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MG MGB Technical - windshield reatachment to body on 73b

bad enough replacing the windsh. yo body gasket. to reattach windshield to car is somesthing else. how do you bring the windshield down. any help appreciated. thanks les
les

I replaced the windscreen on a '77 a few weeks ago and this is what I did.

1. Uncurl lower gasket while pushing down on frame.
2. Have wife sit on frame, feet on rear bulkhead, bottom on top of frame.
3. Insert locating bolt/screw driver in bottom hole.
4. Fix remaining bolts and center support.

This is one of those jobs. Not much fun involved.
Kemper

Les...I feel your pain.

Patience is a virtue and if you feel yourself becoming too frustrated, STOP before you break something.

The stars and planets have to be in perfect aligment for the windscreen to be successfully drawn down to the body and all bolts started without stripping them...especially with a new windscreen-to-body seal, but it can be done.

If you can leave the screen on the car for a day or two, the seal *may* begin to compress somewhat on its own from the weight of the glass.

Helps to hold your tongue just right, too.

GOOD LUCK! Most of us have been there.
rick ingram

Les,

I replaced the windscreen on my 73 MGB a few years ago. The items that no one has mentioned that you will need are some additions to your vocabulary, such as: %##@* and ^&$#(*&% and *&^$*&, just to name a few.

Actually, it was not that bad. I did it myself. However I have heard several people talk about having their wives sit on the windshield frame as they installed it. Be sure you do a search of the archives as there is a lot of information.

The key word is patience. As Rick said, if you get frustrated, stop and take a break before you break something. It will go back together.

Good luck.

Robert
Robert Browning

Its easy! Just find a suitable drift/punch and put it in one hole, draw the windscreen down and put the bolt in the other. If you're at a point, its even easier without the dash in place.

Paul
Paul Hanley

Ditto the drift punch or a tappered center punch to be used a like a spud wrench for drawing the frame down. Cheers - Davd
David DuBois

A tip I wish I had when I did this job is a piece of string through the curled up lip of the body/windscreen seal. then when you have things quite close you just pull the string out to put the seal on top of the scuttle. I used a screwdriver to loosly locate one side while finding the other, and my son in law to help.
Does anyone know how they did this on a series production basis????
Stan Best

Get a length of strong cord/thin rope.

Attach one end to the top of one side of the wind screen, pass the cord under the car and hook a loop over the other top of the wind screen.
Wind a bit of broom handle (or strong stick, long thin thing, whatever) in the rope on either side. The winding rope will easily pull the windcreen down.
Make sure that you put a towel or blanket under the rope where it contacts the paint.
Line up the rope with the pillars, there are plenty of things under the car to locate on.
Take care, you can generate alot of force with a spanish windlass.
Peter

Ditto the tapered punch trick.

I tried the trick of getting my girlfriend AND her friend sitting on the screen and still the red rage got the better of me.

I went to bed (without the friend) and returned the next day with a cool head and a set of tapered punches and screwdrivers/prybars and I did the job alone in under half an hour.

I still managed to get the black windscreen sealant absolutely EVERYWHERE but that, all things considered, was the least of my worries.

Just think, Archimedes - If I had a lever long enough...

Good luck.
Alec

Also,

One trick was to have a series of offcuts of wood of different lengths handy. That way, if you locate a hole in the screen frame and pry it downwards with, say, a screwdriver to line up the bolt holes, you can wedge a piece of wood between the floorpan and the screwdriver, while you line up one or other bolt holes. The pieces of wood do occasionally fly out but...
Alec

Having had to have the glass replaced twice in recent years, and a new seal the first time, I can't believe how difficult it was compared to when I had the screen off for repainting. I refitted that myself single handed, using the old seal, and it just dropped into place.

Spikes in the bottom holes, and levering until you can get spikes in the top holes, then removing the bottom spikes and using leverage to get the bottom bolts in, then using *lots* of pressure to get the top bolts in seems to be the only way. I had mine done at a windscreen fitters and they used big plastic faced clamps between the top of the screen 'foot' and under the curve of the door opening, door seal pulled away.
Paul Hunt 2

For a little less mess when installing the windshield assemby to the car try the following. Don't put any sealer of any type on the windshield to body rubber gaskets. Install the windshield and then run masking tape along the edge of all the rubber where it meets the body. Get a tube of 3M bedding & glazing compound from your body shop supply house. Work the tip under the seals and pump a nice bead of the compound under all the seals. Let the excess ooze out from under the rubber onto the masking tape for few hours. Then remove the maskng tape. This sealer never gets hard, although it will stiffen up a bit. If you get any on the paint it is easily removed using naptha (lighter fluid for zippo's).
John H

*Definitely* only ever use the older non-setting sealant, and not the modern adhesive which is used to bond the screen to the frame where it is part of the car's structure.

White spirit gets it off easily, although professionals aren't allowed to use it any more as it contravenes Health and Safety!
Paul Hunt 2

Les,
I previously posted this one. I installed the W/S myself in an afternoon (couple of hours), not very long after 2-3 months hassling with it.

I ground off two starter bolts to a pointed tip. Started them in the rear hole and used a 2x4 from the w/s post angled down to the curve in the door opening. Adjusted the w/s by tapping the 2/4 very lightly and sliding down the frame to get the proper position. Installed the permanent front bolt, then removed the pointed starter bolt and installed the permanent bolt on the rear. Snugged them both and then did the same on the other side.

I ended by completely replacing the w/s by myself.

James Huggins

Remember this job still gives me a cold chill!!

I used a C-clamp. One face on the bottom of the window pillar and the other directly inder the fender lip. I used a heavy towel under the clamps to avoid scratching the surfaces. The clamp brought one of the bold holes into a position where I could align the holes with a screwdriver. Once you have one bolt started the second one is a breeze. Repeat on other side of the car. Did the job in just a few minutes. Worked like a charm!

Good luck
BOB
RES Schultz

When you are doing up the bolts, make sure you have all 4 packing pieces between the pillar and the body.
This may have been why the screen cracked. Even downward pressure on the pillars should not have stressed the glass.
It may be easiest to remove the little bolt covers located at the top of the door jam. to see what you are doing. I did. They are rivet/clipped in place. You can put them back easily enough with screws, or just silicon glue.
Each side should have a thick plastic spacer and a thinner spacer made of what looks like cardboard. Mine had disintegrated and I made up a substitute.
The pillars should slide tightly over the packing pieces so that when you tighten up the bolts you do not pull the pillar in at the bottom. That will stress the glass
Peter

The windscreen bolts *should* have pointed tips, mine have anyway. Still needed spikes to locate the frame holes though, thin ones to start with then thick i.e. closer to bolt size.
Paul Hunt 2

This thread was discussed between 17/06/2007 and 23/06/2007

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