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MG TD TF 1500 - Broken Glass

Was out for a drive yesterday on a local back road. It was a section of 4 lanes. A pickup sped past me and a rear tire kicked up some object. It sounded metalic, but I don't know what it was.
Shattered my new windscreen glass and took two gouges out of the paint on the engine cover. Just painted a year ago!!
Too close to my head for my comfort.

Insurance claim being made today.

Tom
'54 TF

T Norby

Wow! Good reason to not lay the windshield down! LaVerne had a similar situation with, I think, a thrown stone. Fortunately his windshield was up also. Hope you kept the paint code Tom.
Paul S Jennings

Wow Tom....That's sad. Guess it skipped across the Bonnet first. That's a Low Hit. With the Windscreen down...it may have hit the Frame head on...or the Scuttle. Would have nailed the Brooklands if mounted.

I wear Goggles with the Windscreen down, but it is still a risk if your honest. So is driving....a T Series I suppose.
Noticed a Dark Flying Object yesterday approaching on a diagonal. Felt it zoom through my (3/4") hair at 50MPH. I suspect it was a 'WTF' moment for whatever it was!
Hope you get it repaired quickly and put behind you.
M Brand

Glad to know you're okay Tom, but sorry for the damage to the windshield and paint. I'll be interested to know if the insurance covers everything and if so what company do you have. I'm considering changing mine over to Hagerty or another similar classic car company. I'm sure the weather down Ashland way has been perfect for driving your TF. May the rest of your drives this season be safe from harm to you and your TF.

John
John Brickell

Is it straightforward to get a new glass from a regular repair place?
Ron Coates

Yes, flat plate glass is easily sourced. Regards, Tom
tm peterson

Just make sure that the repair place is aware of the different screw lengths, and the whole method of replacing the glass,,,It's not as easy as it might seem.

Driving with a windscreen down is great,,,, but it can be a disaster in a split second!!!!!

Steve
Steve Wincze

I took my original glass with me and the glass shop copied the exact outline, perfect fit. PJ
Paul S Jennings

Tom, welcome to the club! Same thing happened to me a while back.

Personally I would never let a glass shop attempt to install the new glass! Having done mine twice I can tell you it's not anything like putting glass in a modern car. But it can be done without removing the entire frame from the car on a TD. Not sure about a TF. I know because I did it on my TD. I took the entire broken glass with tape holding it together and a local glass shop easily cut me a replacement.

John, I have Hagerty and it was great working with them. I just called them and they asked how much it would cost me. At time I didn't know so they just said "we'll send you $xxx.xx and if you need more just give us a call!". The check more than covered the glass and my time to install it.

Ed
PS: Laverne's was a deer, not a stone!

efh Haskell

Ah yes, thanks Ed, now I remember. A little more damage than just the glass! PJ
Paul S Jennings

Just be sure to question the thickness of the glass.
New glass is generally of Metric dimensions and thinner.
However you can still get glass in inch dimensions and that is what you will want.

Jim B.
JA Benjamin

Hi guys
Thank you for your condolences. Now I am SURE I will never drive with the windscreen folder down flat! Even with the Brooklands screens. No thanks.

I insure with Hagerty. They responded promptly and will send an appraiser out soon.
Yes, auto glass can be sourced locally. I did this a year ago and installed it myself. Will do so this time too, but will have to get advise from the shop on measurements. Last time I took the old glass in and they copied the size. This time, it will be in pieces! I am glad I set the frame up so I do not have to remove a windscreen support to remove. I left one of the screws out on the drivers side like LaVerne did.

The hood (engine cover) on the carb side has two deep gouges and will need to be re-painted. Yes, I do have the paint code. Given that it was just painted in early 2014, I hope it will match up easily.

Tom
T Norby

That sucks Tom. But it's better than taking it in the noggen.

MG LaVerne

Out of curiosity (and because I have a small crack developing in my screen!)... what is the proper thickness for the replacement windshield glass?
kmclemore

I also have a small crack in my wind screen and need to replace. I seen a recent post of someone using a calk in place of the rubber gasket, has anyone else tried this? I remember replacing my screen using the rubber gasket and it was a pain is the xxx getting it together. I've put this off now for 2 years and need to get it done.

Bill
TD24570
Bill Brown

Bill, I had the same concern about the rubber gasket. Mine was about 3 years old when I had to replace the glass. The glass came out easily and the rubber never budged! I gave the new glass a shot of silicone spray and it went right into the old gasket (which seemed like new). Been there about 2 years now just fine!
Ed
efh Haskell

Ed, sound like you were one lucky guy. It seams worth a try as mine is about 5 years old. I had used the rubber gasket Moss sells. Like I said, I've been dreading changing this screen for 2 years.

Bill
TD24570
Bill Brown

I replaced mine about 2 years ago, Christmas.

My daughters boy friend had been a glass installer and he obtained and cut the glass. He also inserted part of the frame.
The only issue we had with the rubber packing was thickness. I had purchased some from both Abingdon and Moss.

In this case the Moss was the correct size and the Abingdon was too thick, perhaps supplied for metric glass?

At some points there are/were multiple layers of tape in the channel.
The tape is accordion folded in 3 or 4 layers to fill the channel. This is in about 4 places along the top and bottom and 3 places along the sides.
It is not continuous

Attached is a picture of the original packing, showing the long strip that surrounds the glass and also the inner packing.

I used long wood clamps with wood blocks under them to draw the frame over the glass. It came very easily.

The packing in the picture is from Abingdon. I did not use it.
It did take two rolls of the Moss packing since I needed to use a good part of one roll for the inner packing.


Jim B.



JA Benjamin

This thread was discussed between 05/05/2015 and 06/05/2015

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