Door glass question

[Karlos]

Hi, does anyone know any rules or regulations that apply to passenger and driver door glass? For safety reasons it is is toughened so that it shatters into small pieces and prevents massive shards from causing more injury in a crash. I have noticed on new vehicles side window glass is sometimes laminated too, like the windscreen.

If I wanted to replace the glass could I use any toughened glass? As the Dolomite door glass is relatively flat I was thinking about getting new lightly tinted glass cut to fit and then toughened. The glass would fit the whole door and I could dump the front quarterlights. The quarterlight seals and the pivot are both shot on mine and the cost of replacing them is quite substantial. Also the door glass has many vertical scratches. The quarterlights are held in place by the top pivot/hinge and the lock at the bottom, water just pours through the quarterlights, both sides.

Removing the quarterlights is a mod that will have originalityists boiling over I know, but my car is never going to win any awards, least of all for originality as it is way past saving as an original example. Other stuff I am thinking though is that the removal of quarterlights 'cheapens' the character of the cars - moves them towards Ford's territory in terms of class for that same era, I think. On the plus side I can move the door mirrors further forward and I'll have much clearer view of them and the view to the left and right will be more open and un-cluttered AND my windows will not leak!

Thoughts or comments - particularly regarding safety and regs/compliance etc?

[tony g]

not commenting on safety of the glass but a couple of points first.
"slight" curvature in the glass may mean if a flat piece is put in there it may not pull into the guide at the top of the door and be a pain (no pun) to actually close.
Losing the quarterlight will there be a channel for the glass to go up into when closed? Ive never taken a 1/4 out so cant say if its a potential problem or not.

If it all works out ok will the window regulator deal with the extra weight at the front?. That extra bit of glass weight may cause "tipping" of the glass- again another closing frustration.

Just some points to muse over

Tony

[MIG Wielder]

I quite like this idea. It is an interesting styling exercise and would make a quite unique Dolomite.
Now we had some "safety glass" specially made about 10 years ago as show piece in the bathroom.
It was about 5 feet x 8 inches and was very expensive at about £80 in a dark tinted black glass. You have to be very accurate in your initial measurements of what you need as once it has been manufactured and treated you can't modify it. We were also quite restricted in the available thicknesses.
As Tony says, the fitting of the window channel where the quarter light was would be a problem but also can you fit it in the bottom of the door aperture and then lift it into place.
It might be an idea to do a prototype in polycarbonate sheet ( B & Q do this) before commiting to manufacture.
Cheers,
Tony.

[James467]

Quaterlights are not just there as a styling accessory, they do serve a good purpose as they provide a source of ventilation without having to open the main windows. I have also turned mine around to help demist the front screen when raining, odd I know but it does work. (Especially in the MG!!)

It was only with the advent of proper in car ventilation and clean styling that they disappeared.

If you really want to go down that road I'd just get an escort door and try to cannibalise the mechanism and components, or at least have a look at how they do it. Then as Tony said do a mock up out of poly to see if it works.

[Mahesh]

I like the idea,

But I would make a template out of stiff carboard first, and then from 4mm mdf to get an exact size
without too much expendature first.

[Karlos]

Excellent comments, thank you everyone. There is no actual plan to do the modification as yet, just mulling it over and on the look-out for gotcha's before committing to anything.

If there is a slight curve in the vertical plane of the glass then it's a non starter. For the window channel where the quarterlight has been removed I think I would probably have to replace the front angled part of the door/window frame, maybe using a section of frame cut from a scrap door.

Regarding the winding mechanism, maybe go electric but I will need to check clearances between the glass and winding mechanism while the window is lowered. There could be some issues with the winding mechanism fouling the lowered glass using the manual winder anyway.

Overall it's really just a concept at the moment and as said earlier definitely not one for purists (apologies).

[Carledo]

I like the idea,

But I would make a template out of stiff carboard first, and then from 4mm mdf to get an exact size
without too much expendature first.

This is exactly what I did (though for the opposite reason) about 30 years ago. I had built a GT6 convertible for a customer with a mkIII spitfire tub and roof. However, in practice the unsupported side glasses blew outwards at speed and the idea of using GT6 quarterlights was mooted. We had the quarterlights and frames, but the drop glass was not available as the GT6 window had a square back and we needed a curved one. So I drew a pattern of the GT6 one onto stiff card, then superimposed the spit drop glass to get the rear curvature and took the resultant pattern to a glassmaker in Windsor who made them up in toughened glass (the first pair, in laminate, only survived 2 or 3 openings before cracking) IIRC we paid about £90 the pair but that WAS a long time ago! I should note here that the Spit glass was also slightly curved whereas our replacements were flat (the cost would have been MUCH higher for curved) but it worked fine for several years till the car was rolled and written off!
It might be worth getting Spitfire winders and channels to do the job with and Shaun Roche has had polycarbonate one piece windows made for his Sprint so they are available too as an alternative to glass (though I don't think the poly ones are designed to open at all)

Steve

PS, on reflection, i'm pretty sure there is NO curve in the vertical plane on Dolomite side windows since the same glass is used on both sides (check the glass makers marks) the only reason there are different part numbers for each side is cos the winder channel is on opposite ways round depending on side fitted.

[alolympic]

The prototype Dolomite facelift that I have seen pictures of used the same doors, with no quarter lights.
I have has polycarbonate windows in mine for over 5 years. They are Lexan Margard, and very scratch resistant. I would think about going that route if I were you. If plastic windows are regulation in Motorsport, it must tell you something...