Listers,
Just thought I would let you know that a period of pain with my Vitesse
windshield/windscreen is at last over!
First screen I had was an old Triplex Laminated Green Screen, matched by the
green toughened door glass that I had made by Coventry Safety Glass c/o John
Kipping some years back.
The Triplex screen had done seven years good service on my Herald before
being carefully removed and fitted to my Vitesse.
I had originally bought it for 50 GBP from a TSSC member about 12 years back,
and he told me that the guy he bought it from had Triplex make it at a cost
of 300 GBP.
It came a cropper when we tried to fit the thin stainless steel windscreen
surround trim as found on earlier Heralds, but due to the combination of
thicker than normal glass, and inflexibility of the stainless steel trim, the
screen cracked on the final corner! but only after my father and I had almost
broken our thumbs fitting the darn thing!
Now it was 1996, and the completion of my Vitesse was fast approaching.
I had no luck finding a replacement green screen in the UK, but managed to
get one from the President of the Triumph Club of Finland...
He worked for their major windscreen company, and said that it would be no
problem.
It duly arrived via a rather circuitous route, as they don't deliver! and I
got it trade price of just 60 GBP...This time I had it fitted professionally,
mind you, it was rather thinner than the old screen, and we used the more
pliable chromed plastic trim which caused no problems.
Whilst my Vitesse was in the professional workshop, and various modifications
were being made, somehow angle-grinder splatter found it's way onto the lower
inside of my new screen. Needless to say, I wasn't happy, but it was a minor
imperfection and I decided to ignore it for the moment.
April 1997 arrived, and I was finishing off the car, (in fact, I still am!),
various magazine articles and concours victories followed in my vitesse's
wake.
(Thanks for the nice comments from Listers following the Triumph World
cover/article)
In July 1998, just after winning the trophy that I really wanted, the "TSSC
International Weekend, 75th Anniversary of Triumph/21st Anniversary of TSSC
Modified Vitesse Trophy",
I was driving sensibly,(honest),along the A45 Coventry Ring Road, betwixt
Stafford and Stow-on-the-Wold, for to meet with John Macartney for lunch, and
a truck, some distance ahead of me, decided to throw a half-brick back down
the carriageway in my direction.
There was nothing I could do except to watch it bounce off my windshield,
producing a large 'bullet-hole' effect, just on my side of the rear view
mirror!!!!!!!!!!!!!! &%$$£$%^
Needless to say, I was rather upset, especially as I had driven my Herald for
over 120,000 miles with no damage to any glass, and I had driven my Vitesse
for just 3,000 miles at that time!!!
When I got home, I called a local windscreen repair company, a fairly large
one,
and they came round and drilled a hole in the centre of the damage and
injected some fluid with the same refractive index, effectively hiding most
(80%) of the damage
but I still knew it was there and could see it!!! (45 GBP for that).
I called the company, and they said why not buy a new screen ? for 117 GBP.
Well, I was short of cash, and about to embark on a four week vacation to the
USA
(Thanks to Dan Masters for the loan of his TR6)
So I said I would order it as soon as I got home and finances had recovered
some.
That took until the beginning of January, so I called them up and they said
"Oh no sir, we can't get you a screen" so I said "well you could last August"
and they said, "ah well, that was last august and you have missed your
chance!"
I made a lot more phone calls and found that just one company could supply a
screen for me. To special order from Pilkingtons, who I understand bought up
Tudor Safety Glass who held the Herald/Vitesse moulds but had been refusing
to make the screens for some years due to 'lack of demand' hmmm...
I was told 5 - 6 weeks, and in the event, it took about 12 weeks
(I was out of the UK for 4 of them, so no real problem!)
and the cost was broken down as follows:
Green Tinted Screen 74 GBP, Top-Tint (narrow) 5 GBP, Delivery 20 GBP,
Tax 17.33 GBP, Grand Total 116.33 GBP.
They even sent it to me, BEFORE receiving any payment!!!
The company that gave such excellent service was UROGLAS,
Specialist Automotive Glass Distributors, 17 Silver Birches Business Park,
Aston Road, Aston Fields Industrial Estate, Bromsgrove, Worcs, B60, 3EX.
England. Tel: 00-44-1527-577477 Fax: 00-44-1527-576577 (24 hours)
It arrived here Monday last, and I fitted it today Saturday.
myself, without any problems at all.
I just adopted my 'can do' attitude, and did it.
Hope this information is of help to someone out there with glass supply
problems on their Triumph, or other LBC.
Regards
Leon F Guyot
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