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I am about to install the windscreen assembly (including stanchions) on my 56 TR3 and would like to know if the windshield wiper wheel boxes must be removed to slide the stanchions onto the stanchion guides as the windscreen assembly is being installed. I dismantled the car in 1998 and am just now trying to put it back together.
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TR2/3/3A Windscreen Mounting Question
- Thread starter tedwone
- Start date
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Geo Hahn
Yoda
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Did this just yesterday in preparation for a show my wife wants to attend (only have one aeroscreen).
Just to be cautious, I cover the bonnet with a blanket and tape a couple of pieces of cereal box cardboard to the area just in front of the stanchion bracket to prevent any contact with the paint.
It can only go on from the front/engine side. We do not (as you my think) position it forward of the bracket and then slide back, but rather lower it and pop it over the front half of the bracket -- this seems easier for us as the lower seal is somewhat behind the wiper fittings at that point so you do not have to coax the seal over the fittings.
On mine things are loose enough to do this as there is some play in the assembly -- not sure if a freshly rebuilt assembly would allow this or if it would be too tight.
My wife supports the windscreen in this position as I confirm both sides are engaged and then I move each side back a bit at a time until it is home.
I have removed the Dzus fasteners so they are loose until I am ready to insert them and tighten. I found this simpler as when they were fully installed they would want to foul on the bracket unless they were well out of the way. When I still had them attached (as yours probably are) I would use a rubber band around each pair to hold them back out of the way.
I usually smear a thin bit of light grease (Lubriplate in my case) on the slide and the Dzus wires before starting just to ease things a bit.
I have often done both the install and removal solo but it is much better with a helper, even if all they do is 'spot' you by assuring that you don't scratch the paint and then keeping the windscreen from falling over until you have the tracks well engaged.
Be nice to your wife -- she's trying to help.
Just to be cautious, I cover the bonnet with a blanket and tape a couple of pieces of cereal box cardboard to the area just in front of the stanchion bracket to prevent any contact with the paint.
It can only go on from the front/engine side. We do not (as you my think) position it forward of the bracket and then slide back, but rather lower it and pop it over the front half of the bracket -- this seems easier for us as the lower seal is somewhat behind the wiper fittings at that point so you do not have to coax the seal over the fittings.
On mine things are loose enough to do this as there is some play in the assembly -- not sure if a freshly rebuilt assembly would allow this or if it would be too tight.
My wife supports the windscreen in this position as I confirm both sides are engaged and then I move each side back a bit at a time until it is home.
I have removed the Dzus fasteners so they are loose until I am ready to insert them and tighten. I found this simpler as when they were fully installed they would want to foul on the bracket unless they were well out of the way. When I still had them attached (as yours probably are) I would use a rubber band around each pair to hold them back out of the way.
I usually smear a thin bit of light grease (Lubriplate in my case) on the slide and the Dzus wires before starting just to ease things a bit.
I have often done both the install and removal solo but it is much better with a helper, even if all they do is 'spot' you by assuring that you don't scratch the paint and then keeping the windscreen from falling over until you have the tracks well engaged.
Be nice to your wife -- she's trying to help.
Thanks for the advice Geo. I was wondering about using your technique of lowering the stanchions to the guide, but I'm not sure if there will be enough play to allow this. I haven't installed the Dzus fasteners and probably won't until the stanchions are onto the guides. I also plan to do what you have done to protect the paint. I painted the car last October and don't want to do any unnecessary touch-up. I do have one final question. There are two slots in the stanchions near where the lower rubber draft seal is located. Before I had my stanchions rechromed, there were pieces of rubber (hard from age). I have not seen these rubber pieces listed as replacement parts in any catalog or in the TR3 books that I have. Are these rubber parts meant to minimize scratching of the paint?
Geo Hahn
Yoda
Offline
I do not know as mine has the slots but never had anything in them. I do not know what purpose those pieces would have serve but can attest I do not seem to miss them.
TR3driver
Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
Offline
Hmm, might be worth mentioning : The Dzus buttons are supposed to have retainers inside the stanchions, which have to be installed before the stanchions are mounted to the car. They are also supposed to have springs that cause the unlatched buttons to spring out, so they don't interfere with mounting the windscreen to the car.
Not a very good drawing, but you can see the spring & retainer on P/N 554720 at https://trf.zeni.net/TR2-TR3Handbook/24.php?s_wt=1920&s_ht=1081
PS, my technique is similar to Geo's, I set the windscreen down on the body just behind the wiper towers, then work each stanchion onto it's slide before sliding them back into the final location. I don't worry nearly as much about scratches as most folks do (to me, paint is a consumable), but I don't usually get any contact at all between the stanchion and body, only stanchion to guide plate.
It's my belief that the slots (which seem to have a fibrous material rather than rubber) were for water sealing rather than scratch prevention, but I have no real basis for that except that these were "cheap" cars and it seems unlikely the factory would have worried about scratches.
Not a very good drawing, but you can see the spring & retainer on P/N 554720 at https://trf.zeni.net/TR2-TR3Handbook/24.php?s_wt=1920&s_ht=1081
PS, my technique is similar to Geo's, I set the windscreen down on the body just behind the wiper towers, then work each stanchion onto it's slide before sliding them back into the final location. I don't worry nearly as much about scratches as most folks do (to me, paint is a consumable), but I don't usually get any contact at all between the stanchion and body, only stanchion to guide plate.
It's my belief that the slots (which seem to have a fibrous material rather than rubber) were for water sealing rather than scratch prevention, but I have no real basis for that except that these were "cheap" cars and it seems unlikely the factory would have worried about scratches.
Thanks again for the input. I know that the Dzus fasteners are supposed to have springs and retaining washers, but I haven't found the springs yet. The retaining washers I got from one of the parts suppliers are beveled and have to be flatened (not sure how to do that once they are on the stanchions). I have seen flat split spring washers on some stanchions, but nobody seems to offer these. It appears that nobody replaces the material fitted into the slots in the stanchions, so I will likely not worry about them. The British car manufacturers often did things that make no sense to me, but perhaps they had a good reason for doing them at the time. My '56 TR3 will hopefully be completed soon so it can become my daily driver. I'm afraid to make my Morgan a daily driver because it is a bit more challenging and more expensive to repair if it gets damaged. The TR3 is much easier to repair and maintain. I have three more TR3s that I will be restoring over the next couple of years for family members (my wife, my son and my grandson). I will continue to visit the BCF for advice and information. It seems like a web site I should have been visiting for years.
