Weathershields Side Curtains?

[60Bugeye]

Hi,

Got an order of side curtain rubber and felt to rebuild mine, and upon inspecting the curains I noticed they were different. D'oh!

One has "Weathershields Reg'd Design" clearly stamped on the upper part of the frame.

The other has no markings, and the mounting hardware looks much different (smaller brackets, wing nuts vs. domed nuts on the 'Weathershields').

Am I correct in thinking that the "Weathershields" is the correct/original type?

Thanks,

- Chris

 

[scoutll]

Yep, Weathersheilds are the originals. The repro ones are usually not nearly as well made and some of them fit the tops poorly.

 

[60Bugeye]

Yep, Weathersheilds are the originals. The repro ones are usually not nearly as well made and some of them fit the tops poorly.

Time to start the hunt for a match!

 

[spritenut]

Weathersheilds were original but back in the 60s and 70s, a number of aftermarket companies made side curtains.
Amco, Bakers, MG Mitten, just to name a few.
I have a set of Bakers, and they are FAR better than Weathersheilds.
Just the design alone is outstanding and they come apart for replacing the plexi.
Stainless steel wavey spring so they do not rattle and I can make any part that wears out right in the garage.
I bought several sets from Mr Baker himself who told me all about his manufacturing company back in the 60s. They made sports car replacement parts.
I ended up cleaning out the attic of his home with Healey exhaust systems, and side curtains from MGT series, Sprites, TR3s, MGAs, etc.
I have since sold most of these goodies but I am keeping my Sprite side curtain sets for myself along with 1 Healey dual muffler set up.
Mr Baker was trying to vend his goodies at an American car swap meet when I met him and he told me all about the aftermarket business.
He was up there in age and this all happened back in the late 80s.
As for repros being not nearly as well made, that depends on WHO made them.
Now a new set from a modern supplier is probably junk out of the box like most of the stuff in their catalog but back when there was competition, stuff was much better.
Amco stuff was top notch back in the day, there was not a better top or tonneau cover out there. Same goes for their shift knobs, even today they are highly sought after. I bought a vic brit shift knob last year, it's garbage and has been replaced with an Amco. I have a couple of Amco knobs from when I sold foreign car parts back in the 70s, well worn but the threads are still good and the emblem is still glued on and none of them ever split.

 

[60Bugeye]

Weathersheilds were original but back in the 60s and 70s, a number of aftermarket companies made side curtains.
Amco, Bakers, MG Mitten, just to name a few.
I have a set of Bakers, and they are FAR better than Weathersheilds.
Just the design alone is outstanding and they come apart for replacing the plexi.
Stainless steel wavey spring so they do not rattle and I can make any part that wears out right in the garage.
I bought several sets from Mr Baker himself who told me all about his manufacturing company back in the 60s. They made sports car replacement parts.
I ended up cleaning out the attic of his home with Healey exhaust systems, and side curtains from MGT series, Sprites, TR3s, MGAs, etc.
I have since sold most of these goodies but I am keeping my Sprite side curtain sets for myself along with 1 Healey dual muffler set up.
Mr Baker was trying to vend his goodies at an American car swap meet when I met him and he told me all about the aftermarket business.
He was up there in age and this all happened back in the late 80s.
As for repros being not nearly as well made, that depends on WHO made them.
Now a new set from a modern supplier is probably junk out of the box like most of the stuff in their catalog but back when there was competition, stuff was much better.
Amco stuff was top notch back in the day, there was not a better top or tonneau cover out there. Same goes for their shift knobs, even today they are highly sought after. I bought a vic brit shift knob last year, it's garbage and has been replaced with an Amco. I have a couple of Amco knobs from when I sold foreign car parts back in the 70s, well worn but the threads are still good and the emblem is still glued on and none of them ever split.

Thanks for the info.

I would be OK with an after-market set that matched and actually worked. We'll see what I can find out there. I'm not in a rush.

As for the quality of the modern supplier, I'm puzzled why they don't produce higher-quality parts and simply charge accordingly. There are many bits of my car I would pay extra for to get the "best"; other bits that I am OK with "just OK."

 

[scoutll]

Spritenut is right. I guess I really should have prefaced my statement with many of the more modern repros....
Much of the stuff made back in the day was of equal or better quality.

I wonder what the usual suppliers would charge for a set of side curtains of the quality of the Bakers that Spritenut described. They are asking in the range of 500 dollars for the ones they currently sell..

 

[60Bugeye]

Spritenut is right. I guess I really should have prefaced my statement with many of the more modern repros....
Much of the stuff made back in the day was of equal or better quality.

I wonder what the usual suppliers would charge for a set of side curtains of the quality of the Bakers that Spritenut described. They are asking in the range of 500 dollars for the ones they currently sell..

They are asking enough that I am motivated to restore mine.