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July 11, 2004
Hi Mark,
I just finished re-doing the side screens on my Mk2 Sprite so I know what
you are going through.
1. My original panes were not useable as the plastic was badly crazed
through aging so I wasn't too concerned about removing them intact. I did
get two of the four pieces out intact by holding the frames down with my
feet and flexing the plastic upwards enough to pull them out. I had to use
a screwdriver to bend back the portion of the frames that were pinched to
secure the front non-moveable section. Only the rear panes on mine are able
to slide. I chose to not spend the money for replacement panes from Moss.
I bought some Lexan sheets on e-bay and made my own new panes. I used the
old ones to get the correct dimensions. Beveling the edges was the most
difficult part. Not an easy thing to do but having a good workshop made it
possible. My new panes are not yet installed but as Lexan is supposed to be
tough, I plan to just flex it enough to get it into the newly felted
channels. The papers with the Lexan say it is guaranteed not to break so I
am taking them at their word.
2. My frames are the same height as yours. My rubber strips came from LBC
but I believe that they just resell the Moss parts. Installing them was not
easy. I used a concentrated dish washing soap and water solution as a
lubricant. An eyedropper was used to wet the area that I was working on.
Put the bottom portion of the rubber into the channel and push the top
portion into the channel. I made a beveled piece of scrap several inches
long to do the pushing. It was several inches long to allow me to get a
good grip on it and reduce fatigue of my hand. It tends to stretch so by
the time I got to the end of a straight section the rubber was too long. I
had to remove it and start over. What I wound up doing was to do opposite
ends and then several short areas in between gradually getting everything
into the channel.
3. I could not find a glue that did not turn white after a while so I had
to do it differently. I made the handles out of quarter inch plexiglass and
drilled and tapped them for short 6-32 stainless screws. The panes were
drilled with matching holes which I had to countersink for the screws so
they would not interfere with the sliding. This gives a very secure
fastening that looks good and will not deteriorate from sunlight as glue
could do.
4. For the felts, I pushed them into the channels with a piece of scrap
Lexan the way I wanted them to be and just let them set there a couple of
days before I glued them in. This gives them a set and made it much easier
to glue. I had tried gluing a few scrap pieces of the new flat felt and it
was very uncooperative. The place I bought the felts from recommended using
contact cement in the channels and pushing the unglued felt into the
channels but it didn't feel right. What I wound up using was a fabric
cement which I bought at a craft/sewing supply store ( Joann Fabrics).
Have fun,
Nelson
"Nelson Wittstock" < k8djc@... > 32971
Posted on July 11, 2004 02:50 PM
Posted to category(s) Cooling System | Electrical System | Exterior | Interior | Miscellaneous | Technical Info
