I am trying to find out a few things. First, has anyone tried to have these made? Second, would there be a good calling for real glass ones? I figured no more crackiing and hazing would be a bonus for me. I have two companies trying to reproduce them I need a couple samples to send to the second company so they can exactly match them. Crazing doesn't matter as long as the shape is correct. They both seem to be of the opinion that they can do it so we shall see. Give me an idea of how many of us would be interested and I will see what kind of batch pricing we can get one them.

John

i think the cost will help determine the level of interest.

I know id be interested, but if its 300 bucks a piece, it would be a bit much for some of us.

They'd be heavy and instead of cracking they'd shatter. Cool idea, though if the price was right I may be interested as mine are begin to make thier way out.

Good luck getting a custom curved tempered glass made. If you find a place willing to make it without a $2,000+ setup fee, let me know and I'll send over a template for chop top side windows.

I've got to wonder how susceptible they'd be to breaking. Because of the weight, you'd have to mount them very securely to the body, which might cause problems when the glass expands or contracts due to temperature. They would also not deal with body flex as well as plastic (when cornering or going over bumps).

Maybe the answer is to make a set and test them for a bit. I will see what they say when I talk to tem next week.

quote Originally posted by johnyrottin: Maybe the answer is to make a set and test them for a bit. I will see what they say when I talk to tem next week.

The only way to find out

Like jscott, I'm curious if a shop would be able to make a custom curved piece like this without a huge setup fee. Getting the glass done can be a big stumbling block for modification projects. Even if the quarter window idea didn't pan out, I bet there'd be some customers from this forum for a custom glass shop that doesn't charge a fortune.

quote Originally posted by GT86: I've got to wonder how susceptible they'd be to breaking. Because of the weight, you'd have to mount them very securely to the body, which might cause problems when the glass expands or contracts due to temperature. They would also not deal with body flex as well as plastic (when cornering or going over bumps).

The glass could be easily butyl taped / urethane'd to the body, and tempered glass is alot stronger than plex when it comes to impacts. This is mainly the reason car windows are tempered glass and not some clear plastic polymer. The adhesive would handle the stress of the body. The adhesive acts as a buffer / shock absorber between the body and glass. This is the reason you dont see many Windshields / Back Glass windows break or crack under stress.

all that being said, i Honestly see no real benefit to having glass besides asthetics, and knowing in your head that you have glass quarters, vs plastic quarters. Nobody else admiring your car would likely notice (or care) besides other fiero enthusiasts....

[This message has been edited by UnderDrive (edited 11-23-2007).]

quote Originally posted by UnderDrive: all that being said, i Honestly see no real benefit to having glass besides asthetics,

You are joking right? Glass is clearer, more scratch resistant and will last ten times longer than any plastic.

adding weight for no real benefit my 2c just by some repros and work on something else.

quote Originally posted by UnderDrive: The glass could be easily butyl taped / urethane'd to the body, and tempered glass is alot stronger than plex when it comes to impacts. This is mainly the reason car windows are tempered glass and not some clear plastic polymer. The adhesive would handle the stress of the body. The adhesive acts as a buffer / shock absorber between the body and glass. This is the reason you dont see many Windshields / Back Glass windows break or crack under stress. all that being said, i Honestly see no real benefit to having glass besides asthetics, and knowing in your head that you have glass quarters, vs plastic quarters. Nobody else admiring your car would likely notice (or care) besides other fiero enthusiasts....

Well, windshields and back glass are installed in what amounts to a frame, which provides support as well as allowing room for expansion. You don't usually see large pieces of glass taped/glued onto a car body. Unless they were designed with some sort of studs or other fixtures, glass quarter windows would be entirely supported by whatever adhesive is used to mount them. Then factor in the added weight vs. plastic, and also the fact that you're not going to want a large piece of glass flying off at 75mph. All that adds up to pretty solid mounting method, which may limit the shock absorber effect. That being said, I do agree that butyl rope would provide good isolation between the glass and the body.

quote Originally posted by GT86: Well, windshields and back glass are installed in what amounts to a frame, which provides support as well as allowing room for expansion. You don't usually see large pieces of glass taped/glued onto a car body. Unless they were designed with some sort of studs or other fixtures, glass quarter windows would be entirely supported by whatever adhesive is used to mount them. Then factor in the added weight vs. plastic, and also the fact that you're not going to want a large piece of glass flying off at 75mph. All that adds up to pretty solid mounting method, which may limit the shock absorber effect. That being said, I do agree that butyl rope would provide good isolation between the glass and the body.

I hadnt thought about the 'flying glass' issue. I bet DOT wouldn't approve of the conversion either.

...adding weight...

I have really nothing to say if you are really worried about the little bit of extra weight that these will add to the car...but if that was the case, you might as well remove all the other unnecessary weight in the car (convert the car to a notchback (save a lot of weight there), you can also remove power window motors, power door lock solenoids, A/C, sunroof, radio (especially those big heavy subwoofers that people like to add), carpet, interior door panels, shifter, etc - ok, yes I am getting carried away, but yes, sometimes some people take things too far as well.

As for attaching them, just use some silicon to 'glue' them into place - if you have ever use silicon as glue on glass you will know how hard it is to separate it once the silicon sets up.

I believe the glass sail was only made for the 1984 model and the sail frame for glass is different than the sail frame for plastic.

I have a set of glass sails that I dont use and I recall trying to put them in my 86 sail frames and they didn't fit. I'll look in the barn tomorrow and double check.

If this is true your test balloon to the manuf should be a plastic sail to be produced in glass to fit the 86 and newer frames.

Just my 2 cents..

ps: If I'm wrong about this I apologize for the distraction.

quote Originally posted by Spoon: I believe the glass sail was only made for the 1984 model and the sail frame for glass is different than the sail frame for plastic. I have a set of glass sails that I dont use and I recall trying to put them in my 86 sail frames and they didn't fit. I'll look in the barn tomorrow and double check. If this is true your test balloon to the manuf should be a plastic sail to be produced in glass to fit the 86 and newer frames. Just my 2 cents.. ps: If I'm wrong about this I apologize for the distraction.

The OP was referring the the fastback GT quarter windows.

Thanks for the correction...

Well I just got back from the barn and just in case anyone wants to know the original glass sails are definitely different in dimensions than the newer plastic ones.

ps: Sorry for the disruption. I missed the GT part. I got new eye glasses on the way too... $500.00 !!

Hay JR, I applaud you for the glass idea. Sounds preety cool to me. And yes, i agree they would need to be tested for durability. We ( Garden State Fiero Club) had a meet just yesturday, and I once again brought up the question on why arent GOOD replacement sail panels available for the GT. Extra weight? Common, really now. I like the the glass idea very much and would be interested. Bottom line is what somebody else mentioned, costs. What would be a reasonable price?
P.S. What ever happened to some woman on this site who said she had replacements in the making. I don't remember her name, but there was a large post on the topic.

Tha was Ms Lori. I am not sure what stage she is at but she was really close to finishing and from what I remember she had a very high quality product coming.

quote Originally posted by jscott1: Good luck getting a custom curved tempered glass made. If you find a place willing to make it without a $2,000+ setup fee, let me know and I'll send over a template for chop top side windows.

Exactly! there would be a way larger market for real glass choptop side windows than glass quarter windows for the GT.