View Full Version : DIY Windstop - Success!
SwimmerBoy
24-05-2006, 20:33
Been considering getting myself a Mike Sateur glass windstop for a while, but I didnt know how much difference it would make. I was thinking of buying a bit of plexi-glass or similar and strapping it behind the headrests to get an idea, when I realised I may as well go the whole hog and make one myself!
The smallest bit of plexiglass sold was enough to make two windbreaks, so i thought I'd make a "prototype one" to get the dimentions right and make any mistakes with, and a "final version" that'd look stunning!.6 hours later I have the first version of my DIY windbreak! It stays on by threading a velcro strap around the headrests and through slots in the perspex (shown in pic). Also, I've taken the core out of a length of aerial cable, split the sheath down the length of it and stuck it round the edges to make it look a bit better.
Here's a pic of the prototype after I'd glued the cable round the edges. The black electrical tape is holding it on while the glue sets.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y229/johnharte/Windbreak.jpg
Just been out for a drive with it fitted and it seems to do the job! :) I'll post more pics tomorrow, and maybe create a "guide" by taking photos step-by-step when i get round to making the final one.
Not bad for £15 all in, eh?
gazmundo
24-05-2006, 20:54
Uh-oh, I can feel a DIY attempt of my own coming on:lol:
Seriously,thats a mighty fine effort:cool: Can I ask how you got the finish on the windstop-how did you get the final shape did you cut or mill the profile?
I was thinking of doing something similar as i dont fancy coughing up nearly 150 quid for a proper one~a horrendous price for a bit of plexi and a couple of clamps in my opinion, but thats retail for ya! :lol:. Be interested to see the results you get. Keep us posted :)
Incidentally you can buy the proper edging quite cheaply from craft shops, and it covers a multitude of jigsaw sins ;)
Stafainn
24-05-2006, 21:21
Couple of points -
1) The glass ones that Mike Satur sells is made of toughened glass and will shatter into small pieces in an accident. Yours could well take your head off.
2) If it's attached to your headrests then both seats will have to be in the same position or it will look a little odd.
Incidentally you can buy the proper edging quite cheaply from craft shops, and it covers a multitude of jigsaw sins ;)
Or any electrical shop - it's called continuous grommet......
Or any electrical shop - it's called continuous grommet......
It’s a long one then?
It’s a long one then?
Well - one doesn't like to brag!!! :lol:
SwimmerBoy
25-05-2006, 10:52
Uh-oh, I can feel a DIY attempt of my own coming on:lol:
Seriously,thats a mighty fine effort:cool: Can I ask how you got the finish on the windstop-how did you get the final shape did you cut or mill the profile?
For the straight bits, i just scored it with a sharp knife then snapped it off, for the curvey bits I drilled a series of holes along the curve, then filed between them, then finally sanded it down with a dremmel type handtool.
Incidentally you can buy the proper edging quite cheaply from craft shops, and it covers a multitude of jigsaw sins ;)
I'll have to look into this, I was just using what I had in the house! Hopefully they'll have some in black, the white rim doesnt match the interior of the car at all!
1) The glass ones that Mike Satur sells is made of toughened glass and will shatter into small pieces in an accident. Yours could well take your head off.
That would be enough to put me off! Remember the mg moto 'Safety fast'!
I must admit, while it looks like you've done a good job there...
A) The saftey aspect of the MS and MGFC ones and
B) The fact you don't have to rely on them being attached to the headrests
Puts me off the homemade route.
Still, let us know how it performs!
Argh!!! This bleedin nanny state mentality has got everyone scared!
If we stopped doing everything that "could possibly" or "might possibly" cause something "if something else" happened, we'd all never drive!
So this DIY windstop might smash in the event of an accident!
Big deal, has anyone considered the fact that in the event of a bad accident, your probably going to be covered in glass, plastic etc from the other object you've collided with! The windstop really wouldn't make a lot of difference. Plus it's behind the headrests anyway!
(Sorry, rant over. It's just this whole nanny state thing really gets on my goat!)
Nice one swimmer boy. You've taken the initiative and found a good cheaper solution, rather than forking out for effectively the same thing.
Petevick
25-05-2006, 11:26
didn't know you'd got a goat Kris :D, is it yellow :D
didn't know you'd got a goat Kris :D, is it yellow :D
Anything can be yellow with enough Halfords supplied aerosol cans Pete!! :lol:
The fact that things DO shatter into tiny pieces is the idea, Kris. The last thing you want is a thin sheet of flexiglass in your neck ;)
The fact that things DO shatter into tiny pieces is the idea, Kris. The last thing you want is a thin sheet of flexiglass in your neck ;)
...or a better solution than shattering.........DON'T crash maybe???? :banghead:
...or a better solution than shattering.........DON'T crash maybe???? :banghead:
I won't even point out how dumb a suggstion that is ;)
Oh wait... :p
funkyplates
25-05-2006, 11:36
Have a look at an old thread
http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=117660
Similar to what you've made but cost alot more!! Could be a market out there for you!!??
i mnust admit theres no way i would of had a home made jobby on my car, for the reasons stated above. what if you had a passenger in your car and it ripped a hole in there head too?
