I had always seen that the frond windscreens in my early 120FHC
were not really mounted in what could be called a professional way.
So I decided to take care of this and ordered a ne windscreen
rubber (they only had one type).
After a few hours of cutting away the copious amounts of sealant, I
managed to free the window and the outside chrome rim (glued in,
not screwed).
I was a bit surprised to see the windscreen glass was just a piece
of flat glass roughly cut at the edges. A glass company confirmed
my suspicion that this was just a piece of plain glass. This really
makes you wonder about the work ethics of some of the restorers out
there, plain glass sheets in a car without seatbelts???)
Looking at the new seal and the car, something clearly did not seem
right, and a few moments searching on the net showed me I have an
early car which has a completely different setup all together.
I have bought a new set of early seals from Larry Springer and I am
now looking to complete the puzzle.
The glass company said they could make me new windscreen glasses,
either tougened or safety glass (5.04 mm thick). I am now trying
to find the correct glass dimensions and for that would like to
know whether there is a difference in the glass dimensions between
the early 120FHC mounting system and the later mounting system.
I also would like to know the glass thickness for the early 120 and
whether this was toughend glass or safety glass.
I have found a picture of the central inside chrome retainer in the
albums, but am still trying to get an idea of what the rest of the
chrome inside retaining pieces look like (is this a single piece
for eack side or is it a number of separate pieces? Is it just an L
shape or is it more complicated than that?).
In reply to a message from hodijag sent Mon 1 Oct 2012:
S680003 had the original windshields (laminated safety glass
with chips and some discoloration) when I got it… I removed
the original glass and took them to a glass shop. They used
the originals as patterns and cut new ones. When I returned
to pick up the glass, they told me the two windshields were
not the same size. One was about 3/8’s of an inch larger
across than the other. When I got them home I measured the
openings and found there really was a difference. Hand built
I guess.–
The original message included these comments:
I was a bit surprised to see the windscreen glass was just a piece
of flat glass roughly cut at the edges. A glass company confirmed
my suspicion that this was just a piece of plain glass. This really
In reply to a message from JDW120 sent Mon 1 Oct 2012:
We had a discussion about windshield glass back in 2009.
or search the word Triplex.
My early FHC 679187 has a total of 5 chrome retainers inside.
Left and right upper and lower all have a cross section like
a letter L and are bent in the shape of a letter J. Each has
about 8 screws. The center piece has the cross section like
a wide brim hat, with 3 screws.
There are 3 chrome pieces on the outside with no visible
screws, so they must be covered by the inside retainers.
My car is together and I do not measure any difference one
side to the other.–
XK120 FHC, Mark V saloon, XJ12L Series II, S-Type 3.0
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In reply to a message from hodijag sent Mon 1 Oct 2012:
I have my original screens out of the car,as they were too
scratched to put back.They are 0.262’’ thick.My new screens were cut
from new landrover screens which are flat and big enough.The trim
pieces are as Rob says.The outer trims must go on first as they are
screwed from inside.Then stick the seal to each screen in turn and
with copious amount of sealant push into place from inside car,the
four inner trims are then screwed into place holding everything
together.Finally put in the centre trim outside and the inner
centre trim inside.Three screws go through the inner trim and screw
into outer trim.There are some pictures of this centre trim on my
photo albums,
David Roper fhc679001–
tiwana
liskeard, United Kingdom
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In reply to a message from tiwana sent Tue 2 Oct 2012:
JD, Rob and David,
This helps a lot.
I like the idea to use Landrover windscreens. I suppose these are
laminated in order to make it possible to cut them. Do you remember
whether they were series or defender windows.
In reply to a message from hodijag sent Wed 3 Oct 2012:
Hi Marc,they were laminated.I’m not sure which Landrover they were
from,but I think a recent model as they were bought new,
regards David–
tiwana
liskeard, United Kingdom
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In reply to a message from hodijag sent Wed 3 Oct 2012:
Hi Marc,they were laminated.I’m not sure which Landrover they were
from,but I think a recent model as they were bought new,
regards David–
tiwana
liskeard, United Kingdom
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Many years ago I brought my XK120 windscreens to a glass shop and they cut
new ones from stock glass. Laminated glass is used for shelves and table
tops so they had plenty of it.
Mark;
If you are in the USA, look-up a company called
Binswager Glass… They are a nation-wide chain…
I’ve had a number of laminated, DOT Approved,
replacement flat-glass pieces made by them (all
on my Toyota Landcruiser) Their prices were
very reasonable… The quote I got to make both
windscreen pieces for my 120DHC was $75 Total!
That was also several years ago… add inflation
accordingly…
Charles #677556.
http://xktx.org.----- Original Message -----
From: “hodijag”
JD, Rob and David,
This helps a lot.
I like the idea to use Landrover windscreens. I suppose these are
laminated in order to make it possible to cut them. Do you remember
whether they were series or defender windows.
In reply to a message from Rob Reilly sent Tue 2 Oct 2012:
Early xk120 fhc, where can I find to buy the windscreen
inside retainers, the L cross sectioned, J curved ones.
Desparate.–
The original message included these comments:
My early FHC 679187 has a total of 5 chrome retainers inside.
Left and right upper and lower all have a cross section like
a letter L and are bent in the shape of a letter J. Each has
about 8 screws. The center piece has the cross section like
FHC 679265
Does anyone know the size and thread for the 3 set screws securing the centre windscreen embellishers as described above? They are C2025/7 on page 7 of the FHC spare parts catalogue and as such appear to be non-standard hence not in the standard identification table. They are slotted raised chromium plated about one inch long.
Many thanks,
Simon
The thread is 4BA. I just recently went through the exercise of installing the inner chrome angles and W shaped center strip, after having them all rechromed. I chased the threads in the outer center chrome strip as well as the rectangular surrounds with a 4BA tap that I got from British Fasteners. I also obtained 4BA stainless (very short)1/4" long flathead screws for the surrounds, as well as the three flathead (should be oval head, I know) 4BA screws for the center strip.
I wouldn’t like to admit how long I spent searching for 4BA round head slotted countersunk one inch bolts but eventually I tracked down a very extensive product range including the above at:- stainlessautomotivefastenings.co.uk
I think the correct screw is a slotted oval head countersunk screw. I used stainless steel slotted flathead countersunk from British Fasteners. I could not find oval head anywhere and the flathead looks fine.