Alloy window frames?

[john1180]

Has anyone made a repro S3 door/ window frame in alloy?

[stevebroad]

I have been looking at this for some time. Bending U section in the direction required is not easy as the sides tend to collapse as they need to contract and they can't. This makes it very difficult without bending equipment that supports the sides of the U section.

The front curve is probably possible at home but the sharp rear curve looks nigh on impossible without specialist extrusion and bending equipment. Still thinking about it, however. My best shot so far is to make multiple cuts and reweld and grind. A right PITA. My other idea is to heat the outer face and bend into a former the shape of the window with two slots to prevent the sides from deforming.

Any ideas out there?

Why do you want an aluminium frame? Weight?

[john1180]

Thinking of alloy because I can't find a drivers side for my car. Not planning on electric windows anyways.

[stevebroad]

Just tied this in to your other thread. I'm slow but I usually get there

[Elan45]

I've been considering doing this for several years.My 3rd Elan is a S3 DHC that the original owner converted to 26R spec. The car remains a project that I hope to get to in a few years. I want it to be a sometimes streetable racer. I will leave the original windscreen in place, maybe fitting a hardtop. But one of the heaviest parts of the body are glass windows in the brass and steel window frames and the English Ford wiper motor based raising mechanism.

I would replace the original frames w/ aluminum ones and the glass windows w/ polycarbonate (Lexan). I have considered using smaller rare earth motors too.

One way of making window frames could be to cut them out of flat sheet and then weld them into an assembly. A skilled TIG welder could do a very nice job and it could even have some of the weld bead left to add to its unique fabbed nature.

Roger

[patrics]

Hi, I just brought some "u" section just need to make a tool to form it

Not sure when that's going to happen as so many projects at moment

We will see how it bends

Regards
Steve

[RogerFrench]

I have read, and can't remember where sorry, of a Caterham or similar windscreen frame being made with U-section alloy formed pretty much as you say. Possibly not quite so severe a bend as the back of an S3 side frame.
Maybe a search of Caterham forums might reveal the hows and wheres?

[elansprint71]

iirc Evante got rid of the window frames yet kept the shape of the S3/4 glass on their cars. Not sure how they did that, it was a long time ago!