theres just too much to loose for the sake of 150 quid it just doesnt seem worth it!
covered in tiny bits of glass, or potential of a piece of plastic slicing through my neck??
its a toughie....but i tihnk i will err on the side of caution and stick with the safety tested MS one thanks.
excellent idea to create your own, but i am interested to hear what the insurance company say when u let them know of your own windstop attempts.
excellent idea to create your own, but i am interested to hear what the insurance company say when u let them know of your own windstop attempts.
didnt even think of that one.... if you were in an accident its about 99% certain you wouldnt be insured coupled with the fact that if someone was seriously injured from it and they sued you (which people like to do) youd have one massive court case on your hands, with no insurance legal fees. youd be on your own
and if someone wasnt hurt, youd still have no insurance cover, which means youd have to pay for the accident out of your own pocket - what if you hit two people? youll get done for insurance fraud and youll never be able to buy a house, or anything else that incurs a credit check again.
is it really worth it for 150 quid?
AndyBrad
25-05-2006, 11:50
ive made my own windstop however i could be deemed a compitent person (being an engineer and all) and have designed it in such a was as to minimise the effect of it in an accident (safety glass) the stuff thats made out of wont be polycarbonate for that price (could be wrong) more like laxxan. This does shatter on impact but into large sharp pointy pieces. Nice. Polycarbonate (that the mgfc one is) is imo dangerous but the profile looks good and the idea is basic and sound. The MS one is by far the best (bar the mg one) and while the glass is cheeper to get than polycarb the fixinngs cost a fortune.
funkyplates
25-05-2006, 11:51
Whole host of issues here.
What about carrying a dog loose on the back seat? Could be pretty dangerous in an accident, what about insurance payout there?
What about these things people have on their parcel shelves (nodding dogs, etc), could be pretty lethal....
What about some us us who travel with the roof down and no tonneau cover to keep it in place. Can imagine that could fly forward on impact....
Whole host of issues here.
What about carrying a dog loose on the back seat? Could be pretty dangerous in an accident, what about insurance payout there?....
pretty certain, its a legal issue in that you are supposed to have the dog in the boot behind a cage, or securely fastened to teh seat belts.
What about these things people have on their parcel shelves (nodding dogs, etc), could be pretty lethal........
being hit with a plastic nodding dog isnt gonna do too much damage to be honest ;)
What about some us us who travel with the down and no tonneau cover to keep it in place. Can imagine that could fly forward on impact....
indeed it could, but all it is going to do is travel along its same route when it is lifted so therefore in no danger of hitting anyone inside teh car itself.
Could..... should...... might....... maybe........ :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
Just enjoy the cars people, stop psychoanalysing every last possible outcome of every different possible event! Argh!
(Could someone pass me back my soapbox please!)
Could..... should...... might....... maybe........ :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
Just enjoy the cars people, stop psychoanalysing every last possible outcome of every different possible event! Argh!
(Could someone pass me back my soapbox please!)
I tink you've lost your rag too mate ;)
Besides, don't you have an MGFC one :stir: ;)
I tink you've lost your rag too mate ;)
Besides, don't you have an MGFC one :stir: ;)
Shhhh! :shh:
(Besides, it's a BAS one. :) )
funkyplates
25-05-2006, 12:04
I was just going along with the 'what if's'. I'm all in favour of DIY jobs.....
I was just going along with the 'what if's'. I'm all in favour of DIY jobs.....
Good stuff!
You, me and SwimmerBoy, together we'll take over the world and rid it of all these doom and gloomers!! :itschy:
Down with the nanny state!
(If anyone finds my plot could they give it back? Think I've lost it? :wavecry: )
I have a package here for a Kris, special order of one Soap Box, a Rag and a Plot. I believe you requested these? ;)
gazmundo
25-05-2006, 12:50
Blimey, with all this talk of health and safety concerns, I thought I'd logged on to the Volvo owners forum by mistake:lol:
I bet the OP is really glad he posted now, what with virtually being accused of decapitating his passengers in the event of a crash:p
cjmillsnun
25-05-2006, 15:49
being hit with a plastic nodding dog isnt gonna do too much damage to be honest ;)
A paperback book can be lethal if it is on the parcel shelf in an impact.
And them plastic nodding dogs could be as well.
A paperback book can be lethal if it is on the parcel shelf in an impact.
And them plastic nodding dogs could be as well.
They say you should never leave road atlases on the parcelshelf
On the insurance issue, i'm reliably informed by my own insurer (after the loss of a tom tom in a vehicle fire) that if it isnt a permanent and fixed addition ie. hard wired or permanently fixed modification, its not covered in the event of a loss. By the same token having it there wont affect any claim made as its not covered anyway. I would imagine its in the same class as a baby seat or similar from this point of view.
I say fair play to the guy for showing some innovation. If the retail ones weren't such a rip off there'd be no need for the DIY route anyway. If you have a proper one then fine....good for you, but try to remember we may all have a common interest but possibly not a common budget :)
Well done matey you stay on your soapbox.
I've been driving soft tops since the mid 70s on and off, and these days I feel more vulnerable with the top down from things flying off other vehicles especially flat wagons and loose chippings.
