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MG MGB Technical - BGT door glass - does it fit either door?

Morning all.

Apologies if this has been asked before - if so I can't find it.

Sorry if this is a daft question, but is the door glass in a BGT interchangeable? I shattered the passenger door glass in my '66 GT last night (I swear I just closed it normally, there was a chip or two on the top edge when I bought it, so I guess that gave it a weakness..?) so need to replace it. I'm wondering whether I can go for glass from either side. I obviously don't have my own glass for comparison purposes as one side is in tiny bits in the passenger footwell, sigh...

Thank you,

Piers
Piers Colver

Sorry Piers, they are quite different. You will have to get the correct one.
Mike Howlett

They *are* different, although apart from the manufacturers markings I can't really see why for just the glass i.e. excluding the channels, unless the strengthening process is different on one side of the glass to the other. If I already had a spare for the other side then I'd probably use that.
PaulH Solihull

Definitely not interchangeable on my '79 GT - the glass is not flat, it's curved. The channel it slides up and down in has a matching curve. Same on my roadster.
Brian Shaw

Thanks for the responses, guys. I feared that that would be the answer, halving an already limited marketplace! Had just dropped my son at Cubs, picking glass out of his uniform was not the ideal start to the evening!

Thanks again for the responses.

Piers
Piers Colver

Piers

Drop me an email, I may know someone who will have one.

daveo138 at yahoo dot co dot uk
Dave O'Neill2

That's a kind thought, Dave, thank you - you have mail.
Piers Colver

"the glass is not flat, it's curved"

Not noticed that before!
PaulH Solihull

Just wanted to give a public 'thank you' to Dave O'Neill - he very kindly put me in touch with a local contact who was able to supply a suitable door glass for my GT for a very reasonable consideration, he even walked me through things to look out for when fitting it when I picked it up on Saturday.

So thank you very much, Dave!

Piers
Piers Colver

Glad to help.
Dave O'Neill2

I thought the early GT windows were flat, and so interchangeable, Later were curved.

I dont know when they changed them though!!

Colin
Colin Parkinson

No indication of a change in the Parts Catalogue, and for that to be the case the quarter lights would have changed as well, as the long leg is curved to accommodate the curved glass.
PaulH Solihull

It might have been roadster. I know one of them had flat glass in the early cars.

CP

Colin Parkinson

Early 2-part roadster quarter-light frame used up to June 65 attached.

You aren't thinking of the quarter-light glass are you? That was flat with only one part for both side up to April 72 when the frames changed to stainless, when they got a slight curve. The GT always had two parts so was probably always curved.

PaulH Solihull

Hello everybody, have been away hence the gap but thought I ought to update this as you were all so helpful.

I got the new door glass in in just over an hour. I don't think that I was particularly quick, but I was outside on a windy Peak District driveway so not too bad. Popped the door card off but managed both to remove the (shattered) old glass and fit the new glass without removing any components, I just slackened everything off and used trial and error through the gaps between metalwork. I won't pretend that it was low-stress or without skinned knuckles, but it's in and good as new so very happy. Getting the metal runner onto the two round rollers was the 'fun' bit, without the room to slide them on from the end... Got there, though.

And to add to the curved-flat discussion - I had never noticed previously, but can confirm that there is a gentle curve to the door glass on my car, having got up close and personal with it - I never would have noticed without having it off the car. So I guess that means that it was curved throughout the production run, if later cars are definitely curved - mine's a September 1966 build.

So as far as I can tell, the only difference for later glass would be the various tints available - the Mk1 glass was clear.

Thanks for all the help, everybody.

Piers
Piers Colver

Drop-glasses were always curved, roadster and GT. Roadster at least quarter-light glass was originally flat, then changed to curved.
PaulH Solihull

This thread was discussed between 07/03/2013 and 16/04/2013

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