Windshield Installation Questions

[Greg Williams]

I purchase a Twin Cam Special from the widow of a friend of mine.  The car was wrecked (front right corner damage) with 9000 miles on it when he acquired it.  He did a bare frame restoration but there are a few minor details to be finished.  One is the installation of the new windscreen.  I have some chrome plastic windscreen trim but it has suffered from poor storage.  There is no windscreen in the car right now.

My issues:
- There is black rubber/plastic edge moulding that runs up the A pillars and across the top.  This covers the fiberglass edge.  I'm assuming that it's original interior trim.  Do I leave it in place when I glue in the the new screen?
- The roof is pretty flexible.  Using a prop, do I raise it from it's current position a bit before installing the new windshield or just prop it to maintain it's current position?
- From my research it looks as if the best thing to do for the chrome trim is to glue it on after installation.  Can anyone recommend a source?

Any help and advice is much appreciated.  Me experience with British cars is more along the lines of TR3's and TR4's.

[shootingsight]

I wasn't aware the screen was ever glued in.

[BDA]

That black trim is aftermarket. The real trim went in and out of availability from time to time and many people used more generic trim to finish off the windscreen. New windscreens THAT FIT come from Pilkington. They were the original supplier. The actual trim is no longer available but r.d. enterprises has a very close copy. Check their website. If you want to go the chrome, original type trim, they have it with the correct corners. The trim is slightly smaller than the original requiring new corners. It ain't cheap, but it will look nice when it's done. You can use the same procedures and products as is shown in the workshop manual. Another method that is much cheaper is to use the chrome trim strips from SportWing (https://www.sportwing.com/Dawn-Enterprises-Inc/AB10014-S-All-Brite-Molding?sort=p.price&order=ASC&limit=100). The corners from r.d. should fit this pretty well. This is much cheaper but the results are not quite as good. If applied carefully, it will look great from 5 ft. away or even closer. I would suggest that if money isn't that much of a concern that you go with r.d.'s trim. You might also want to check out Lotus Supplies Ltd. http://parts.banks-europa.co.uk/orders_frame.htm) or SJ Sports Cars (https://www.sjsportscars.com).

[Roger]

I have yet to find an interior black trim to finish off the pillars and roof trim. Any pointers will be welcome.

[Certified Lotus]

I just got some from RD Ent. They sent me two different sizes and asked that I report back which fits better. Will know in a couple of days when I get a chance to install.

[Certified Lotus]

Trim gets glued onto the windshield first, then the windshield with trim gets glued onto the fiberglass opening for the windshield. Make sure you use primer on the fiberglass and glass to ensure adhesion. I blocked the roof from the inside from the chassis tunnel to roof to prevent sage for 48 hours while glue cured.

I bought all the windshield trim and corners from RD Ent.

Details in my restoration posts:

http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=1704.1020