Longbridge sidescreen vs hardtop

[57_BN4]

On the weekend I went for a drive with the hardtop on to see how well it fitted. Not so good was the result. The wind noise through the sidescreens is deafening- much louder than with no top on. Is this "normal"? Given that the sliding perspex panes have nothing to seal between them I'd reckon they weren't the quietest setup even when new. The panes vibrate together too which gets a little tiring.



A major source of noise is where the back of the sidescreens don't meet with the hardtop very well, perhaps a 3/8" gap around the back. It looks like the sidescreen has been filed down or something but since I haven't seen another original one I don't have anything to compare to. Can anyone else recognise whether the back corner shape is non-original? The hardtop was bought by the original owner in 1960 so wasn't sold new with the car- perhaps they never lined up since new. I have refurbished it with the "Bill Bolton" rubber kit so everything is as new as it is going to be. There is some possibility that I could lower the back by removing one or both of the flat rubber strips that go around the cockpit rail under the moulded seal. Has anyone tried this? There is a 1/4" gap above the shut pillar when it is bolted down but I haven't installed the foam blocks that normally fill that space yet.

Andy.

 

[healeyblue]

Yes, your sidescreen has been modified.

 

[DerekJ]

Andy, I think the screen has been modified but not sure that is the whole problem. He is a photo of my sidescreen and hardtop.

 

[richberman]

Andy,
Send me your hardtop. I'll check the fit to my sidescreens.
rich

 

[Lin]

"Send me your hardtop. I'll check the fit to my sidescreens.
rich"

I like that one Rich!
Lin

 

[57_BN4]

Thanks guys, that's kind of the answer I didn't want because it's going to be the hardest one to remedy. Probably going to go with the simplest option which will be to pack out the hardtop weatherstrip so it comes into contact with the sidescreen.

Derek- Thanks for the pic. Your sidescreens look like the later style which seem to fit better around the top. I had a look at some on a Tricarb on the weekend and they are quite different to the Longbridge ones which do have a curved top profile according to the pics on your website.

Rich- send me a stamped addressed envelope and I'll pop it in the mail for you.

Andy.

 

[DerekJ]

Andy, The panes shouldn't vibrate together. I just installed new felt in mine and there is no rattling or vibration.

 

[57_BN4]

Hi Derek,

I have also put new felts in and the forward panes are now so stiff I can't move them by holding onto the block handles. These panes are DIY jobbies from many years ago and I have ordered some new ones from UK which I'll fit shortly. Hopefully the replacement ones are slightly thinner and will slide more easily.

The vibration comes from the two panes clattering together in the middle from wind buffeting. It only happens over about 60mph and by the look of the wear marks you can see in the pic below I'd guess they have been doing that for many years. I'm trying to think up a clever way of sealing the 1/4" gap between the panes that won't look ugly. Those curved slider shower doors have a silicone moulding pressed onto the edge of the glass which performs a very similar task, maybe I can find something similar but for thinner glass/perspex. Andy.

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Hi Derek,

I have also put new felts in and the forward panes are now so stiff I can't move them by holding onto the block handles. These panes are DIY jobbies from many years ago and I have ordered some new ones from UK which I'll fit shortly. Hopefully the replacement ones are slightly thinner and will slide more easily.

The vibration comes from the two panes clattering together in the middle from wind buffeting. It only happens over about 60mph and by the look of the wear marks you can see in the pic below I'd guess they have been doing that for many years. I'm trying to think up a clever way of sealing the 1/4" gap between the panes that won't look ugly. Those curved slider shower doors have a silicone moulding pressed onto the edge of the glass which performs a very similar task, maybe I can find something similar but for thinner glass/perspex. Andy.

View attachment 27882

Back in the '60's and '70's we used to just put a book of matches between the windows...problem solved.

 

[John Turney]

Back in the '60's and '70's we used to just put a book of matches between the windows...problem solved.

Do they still have books of matches? I haven't seen any in years.

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Do they still have books of matches? I haven't seen any in years.

I still have the ones I collected several years ago and tucked away safely in a tin can. I could make a roadster owner that's interested a good deal. LOL
LOL

 

[dougie]

Ok, now that you're off topic...... I was curtianly was glad to have my hardtop this past weekend competing in the Portland Historic Races. The 90+ degree three day event was much harder on drivers with open cars. At speed, the interior heat is a non-issue, I've done extensive insulation mods that keep me very comfortable. Here's a clip from Sunday's feature race, started 20th, finished 10th...

 

[Lin]

Well you got me a little nervous at about 9:45 in, but nice recovery! Those Big Healeys love the straights don't they? Other than your own car , what was the most interesting car in the race?
Lin

 

[dougie]

Interesting, would be the 1959 Deutsch Bonnet HBR5. I think it was an ex-LeMans entry, very well prepared, but the slowest car in the grid. There was also a very nice 1967 Fiat Abarth, I past him down the front straight. He was dicing well with the Sprites all weekend.

 

[Lin]

Yeah, I noticed the Fiat when you went by him!
Lin

 

[CanberraBJ8]

I noticed there was a 356 and a VW Beetle that disappeared into the distance... The 356 I think we can expect - sorted they are really fast, but whats with that Beetle? :dejection:

 

[dougie]

I noticed there was a 356 and a VW Beetle that disappeared into the distance... The 356 I think we can expect - sorted they are really fast, but whats with that Beetle? :dejection:

The 356 is very well sorted and finish 2nd behind Tony Garmey in the '59 Corvette.



Here's the story on "Gibert", the racing beetle; https://www.spiretech.net/~taffari/gilbert/