SERIES III GLAZED OVER
QMy son and I are doing the finishing touches to the restoration of a Series III 88in. The door tops are badly corroded, especially on the passenger side, so I’ve ordered replacement framework and fittings from SP Landrovers. I’m hoping to move the existing glass across, has this work been covered in the magazine at any point please? Richard Stone
AI assume you bought a glazing kit from SP, which will include the runners and the aluminium angle trims. I’m not sure if it includes spacer strips for the bottom, top and rear edges where the sliding panel sits when closed. If not included, these should be salvageable from your old door tops.
Support the new door top horizontally on pieces of wood with the inner face upwards. Ensure the wood is away from the forward window edges of the frame. Apply sealant to the frame where the glass will sit, and push the glass gently onto the sealant, then leave it to set. Excess sealant squeezed to the outside is best trimmed off with a craft knife when dry, but check the instructions on the sealant. The forward glass can now be secured by fitting the angle strips around it, fitting the leading edge first. You will probably need to lay the angle strips on to mark the hole positions, then drill to suit the self-tapping screws (retrieved from the old door top). The sealant should be an adhesive type. Upol’s Tiger Seal is ideal.
The next stage is to fit the three spacers to the inside edge of the frame at the rear top, side and bottom positions. Adhesive sealant will hold them. Then fit the runners. These may have been screwed in on the old frames and you can drill through them into the new frame to fit countersunk self-tapping screws, otherwise the adhesive sealant will hold them. Keep them aligned against the spacers at the rear, and to the fixed glass at the front – they should be parallel with the frame edges. I’m not sure on this point, as it’s a while since I’ve done this job, but I think you may need to insert the top runner with the sliding glass held in place as it goes in.
It’s also worth putting beads of sealant between the frame, spacers and runners on the outside, to prevent rain getting in. Ed Evans