521 vent window rubber

[ADrummond]

Has anyone found any? I saw a set on ebay not too long ago, and I'm kicking myself for not buying them. I've actually looked into having them reproduced; would anyone here pay $100 for a brand new set made from EPDM? I know, probably not - after all, we are Datsun owners. The good thing about EPDM is how it stands up to UV, smog, weather, etc. The bad part is that you need a metal mold, which for these seals is going to be complicated and therefore expensive. Plus, you'll need a right and a left, doubling the cost. So - now I'm thinking about one-piece windows. Has anyone done it? Different regulators? Other suggestions?

 

thanks,

Andrew

[tnip]

i have thought about seeing how much it would cost to have one-piece windows made for my 521... i would love a set, however i think there will be issues in door strength, as you know there are a couple of small tabs under the vent window that connect the inner and outer door skin. i just wonder if the doors would want to twist or just feel too weak if those were removed. altho a nice area of rust has eaten through the lower part of my passenger door and it still feels ok. i would def want a pair if you do it.

[datzenmike]

Would a 620 window fit a ... ( laughing sounds) ... It's just that I have a L and R one out that I could measure up for ... ( uproarious laughter ) ... OK, ok , forget it!.

[tnip]

haha... good one...

 

i really do wonder how much it would cost to have custom windows cut, i've never been a big fan of vent windows, they kind of clutter up the look of everything, imo.

[datzenmike]

Love them or hate them. In the summer when used as a vent they can be turned around and direct cooling air flow directly into your lap, the rest of the time they whistle and it's easier for thieves to knock it in without loosing the whole wildow and making an obvious mess.

 

Auto glass is tempered in an oven and cannot be cut afterwards. It must be made first and then tempered, so...$$$$$ to have it done. Tempered glass will shatter into 1/4" pieces as a safety measure in case of accident.

[tnip]

yea the vent windows have their place i guess... but then again i'm young and stupid and would rather drive a kickass old truck that looks good according to my taste and stands out from the sea of crap that covers the streets these days?

 

mike: i'm sure you know more about it than i do but what about how they cut windshields down, isn't that tempered? i know i've seen people do that, so if you got a big piece of flat tempered glass couldn't it be cut to fit? for that matter what about just a plastic (lexan?) and making sure you keep them clear? maybe polishing them every month or two... just throwing ideas around.

 

plus look how clean it looks without them... if you get past the red tinted window. http://forum.ratsun.net/showthread.php?p=14764#post14764

[datzenmike]

The windshield is made up of a thin adhesive plastic sheet sandwiched between two thin sheets of glass. When broken the plastic holds most of the pieces and keeps them from flying around. It can be scored on both sides and 'snapped' and the plastic cut with a box cutter.

 

Lexan is a great idea. It's lighter and resists breakage. It there is a slight curve to the window it can be heated and formed. Might even come with various levels of tint and color.

[tnip]

i guess now that you point it out i feel stupid for thinking that the side windows might be the same glass as the windshield... duh.

 

i had to put in a new window in my 521, i had to scrape some old tape and paint off of it with a razorblade, i'm pretty sure they're flat. if not perfectly flat they're pretty damn close. i'll have to look into buying sheets of lexan... i'm still curious about the strength, or rather just the feeling of the strength of the door if you were to cut out those two little tabs under the vent window so as to fit a one piece window. if only i had a spare door... altho i don't remember how the inside of the door is setup right now off the top of my head.. there might be stuff in the way up towards the front.

 

i'll check it out a little more tomorrow.

[ADrummond]

How about stiffening the door with a piece of angle or something welded in, right below the window opening? It wouldn't help as much as the tab, but it's better than nothing. Lexan's gonna get scratched fast, especaily if you ever roll it up and down, and it won't stay perfectly flat either. Glass is the way to go - I don't think it would be all that expensive, given that it's flat. People chop tops all the time.

 

Andrew

[tnip]

i was curious about the scratches as well... i replaced the rubber all around my windows so i can't see how rolling it up and down would scratch it. then again i don't know how easily lexan scratches, never worked with it. but those drag racer guys use it for all their windows and they don't look like they get scratched that often, altho their not DD either. but i agree with you that a flat piece shouldn't be all that expensive. probably just a matter of somebody actually looking into it.

[Steroid]

I have thought about the "rubber delima" and how We, collectively, could make enough cheaply to keep Us all for years having nice outer ones. If You take a minute and look closely, the rubber is the same the whole length. Kinda' like an aluminum extrusion, if You will. So, with that thought in mind, a company that forms (pours, or whatever) rubber in long rolls should be able to make miles of it on huge rolls. We save the metal outside parts that clamp the "squeegees" to the doors and cut to length off the roll enough placing it where the craked, original was. It's really quite simple if You look at one for a while. The only hard thing is somehow getting the rubber. Any ideas? Think of it.......... If each of Us that needs rubbers kicked in , let's say, $50.00 (which would be still HALF of what those guys want for theirs) just how long and how many rolls of rubber could We have made? I am guessing years and years of supply. I had the same idea for fusebox covers. Somebody that works where plastic is formed should be able to make plain fusebox covers. Then clear stickers with correct placement locations could be stuck on for the year of your truck. Why couldn't this forum, collectively, engage in a venture of these types and someone oversees the sale to members? In other words....... the FORUM could have a "store" that "investors" put credit into and a profit could pay for the domain. It's just an idea. But who, other than Us, has the knowledge and membership to pull something like this off? So, each one of Us would get every piece of outside squeegee metal that We run across and get them to one area. Then a few guys could have the rubber shipped there and have a Bar-B-Que or something while making the new squeegees. Enough should be made easily in a few hours to be sent out to the initial "investors". The rest would be kept on hand and sold as requested with the $$$$$ paying for this website. Therefore, there really wouldn't be a "profit" to worry about, but We could do even bigger and better things with this website.

[ADrummond]

Mike, I was talking about the 521's vent window rubber, which is a very complex shape to mold - not simply an extrusion. Not that your idea is a bad one, though - I like it, and I think it could work. There must be a universal, generic replacement for the squeegees out there somewhere - I think someone on NWDE said Corvair squeegees would fit the 521, and there must be something similar for the 620s. A good glass guy would know - someone who deals with chopped tops and custom all the time.

And tnip, the lexan's gonna get scratched by the dirt that ends up on the window and the rubber, probably not the rubber itself, so it doesn't matter how new it is.

 

Andrew