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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Frogeye Windscreen Glass Replacement

I am replacing the windscreen glass on my Frogeye ( twin stud frame ).
Does anyone have the correct procedure for replacing the glass? or, is it a matter of "you'll be lucky", thump it wi' summat, or, "buy a Mazda". Any input would be appreciated.
Peter
PJ HOBSON

its a bit weird as the filler strip is on the inside. so I put the seal in the frame then put the glass in from the rear. I used plenty of lubricant (washing up liquid!) and a blunt screwdriver to persuade the rubber around the glass. It took some time and was fiddly!!
Bob Beaumont

As Bob said. The most difficult are the lower corners. Instead of a screw driver there are special hard plastic tools for doing this. They make it less likely for you to chip the glass. Once you've got the seal around the glass, the filler strip is easy. The key to the whole process is patience.
Martin Washington

Thank you both for your comments. As Bob indicates the filler strip is on the inside, which lead me to question the modus operandi for removal and fitment of the glass. I will go with the "seal into frame" then fit the glass. Good point about using a lubricant, 'swsbo' bought a new bottle of Fairy Liquid yesterday, so all I need now are some plastic 'helpers' to get the glass in.
PJ HOBSON

Depending on what you want to spend on tools I recently purchased from Woolies trim the universal fitting set for windscreen rubbers and it worked well once I got the hang of it. I was fitting a new window into a Guyson sandblasting booth but the trim is the same as many classics with the insert bead to retain the screen. A bit of a learning curve but it worked well in the end and I can see it could be done with a screwdriver but I think the proper tool helped. I have my frogeye to do in the future as the windscren seal is likely the original and has seen better days.
David Billington

I am not sure how this differs from fitting the glass into a later type screen. That involved a good deal of pressure to get the glass properly inserted into the rubber seal and I was afraid of smashing the glass. So I used my ratchet straps around the glass and frame and gradually increased the pressure to pull the glass into the rubber seal, using washing up fluid to help. I tightened the straps progressively, waiting several minutes between tightening a bit more each time. You could see the glass very slowly slip into the rubber seal each time the ratchet was tightened. It was a simple and controlled means of pressing the glass into place. A similar method might help with your frog screen.
Guy W

When I did mine I made two tools.
1) a prodder. A bit of nylon wedged on its end and a push fit into a piece of conduit.
2) the fillet fitter - piece of household copper pipe squahed into a keyhole shape at one end. The bottom of the keyhole is pushed into the fillet trench and the fillet strip is fed through the tool. Press down and pull back with the tool to open the trench and feed the fillet strip through. An extra pair of hands helps and plenty of Fairy Liquid to lubricate.
Good luck.
Alan
Alan Anstead

Thank you all for your input on the subject. I visited the Huddersfield auto jumble on sunday and picked up a set of plastic tapered 'wedges', by Bergen, which were ideal for levering the seal and glass into position without damaging the ally frame. With 'her indoors' bottle of "Fairy Liquid" in one hand, a battle, akin to wrestling a crocodile, ended up with the new glass inside the seal which fortuitously ended up inside the frame. I am now going to lie down in a darkened room, to compose myself, before contemplating a diff change!
Regards,
Peter
PJ HOBSON

Congratulations!

The diff change is easier albeit not very comfortable since a good part of the time is on your back (unless you have a lift).
Martin Washington

This thread was discussed between 20/02/2016 and 25/02/2016

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