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Spitz 1500 windscreen seal and trim


Ian Perry

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Hello all,

A few months ago I bought a windscreen seal for the Spitz and last weekend I successfully fitted the laminated screen. Hooray! But I don't have the chrome finisher (it's in two halves I think for the MkIV/1500) and so far haven't seen any for sale.

How much of an issue is it? Does it affect the security of the screen/seal, or is it purely cosmetic?

Can I use one labelled as MkI-III  or does it have to be the MkIV/1500 one? Or are there any generic ones that are suitable?

VMTIA

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The MkIV finisher is completely different to the earlier type, so not even close to being able to use the early one, unless you have a custom-made rubber seal that's MkIV size but MkIII profile!

The stainless finisher is not critical. It's also a real pain to fit after the fact - you're supposed to put it on the rubber before fitting the screen, apparently. My GT6 has been missing its finisher for 26 years and five Round Britain runs and it's never caused me a problem.

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Thanks folks. I know that often the chrome is cited as helping secure the glass, by effectively pressing the seal into shape/into place, but the old seal (which I cut to get the old screen out, as it was perished to oblivion) never had any chrome in it.

OK, so I won't bother 🙂 Sorted!    

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1 hour ago, Ian Perry said:

often the chrome is cited as helping secure the glass, by effectively pressing the seal into shape/into place

That's probably true of the earlier type seal, where the trim presses into the middle of the rubber, although I'm not sure how much effect the very small finisher used on Spitfires would have. The later stainless one kind of hooks on the front, so I don't think it does anything for that.

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On 28/04/2021 at 21:47, RobPearce said:

That's probably true of the earlier type seal, where the trim presses into the middle of the rubber, although I'm not sure how much effect the very small finisher used on Spitfires would have. The later stainless one kind of hooks on the front, so I don't think it does anything for that.

And too much chrome is just ostentatious. 

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I have done a few of these in my time. Record for putting chrome trims on a late car was a couple of minutes per side (as long as it took to run the factory tool around the seal/trim).

Worst Triumphs for this are MKI Stags which had really narrow gap in the stainless trim into which to insert the tool. Even I struggled with these.

I always use a little bit of lubricant on the seal like washing up liquid so that the tool slides around easily.

 

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On 01/05/2021 at 08:18, Slimboyfat said:

I have done a few of these in my time. Record for putting chrome trims on a late car was a couple of minutes per side (as long as it took to run the factory tool around the seal/trim).

Worst Triumphs for this are MKI Stags which had really narrow gap in the stainless trim into which to insert the tool. Even I struggled with these.

I always use a little bit of lubricant on the seal like washing up liquid so that the tool slides around easily.

 

Didn't realise there was a tool for the mk4/1500 spit and mk3 GT6 trims. That would be a useful tool to have remanufactured

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On 01/05/2021 at 07:54, Tim Bancroft said:

Ian,

I realise that fitting the chrome finisher to late Spits and GT6s is a pain, but cars do look unfinished without them. I would persevere.

Otherwise though, how is the car coming along?

This in a car that has a home-made Targa top made out of an old hardtop, glassfibre rear wings and front end, bucket seats and lairy harnesses, it's in an eye-melting colour, and you're worried about the windscreen trim? 😄

It's not coming on too terribly, thanks Tim - Anthony and I both fit into it (a good thing, as otherwise I was going to have to modify Anthony, and the screaming and blood might not have gone down well with his wife...) and we took it up the lane and back OK the other day. I spent the BH weekend cutting the rotten bonnet-hinge boxes off and welding a pair of recovered (solid) ones on, so hopefully the front end won't fall off on the first bump.

Comedy moment. Anthony hadn't seen it for ages, and the last time he saw it it was white, now it's blue (yes, Tim, I'll update the RBRR entry). But all the workshop crew joined in and for about five minutes I had him convinced it had always been blue :-D

 

 

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  • 1 year later...
2 hours ago, Camis said:

Spit 1500 windcrees figment

I'm going around in circles . is there a trick in fitting theses . rubber goes on the screen just fine cord also . then starts  the fun 

If you mean the rubber, there are some poorly shaped/sized seals. I understand the best ones are from COH Baines.

If you mean the stainless or plastic/chome trim, I gave up. So can't help.

 

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36 minutes ago, Clive said:

If you mean the rubber, there are some poorly shaped/sized seals. I understand the best ones are from COH Baines.

This!!

In my experience the others are the wrong profile/too long/ rubber too hard making them very difficult to fit and not sit right in the corners of you do manage to get fitted.

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