Crew Cab custom-made glass??

["Mad Max"]

To make my FrankenDodge work I'm going to need some glass - I'm going to need custom-made door glass to fit the contour of the front and rear doors, but not replacement glass - mine will need to be wider than the originals. Same contour, different width. Where, who, how??? Ideas?

- Sam

 

[btanner]

most good glass companies will do it but it'll cost money. Usually they use stock glass adn cut down but to actually ahve larger glass made you are looking at some money. Might want to ask around at local custom rod shops because usually they'll have someone that they use for chops who will also be able to cut custom glass. Be ready for a sticker shock though probably around 150-200 per window if it is completely custom cut.



-ben

 

[gbm]

SamsRam



I worked for a company that made custom automotive glass for concept and show cars. They were DOT approved, and they charged a LOT of money for their product.



Here is a gross oversimplification of what it takes to make “small run” shaped auto glass. Note: modern production automotive glass is made in a different process.



Typically windshields are two sheets of laminated glass. The inner and the outer are formed to shape in an oven, the glass “slumps” or droops into a mold. The two sheets are cleaned, and a sheet of PVB (Poly Vinyl Butyl) is placed between the two. The glass is then placed in an autoclave. The heat and vacuum fuses the PVB to the two glass sheets. The tint that you see at the top of a windshield is typically coloration in the PVB.



Side glass for autos and trucks is typically single layer tempered glass. A flat sheet of glass is cut, any holes needed for attachments are then drilled. The edges are polished. The glass is formed to shape in a mold in a glass oven. The glass is then “tempered” in a process of heating to a specific temperature and quick cooling at a very specific rate.

Tempering is what gives glass its strength. Tempering is also what makes glass break into the small squares that you see when a side window is broken. These small squares of glass are much safer than large shards (glass knives of death).



Creation of the molds to shape the glass in a glass forming oven is quite a task also. Getting the shape just right takes a lot of knowledge and skill. The molds must also be made of materials that can withstand the high temperatures of the glass oven, and be stable at temperature.



If the glass is for a side window that is expected to raise and lower, the shape of the glass is even more important. This is easy if the glass is a flat sheet, but gets complex if the glass has compound curvature and needs to move past a seal into the door (or body) of the vehicle.



Now, to help you with your real question, how do I get glass for my project?



Here is my suggestion:

Get the glass first! Use production glass from a production vehicle. If you need a large side door glass, check out a side door for a “Hino” or “Iveco” or Chevy “Top Kick” four door truck. Make everything else fit the glass you have picked out. If you do this, you will be miles ahead. Less frustration, cost, ease of replacement… the benefits are almost overwhelming. You will also get DOT approved safety glass.



My next suggestion, if you can’t use production vehicle glass, is to try some Limo builders shops. Next, check with the HotRod crowd for their local sources.



You could also use polycarbonate (plastic). It scratches much easier than glass, and it does not have the same optical properties of glass…



I wish you the best of luck with your project. Please keep us informed on how you handle this, and what you end up with.



I hope this helps.



Geoff

 

[1stgen4evr]

glass

Even before I first considered the crew conversion project, I knew that it would be nice to have some custom door glasses. It is so agravating to access the back of the club cab and I thought it would be a good idea to extend the cab by using larger front doors. I looked around on the net and found a company with a phone number and talked with the guy there who told me that they could do the job. He pretty much told me the same thing as Geoff posted here. The mold would be about 500 dollars per side. The hardest part would have been to furnish an engineering drawing of what I wanted. The glass wasn't what I thought to be expensive beyond that. And, glass that is special for the project can be the finishing touch that takes it from neat to show quality neat. By the way, you own the molds and can get duplicates if your project takes off and you want to do more.



What I wanted was a very large door with glass to match. I mentally juggled every idea I could come up with as far as using the existing glass and the glass from a crew where I use some original parts double. The way the glass curves at the upper corners precludes this. There are some large pieces of curved glass in the older Dodge full size vans that can be used in place of the club cab glass which allows that section to be extended and leave the doors standard. That only makes the back bigger for leg room and does nothing for getting in and out. I am interested to know what you plan to stretch. The panel or the door? The simplest glass project for the doors would be to make the small glass in the back door wider by whatever extra you want. Are you still thinking "suicide" doors for the rear?



James