![]() ![]() This tiny area was roughed up with sandpaper to give the glue a better chance of holding… some glossy plastics don’t take glue particularly well, and gluing plastic to metal is asking a lot. The bottom of the windows were cut a tiny bit oversize to provide a gluing surface. Because of the way the casting is shaped, I put the back windows in first, followed by the sides. The edges are angled slightly and it took some time to get these edges right, but eventually I had a completed windscreen ready. The front windscreen was made up of a single tiny bit of plastic. So I trimmed the plastic down with a pair of scissors, shaving off a sliver at a time until I had the windows covered, and I repeated the process for the other side. The bend turned out to have the perfect curve for the moon windows, while the flat part formed the side windows nicely. Instead, I started cutting a small piece of plastic that had a 90 degree bend and held it up to the inside. Perhaps one could generate a pattern using a piece of paper… It’s hard to see, but these are the little pieces of plastic that I used to make up the windows ![]() The moon windows might work, but it seemed like it would be very fiddly and difficult to get the plastic to stay in the correct shape. The packaging I had was a little on the thick side and I don’t think I could fold it with a tight enough bend to keep the top of the windscreen flat. While the first choice would be neat, I decided to go with option #2. I could cut out individual windows and glue them into place.I could cut up a single piece of plastic and fold it into shape.On the original, the driver’s and passenger’s side windows are rolled down. All the Land Rover windows are flat, except for the little moon windows along the top edges. I took the car apart and stripped off the paint, and then had a close look at the casting, and another close look at the clear plastic packaging that a set of trailer lights had come in. ![]() Oh well, you can’t win them all.) Stripping off the green paint I thought I had, but I’ve looked everywhere and can’t seem to find it. (Regrettably, I committed the cardinal sin of not getting a photo of this car before I started. This one arrived with all the windows broken out, a missing luggage load, and gobs of green paint smeared all over it. ![]() A Land Rover that I received is a good example. I’ve often looked at plastic packaging and wondered if there’s a way to use it to replace the window insert, at least for cars or trucks where the windows are fairly flat. The plastic packaging that I used to make the Land Rover windows I’m always on the lookout for ways to save a buck on parts. Don’t get me wrong… I’m glad that so many parts are still available, and I’m happy to support the businesses who supply them. Like most restorers, I spend a lot of money on replacement parts. It’s impossible to say for sure, and I don’t have access to thousands of cars so I don’t have any others to compare it with. On the other hand, this could be a simple case of someone-stepped-on-the-Matchbox sort of damage. In good shape, this car can sell for $100-$400 in various castings and wheel types. If successful, this would allow a respray (which this needs pretty badly since a previous owner colored the load with magic marker) and reassembly without much evidence. It looks like someone was trying to pry off the baseplate without doing anything to the rivet head. I also noticed that one of the front fenders was bent out of place. The baseplate is severely bent… so much so that it may crack when I try to bend it back. Since I buy mostly junker lots, I see a lot of damage, especially damage to axles and baseplates from being stepped on. All were listed as “parts restoration”, so poor condition was expected… even desired, since I don’t want to ruin the collector value of an original car by restoring it. This Albion Chieftan came in a recent eBay lot of three cars. ![]()
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