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| Chop top glass (Page 1/3) |
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Xtinct88
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NOV 03, 06:28 PM
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Hey guys does anyone have any info regarding chop top door glass? Every company I speak to says either you can’t cut tempered glass, or they don’t have the tooling, etc. Any suggestions?
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IMSA GT
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NOV 03, 06:40 PM
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The original V8 Archie chop tops had custom made glass windows. They are no longer available. I believe he then went to polycarbonate. That would be your best bet.
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exoticse
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NOV 04, 07:04 AM
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Duplicate post. See below. [This message has been edited by exoticse (edited 11-04-2022).]
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exoticse
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NOV 04, 07:04 AM
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Just spent the week hanging with Archie at the SEMA show and we discussed this very topic !
He told me the story of how he was able to get them made while the auto industry was down, but once things picked up they didn’t want to fool with us small fries anymore.
They supposedly destroyed the tooling as well. The Choptop windows have what he describes as a French curve which is difficult to get right.
There is one slight hope,… he does have a window left that could be scanned to revive the lost data. The roadblock is finding someone capable and WILLING to produce them.[This message has been edited by exoticse (edited 11-04-2022).]
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Xtinct88
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NOV 04, 08:13 AM
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I probably contacted 20 different “curved glass” manufacturers and they all said the same thing. I’m surprised no one has found a window from a different car that’s close?
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hyperv6
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NOV 04, 04:04 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by Xtinct88:
I probably contacted 20 different “curved glass” manufacturers and they all said the same thing. I’m surprised no one has found a window from a different car that’s close? |
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In the old days glass was flat and not tempered so chopping glass was easy. Today no two cars are the same and the glass is just not easy or possible to modify anymore.
Like the t tops there are few new tops left and most of the remaining mass is on a car or used up.
When removing our tops we use what I coined as the Fiero Death Grip.
I bought a spare set of tops as you Brest one you see screwed.
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Xtinct88
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NOV 07, 10:32 AM
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I’m surprised there are no custom glass shops that can make glass shape from a template?
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Wichita
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NOV 07, 01:11 PM
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Archie
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NOV 07, 11:14 PM
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Why I don’t do the ChopTops anymore.
Back in the days when I started to do the ChopTops, I was able to find an OEM glass manufacturer who was trying to stay in business during the 2008 recession. I had them make a total of 60 sets of the side windows (door Windows) for me. IN 2013, When I tried to get them to make another group of windows he let me know that he had new contracts with GM for several hundred thousand sets of windows. He let me know that my little order wasn’t needed anymore. Also they had thrown away my tooling & converted the machine that I had looked so hard to find into making more modern windows.
It originally took me more than a year to find my original supplier because the type of equipment needed to make these compound curve widows is pretty rare. I talked to at least 20 different manufacturers to find the one who had the right equipment.
I did a little more searching for suppliers & couldn’t find another supplier.
So I quit doing ChopTops.
Archie
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Valkrie9
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NOV 08, 10:52 PM
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Was Pilkington among the manufacturers queried ?
I ask, as they were able to provide a replacement for a rare windshield.
Quite expensive ~ $2500 in the '70s.
Apparently, they don't discard the patterns.
It will always be the product of mass methods, the capital equipment is large and costly.
An entrepreneur might, could find a niche market with a technical advantage.
The demand is so small, that an alternative approach would be profitable.
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