41-48 windshield divider bar: ignorant question

50Fraud

50Fraud

Member
I am missing this bar entirely for my phantom convertible (the car is a '40 Ford, but the top is a faux '42-'48 convertible). I'm not clear if the original part is in two or three pieces, including the stainless trim on the outside. Can somebody clarify for me?
 
You have a painted piece on the inside and a stainless piece on the outside along with the stainless pieces that wrap around each side. I hope this helps.
 
So, to clarify for me, the painted piece is the actual divider bar, and there's a stainless cover on the outside -- there's no more than that. Right?

The stainless pieces that wrap around each side fit into the rubber gasket and go around the glass panes, but are not part of the divider bar -- right again?
 
The outer stainless trim has a mild steel inner part that has threaded inserts into which the screws are tightened from the inside to hold it all together.

I hope this helps :D
 
50Fraud said:
So, to clarify for me, the painted piece is the actual divider bar, and there's a stainless cover on the outside -- there's no more than that. Right?

The stainless pieces that wrap around each side fit into the rubber gasket and go around the glass panes, but are not part of the divider bar -- right again?
Click to expand...

Right and right.
 
meric42 said:
The outer stainless trim has a mild steel inner part that has threaded inserts into which the screws are tightened from the inside to hold it all together.

I hope this helps :D
Click to expand...

Whoops -- here's where I'm confused. I've seen the inner piece with the threaded inserts. Is that considered to be part of the stainless cover, and is the painted inner piece then the THIRD part to the whole assembly?
 
Here are some pictures of the internal and external division bars
 

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Sorry, guys, but this still is not crystal clear. I think I get that there are a total of THREE pieces; the outer stainless piece (shown on the left in meric's post above) has an inner part with threaded sleeves, not shown. The part that is visible on the interior of the car is the painted piece with the bent foot shown on the right in meric's post. The stainless piece with insert is available in repop; the painted part is not.

I believe that I have all the corresponding parts from a '40 coupe and a '51 Victoria, but they're 200 miles away so I can't look at them right now. The interior part on the Victoria is also stainless, which I'd prefer. For my application, which is patterned on the '42-48 convertible top but chopped to the stock '40 top height, the actual '42-48 divider bar pieces will be too long and will have to be cut by the same amount. Are the cross sections of the '40 coupe pieces similar to those of the '41-48 parts? We may be able to cobble something up from the stuff I have.

Thanks for your patience, those of you who have responded so far.
 
50Fraud said:
Sorry, guys, but this still is not crystal clear. I think I get that there are a total of THREE pieces; the outer stainless piece (shown on the left in meric's post above) has an inner part with threaded sleeves, not shown. The part that is visible on the interior of the car is the painted piece with the bent foot shown on the right in meric's post. The stainless piece with insert is available in repop; the painted part is not.

I believe that I have all the corresponding parts from a '40 coupe and a '51 Victoria, but they're 200 miles away so I can't look at them right now. The interior part on the Victoria is also stainless, which I'd prefer. For my application, which is patterned on the '42-48 convertible top but chopped to the stock '40 top height, the actual '42-48 divider bar pieces will be too long and will have to be cut by the same amount. Are the cross sections of the '40 coupe pieces similar to those of the '41-48 parts? We may be able to cobble something up from the stuff I have.

Thanks for your patience, those of you who have responded so far.
Click to expand...
Is the windshield area from a closed car (1940) or a convertible? Makes a big difference.
The closed cars used a stainless clad division bar on the outside. No other trim on the outer side.
On the inside three pieces were used. Wood grained - not painted. The center trim piece had screws go through it to mate with the outer bar.

On a convertible a pair of stainless beads were installed upon the body first and foremost. NO outer center strip whatsoever.
On the inside, each piece of glass was placed within a rubber gasket. Then, each piece (with gasket) was placed in the opening and the inner molding, once installed, held the glass in place.
So, while open cars also used three pieces on the inside (wood grained)the center bar was screwed to the body, not THROUGH the body.
 
I do understand (roughly) the windshield construction of a '40 convert, but that is irrelevant to my vehicle.

Mine started out as a '40 coupe, but the top that we've built is intended to replicate a postwar convertible top, so the windshield (as far as I know) is the same whether a convert or a closed car. I have been hunting for the center divider bar for a '41-48 (any body style), but as I wrote above, I have parts for a '40 coupe and a '51 Vic, and it's possible that some of those pieces can be modified to suit.

The car is not a hatchet job. We've tried to build the windshield frame to match exactly the dimensions we took from a very nice '42 convert, except chopped to match the height of a stock '40 convertible. My avatar shows the intended end result.
 
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