Glass

Try calling your insurance company. No, not to have them pay for it, but ask them who they would use for a source. The other idea would be to contact some local body shops. They should have a source.

I have made windows out of Plexiglas. If it was more long term I might use Lexan. This was back when I worked at a shop that had a lot of scrap plastic. A customer was victim of the urban campers and needed to get going down the road. He was looking for a piece of cardboard. We got a bit more fancy. If you do that you should file, sand and polish the edges so it is less likely to develop a crack. Lexan may be less crack prone than Plexiglass.

One glass company I called recommended the same. He said the downside its prone to scratches. Maybe a light colored UV/sunscreen tinted film over the outside? Have to anyway to match up with rest of windows.

Where does one get Lexan? I have a router, can I cut it to shape with that with the proper bit?

Also, just wondering where people get a windshield for an antique car. Has to be laminated safety glass in that case.

Dave

Many old cars had straight glass. You can get laminated glass all day long. I get Lexan at the plastics store. If you are in a big town (a few million residents) there is a plastics store. Just do a google search using Lexan and the name of the nearest big town. If there is not a big town nearby then find one and have them UPS you a slightly oversized sheet. You might have to a pay a cut charge but if you are never going to use the rest of the Lexan there is no point in buying a

4x8 sheet.

McMaster Carr might sell you what you want and they ship anywhere in the continental US.

Lexan is availble at my local Lowe's, so hopefully it is at one near you, too.

Al Adams

check and see if that window company would make your replacement for you , might be as cost efficient as buying a sheet

Try having you local independent glass retailer contact Pilkington Classics. They specialize in classic automotive glass such as windshields, vent, door and in your case quarter glass. I have also included a link to Parts Place who salvage anything from VW's. Shipping might be pricy but it doesn't hurt to check. As for Plexi or Lexan...your choice but considering that the glass in your car adds to the structural integrity of the vehicle overall (up to

40%) you might not want to go that route. The glass can actually be stronger than the steel of the body framing. Again...your choice.

You also might want to check with your home owners insurance for coverage.

Send a plea out on this newsgroup and I am sure you will find the glass you need. You are talking about the Left Rear 1/4 glass for a 1988 VW Fox Wagon.

Do a search on ebay for VW Fox Wagon and find places that have parts and ask if they have the glass.

Contact members here

just gave away a whole Fox Wagon and you might be able to purchase the glass from that buyer. They should be located in North Texas too! ;-) good luck!

Your post dinged a bell. There's place called Vee-Dub in Austin, TX some 50 miles from here. They like the place you mention salvage everything for resale.

I prefer to get the minimum size needed, then cut to fit. I don't have a template, the template/original window is busted. The busted glass is spider-webbed and will fall apart if I attempt to remove it. The other side is not identical, but a mirror image including a slight curve in the vertical, corners are slightly rounded, corners are not 90 degree corners, the front and back sides are not identical. Do I cut it with router? Dave

It depends on how much curve you have in the stuff. I have a china cabinet that has two pieces of Plexiglas installed as the glass was missing. It has a radius of maybe 3 feet. Plexi and Lexan will curve. You see some funky curves in custom fab work. We had a heat tape that would let us put make fairly tight radius. The stuff can route but it would make a mighty mess. Plastic can sometimes have a static charge that sticks to everything but the trash can. I think I would try to do as much shaping as possible with a table saw with a plastic blade and then do corners with a bandsaw. But a router with a sharp bit will work. I am not a whiz with a router. Trying to jig the corners would take as much time as drawing a line on the plastic and freehand cutting it on the bandsaw.

Salvage yard is still first choice but with an obscure car that could be a challenge. When I had a 67 Beetle getting parts was more and more difficult. Same thing with the Rabbit.

Mak>Your post dinged a bell. There's place called Vee-Dub in Austin, TX some 50

Found the glass at the Vee-Dub salvage yard. This place is all VW intense. Repairs, new parts, and used parts. Vehicle with the glass was used as a mobile compressor transport at the salvage yard. They had it parked in the salvage yard, but forgot to list it when it stopped running. Cost: $35.00

Glass installation will cost $65.00. They're coming to the house to do it Saturday. Thanks all for the pointers. Dave