Replacing clear window in NA8 soft top

[lonesailor]

Last weekend on a very cold Sunday morning I attempted to put the top up and the clear shattered. I had the top off last year to get restitched and the rest of it is still OK so I didn't want to take it off again to stitch a new clear in. I thought that relying completely on glue was risky. For the benefit of others here's what I have done.
First, I searched the web for a suitable type of plastic fastener to reinforce the glue. I found these, but am still awaiting delivery( RS components stock no 256-0009) which I hope will do the job. Then i got some 8mm MDF and cut it to form a flat surface to lay the flap with the window on ,it rested on the brace between the seatbelt towers and some wooden blocks on the shelf under the window. I stuck the broken window together with sellotape to keep it in shape, stretched it out flat on the MDF and using some wide paper sourced from a plan printing crowd made a paper pattern of the clear material ( running your thumb over the join will mark the paper , this will give a guide initially and work from there. Using the paper pattern I cut a 6mm(could have gone thinner) MDF template for the new clear. A bit of trimming was required to get it close to spot on. Off to the boat trimmer to get some good quality clear PVC material used ib boat covers The original was .030"(I got .040" either would be OK). I cut the clear to size using the template and laid it flat over the existing broken window. I marked out and drilled small(7/64) holes around the perimeter of the template.
Carefully I lined up the clear and the template over the existing window and ,using weights, held it flat and in place and drilled through the clear PVC the existing window/fabric join and the MDF "bench on which it sat, using 2,5 mm diameter bright nails to hold it in place. Do this evenly side to side to ensure nothing moves. If I were to do this again I would drill the holes smaller and use small self tapping screws which would also clamp everything together later instead of using weights. Then drill it out to 7/64 for the 2.8 mm rivets later.

[lonesailor]

Sorry I wrote some more on this topic but it appears to have gone to heaven, I am an IT luddite will try to add to this later

[lonesailor]

Continuing - Using the MDF template and some scrap MDF offcuts I made cleats for all 4 corners and the top and bottom which would allow me to do the glue up piece by piece, as I wasn't confident to do it all in one go. I cleaned the joining surfaces with acetone and applied VLP adhesive which I got from Auto one, A better option would have been HH66 but I couldn't find a supplier in Brisbane, the importer is in Perth. Doing 2 corners at a time I applied the glue located the cleats with 2.8mm nails( you could use small screws here) and weighted the cleats down, give the glue plenty of time before disturbing it. The results appear good but I will await the rivets before using it.
If I were to do it again I would carefully mask up both the clear and the fabric and be more generous with the glue, you can see the glue line through the clear even though the glue itself ac clear.
Anybody who can pick them up from bayside Brisbane is welcome to borrow the bits and pieces I have made for this job, it would not be practical however to ship them. I will probably have plenty of left over rivets which you could have for my cost. PM me

[hks_kansei]

Nice job, and good to hear someone having a shot themself.

With regard to the rivets, the ones you mentioned from RS products appear, from the images anyway, to have a fairly deep back, so may protrude a bit on the inside.

Personally I would try and use a flatter type, such as these:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Double-cap-r ... 1237343080
(more linking to illustrate what they look like, rather than suggesting to use that seller)



With the window itself, the boat stuff should work fine.
Another option, if it doesnt hold up over time, is i believe that you can also use rigid perspex in place of the flexible plastic. (I have seen it done, but cant recall if it was an NA or NB roof, and I cant recall if the NA roof allows the window to be laid flat, or if it needs to bend to fit behind the seats)

[manga_blue]

It needs to be flexible. The window in an NA top has to fold in the middle. This is the problem with it, since it degrades over time and gets opaque or cracks. On the other hand it's much larger in area than an NB one, so you have better vision and the cabin feels less like a cave, plus it unzips to give more airflow.

[lonesailor]

My NA8 has a zippered section around the window which is unzipped to allow the window to be laid flat. I put a bath mat over it before fully folding the top.I usually cover the whole thing with the tonneau anyway, unless I get too lazy. I considered using some rigid polycarbonate ,but you would still have to unzip the section so decided on the clear. The new clear materials are very clear and last well on yachts, where they get a much harder life than on my softtop.

[lonesailor]

The rivets from RS components arrived and have been fitted. they are actually better than I expected, they are almost flush on the inside and were a breeze to fit. Mine appeared to have been sent from the UK even though they were listed as ex stock Sydney. They arrived at my door in 6 days so I can't complain about the service. The only downside was that they were white. the RS UK website lists black ones if you had time to wait, packets of 1000 though.