reasoning for it is it for a rallye gt? and also will it screw on like a racing kind or use the seal like the glass one does??? how is it on scratch resistentcy?? just wondering on the specs of this type of windshield.

[petrieopel]

I'd be very interested.
Trent

[baz]

you will have to change it every year or so as polycarb is bad in Uv rays and starts to fog up and go yellow
good for a car that gets stone chip damage in rallys but bad for a street car
ok for sides and rear where its not as critical

[Travis]

I contacted the manufacturer for the first time yesterday. Their 'windshield person' was on vacation so I wasn't able to get all the details I wanted, just a rough price for the tooling and manufacturing costs. I'm expecting a call from them today with more information.

Note that all polycarbonates are not the same. Given the application, I suspect it contains UV inhibitors and I know it has a hardcoat coating, most if not all protect against UV as well as abrasion. As for 'how abrasion resistant' I don't know. I'll get as much info from them as I can but remember that their opinion may tend to be biased. If I go forward with this, I'll know for sure in a year or so

Here's their marketing chart on abrasion resistance. I am however not familiar with the quoted test and don't know how applicable it is to real world performance. You need to be careful with these marketing types

-Travis

[Dan]

Will it use the factory rubber or can I screw/rivet it to the sheet metal?

[Travis]

I was planning to trim mine to fit in a standard window moulding. There would be nothing preventing you from screwing or riveting it to the car.

-Travis

[Travis]

Originally Posted by pvcar i doubt i would get one but what is your reasoning for it is it for a rallye gt?

It's for my solo II GT. I had a small incident a few days ago where an object rolled of the shelf and landed on my only windshield which was sitting on the bench. It should be half the weight of the standard windshield and only costs a little more than the ones from Locan that people have been having fitment problems with.

So, I need a windshield, it's reasonably priced and removes a fair amount of weight, weight that is relatively high in the car, which is a big plus.

-Travis

[Dan]

I'm interested. My Autocross GT has a delaminating problem (glass is separating from plastic) so who knows how long it will last before it is a hazard.

[Travis]

I spoke with the people that would be making the windshields. Since we've only three interested people, the price would go up a bit. It's looking like roughly $350 for 3/16" windshield that would need to be trimmed to fit on three sides. $30 extra if you want them to cut it. $120 for an anti-fog coating on the inside. $45 extra for 1/4"(stock thickness). This price includes a re-usable shipping box. Figure ~$80 for shipping depending on where you're located. They'd be shipping from Indiana BTW.

Please note that this is a real group buy. That is ACTUAL cost divided by the number of pieces. I am not making any profit on this. You won't see these for sale on eBay in 6 months for half the price.

Also, I spoke with them about yellowing due to UV and they've assured me that it isn't a problem.

Manufacturing time is ~5 days from when they receive a glass windshield from me.

Anybody else interested?

-Travis

[PROPEL]

Travis, I think this is great!

Thanks for doing the research on polycarbonates. Now the Opel community has an alternative which is both stronger and lighter than OEM.

And especially considering that the current Lo-Can supply of repro windshields is apparently defective in fit. In addtion, the Lo-Can glass is thinner than OEM and more susceptible to stone chips and fractures (like most modern cars).

So I will definitely be interested in one of these when I actually need to replace a windshield. Sorry, I know that doesn't help now with this group buy... just that glass replacement is usually an unplanned expense.

[Dan]

If we have 3 now and it would only take 6 to drop the price $40 maybe we can wait a bit and get it down. I didn't realize how much the shipping would be... Where is the company located, I'm guessing somewhere near you?

Dan

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Dan Where is the company located, I'm guessing somewhere near you?

Not at all. They're in Indiana and I'm in NH. Rather than going to Joe Shmoe down the street who bent a piece of plastic once, I went to one of the few companies in the country that specialize in polycarbonate automotive windshields. I wanted a windshield, not another project

-Travis

[RallyBob]

Originally Posted by Travis I wanted a windshield, not another project -Travis

Man, I wish I had that kind of willpower.....

[Travis]

I'll be shipping a windshield out to the manufacturer this week to be used to make the mold. I'll need a commitment and a 50% deposit from anyone interested. Time is running out. Now is your chance...

-Travis

[Dan]

Where do I send the money?

[davegt27]

to bad i need one at least 6mm thick or i would be in for one


davegt27

[Travis]

1/4" = 6.35mm

-Travis

Originally Posted by davegt27 to bad i need one at least 6mm thick or i would be in for one davegt27

[davegt27]

oops i only saw the 3/16 part

i need MR10 or something equivalent

sorry been in Iraq or i would have posted sooner

Davegt27

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Dan Where do I send the money?

Travis Woodbury
69 Kullgren Road
Temple NH 03084

-Travis

[Travis]

I received my polycarbonate windshield today. It looks great!! I still need to trim it as I bought the cheaper 'oversized' version. The important part, which is the shape, looks right.

Here's a pic of it roughly set in place.

-Travis

[Gary]

Will they keep the mold for future orders?

[Travis]

They ended up forming it around the windshield I sent them rather than making a mold. I asked them to store the windshield in case more were needed.

Thanks again Gary for donating the windshield.

-Travis

[jeff denton]

For Speedway GT we went the traditional stock car racing way and got a piece of 1/8" Lexan which we very painstakingly cut to fit overlapping the windshield opening (what's left of it). It bent nicely and riveted to the steel roof, posts, and modified cowl/ dash area. Not quite to concours show spec but looks better than most non-stock windshield attempts! A pattern of the finished product makes replacement a lot easier than forming the prototype, cost was $60, should bring a smile to those cringing over the cost of alternative methods which would be overkill in applications such as ours...