Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

AHM

Really appreciate your input. Thank you .

rear windscreen went in fine . Have had so much trouble trying to get infill to stay in I've walked away from it .
the front screen has been even more difficult and i think i must be doing it wrong ....
we put the front rubber in and used the loctite 406 for the join.It's a bit big for hole but imagine it'll squeeze down.

We then put the glass in and sort-of got it to rest in the channel from bottom corner to corner .....
Then I decided we'd take the rubber from the sides and top and place it on the glass and then try to use cord method for pulling it back thru the aperture .
last night we gave up at about 7pm having faffed around for a couple of hours & I said to my son i might have to get a professional in! ( how i find someone locally is another problem)
It's the only thing between us and the MOT now

front screen in! .
what a job.... i'll do the insert next weekend once frosts send me the missing part from the windscreen rubber tool kit.

Hawksfield wrote:Hi
Is the early +2 rear screens different to the S 130 as I fitted a new rubber last year from matty's in one piece, it was a fiddle but successful

I don't believe the rear screens or rubbers ever changed on the Plus 2 but fit between the body and glass is variable and can give issues due to variations in both the glass and the body. Same with Elan FHC.

Lotus appears to have taken more care with the front screen fit than the rear in both FHC Elans and Plus 2 and after 50 years of body distortion the fit is even worse

cheers
Rohan

Kev Thanks for confirming your rear screen rubber supplier.

As I could not find my original rubber, it will be interesting to see how it all fits.

The Photo shows the profile dimensions of Sue Millers rubber.

My rear body frame thickness = 3 to 3.5mm thk and rear glass is 5mm thk.
So Rubber at 4.7 fits 3.5 body frame and 5.4 fits 5 ??
The Filler strip is an ok fit, but would have preferred the rubber to be a tighter fit to body and frame, as it would probably retain the filler strip tighter. But until it?s all fitted to the car it?s difficult to say.

RichC Interesting that you have the same rubber supplier as mine so will be very interesting to see if your filler strip holds firm.

But as Rohan has said, the rear screen fit will be variable between cars and glass.

So here?s hoping when I fit mine it will be ok.

This thread has noted 3 different suppliers of the rubber and the input from all is much appreciated.

Sorry but the dimensioned Photo has been rotated 90 degrees, tried different methods without success.

It is amazing how many cars used the same windscreen sealing rubber. When restoring my Sabra GT, I went in search of new rubber. The dimensions of the rubber and sealing strip are almost identical to that used on a 1978 Chevrolet pickup truck, with the exception of the gap that goes around the pinch weld. Fiberglass bodied cars requiring a wider gap. My S2 and my Elva Mk4T Coupe and the Sabra all use the same rubber and sealing strip.

A trip to a good friend who owns a restoration business, resulted in finding exactly what I needed in one of his catalogs. With three cars to take care of, I purchased a 100 foot roll of the rubber and matching sealing strip.

As Rohan says, bodies change over time. I learned a valuable lesson on the restoration of the Sabra. One of the first things I did, was remove the front and rear glass, as the rear glass is no longer available, and I wanted to tuck it away for safe keeping. New front glass is available on a limited business.

In the years that it took to restore the body, and working mostly outside in the summer, when it came time to reinstall the glass, I found the openings had shrunk in size. Simple grinding the edges of the front glass made its installation somewhat easier. However the rear glass is tempered and cannot be ground unless the tempering is removed. Watching the newly found glass person slapping, pushing, pounding on the rear glass to complete the installation, almost caused me heart failure. I though for sure it would shatter. After about 3 hours of effort, he was able to complete the installation. Given any luck, I will never remove that glass again.

In hindsight, when I tackle the restoration of the Elva, I will safely pad the glass and work around it when doing the body work. The last thing I will do before paint, is remove the glass in hopes of easier reinstallation.

Glad to hear you got it in. The struggle is usually due to not having the screen at the right angle - too far forward and it is difficult to get the edge of the seal over. Too far back and it is trapped behind the screen.

Putting the filler strip in you have to push the loop hard into the groove to open it wide, you then just feed the filler in. It will slip every so often. You have to develop a technique for restarting. Protect the paintwork you're pushing hard so when it slips it slips.


The rubber gets stretched so cut the filler too long leaving a tail. Let the rubber relax for a few days then cut it to length. Otherwise you could end up with a gap in the filler.

This type of seal is not an exact science the screen is smaller than the aperture and only approximately the same shape.( You should see hand made cars with old screens that have broken rather than ground edges.) All held in place by ramming a plastic strip into a small groove.

Trevor, I have now measured the SJ rear rubber to compare to your figures.
Width (inside of car to outside) 17mm
Thickness 24.4
Insert gap 4.8mm at opening to 6.7mm at widest point.
Glass gap 5mm W x 6.7mm D
Body gap 4mm W x 10mm D

The insert gap may be much smaller if the body gap is opened. I measured the body gap in its relaxed state which is closed at the opening. If I open it out to the 4mm evenly, the the insert gap size tightens considerably.

So, some subtle differences to your figures, but the screen and insert went in well.
Hope this helps,
Kev.

Kev, thank you for checking your SJ rear rubber, very much appreciated.

I can now go ahead and fit mine as the differences are small.
Just waiting for the Loctite 406 to be delivered.