A railway sleeper once bounced off a flat wagon in front of me and luckily there was a bus lay-by for me to swerve into.
Life is a risk - just enjoy or stay at home. On second thoughts don't most accidents happen in the home??
Catch I'm throwing you my soap box.:greeny:
ATTENTION.. to all tose who have lost their rags..
Empsburna can be found in the 'General chat' section of the .org.. he's becoming a pro in finding peoples lost rags.
Thankyou please
I can see where you're coming from here, but what is going to cause the plexi to stick in your neck? I take it it'd be fitted at the back of the headrest with velcro? so would be quite "wobbly" which would make it flexible enough to simply bend in any collision, and very unlikely to work it's way to front of the headrest.
The only way I imagine it could shatter/snap is if say you ran into the back of a wagon carrying scaffold poles or something - in which case your head would prob be slightly scratched by the plexi as it was parting your shoulders on it's way through the rear screen - Plexiglass as far as I know is used extensively for side screens in motorsport applications and is even CE approved in kids play houses.
I'm with Kris, don't think of more things to worry about.
I've been driving soft tops since the mid 70s on and off, and these days I feel more vulnerable with the top down from things flying off other vehicles especially flat wagons and loose chippings.
I know the feeling. It's even worse on a motorbike - drivers tossing out fag ends, sand/muck from uncovered lorries but, perhaps most upsetting (!), stupid birds, especially pheasants, flying across the road. Can ruin your day...
Sprinter
26-05-2006, 11:29
I know the feeling. It's even worse on a motorbike - drivers tossing out fag ends, sand/muck from uncovered lorries but, perhaps most upsetting (!), stupid birds, especially pheasants, flying across the road. Can ruin your day...
managed to avoid peasants so far but pidgeons certainly hurt.
managed to avoid peasants so far but pidgeons certainly hurt.
So hitting the servant people is still considered ok these days then? :lol:
Petevick
26-05-2006, 11:43
So hitting the servant people is still considered ok these days then? :lol:it certainly is in Ibstock, they expect it :D
STEVEN_NORFIELD
26-05-2006, 11:44
Own an MG?
Broke?
Can't afford a windstop?
Why not buy a deerstalker. Super duper fashionable and gauranteed not to a) slice your head off* and b) upset the safety brigade!
*N.B. You may get it bashed in though for looking like Sherlock Holmes.
Richard Moss
26-05-2006, 11:51
Have any of the "no" sayers thought about the following:
It is attached to the rear of the headrests - thus the headrests create a barrier between the windstop and the driver/passenger and I find it very hard to imagine any way in which it could break in such a way as to seriously damage either occupant.
Surely no more dangerous than all those big lumps of metal called that make up the hood frame.
FWIW, I think its great that someone has got off their bum and made their own. Good job mate!
STEVEN_NORFIELD
26-05-2006, 13:04
Amen to that. I think all the people saying no no no it's a bad idea are just concerned that our swimmers gonna come a cropper if he has an accident, not that it's a dumb idea or anything.
For what it's worth, TVR Chimera's have been running about with plexiglass rear screens for years (OK, so they blew out at 90mph and take pedestrians heads off but thats an aside) and no TVR owner has been decapitated yet.
Swimmer, to make it more secure, take a look at the fixings near the headrests. You could do worse than to run a piece of 3/4" tube across above the engine cover. Then weld two vertical pieces and use some P clips on each side. If you don't have a welder, you can cut it all using a hacksaw and any monkey in a garage will welt it up for a fiver. Spray it black and away you go! With no fear of it going anywhere!
Having read some of the replies to someone's ingenuity and resourcefulness I have been put off in making a very small addition to my F.
I was considering getting one of those English flags and following the majority of patriots who are only patriotic when there is a national football game on, but then it occured to me....
If the flag somehow became detached from the 'stick' it could fly off and quite easily wrap itself around a pedestrian walking by, who not being able to see could easily walk into a ladder that a workmen is using to help him paint some windows. The sudden movement of the ladder could mean him falling off into the street and landing on a small dog which let out a huge squeal sounding like tyres screeching, the workmans pot of paint could fly through the air and empty its contents all over my windscreen leaving me unable to see where I'm going and ultimately cause a huge accident leaving hundreds of people injured and off work for several months having a huge impact on the economy and devaluing the pound.
Plus whatever street cred I had would go thru the floor.
Yep, you're right it just ain't worth it.:run!:
http://www.film-fx.com/noops2.gif
Having read some of the replies to someone's ingenuity and resourcefulness I have been put off in making a very small addition to my F.
I was considering getting one of those English flags and following the majority of patriots who are only patriotic when there is a national football game on, but then it occured to me....
If the flag somehow became detached from the 'stick' it could fly off and quite easily wrap itself around a pedestrian walking by, who not being able to see could easily walk into a ladder that a workmen is using to help him paint some windows. The sudden movement of the ladder could mean him falling off into the street and landing on a small dog which let out a huge squeal sounding like tyres screeching, the workmans pot of paint could fly through the air and empty its contents all over my windscreen leaving me unable to see where I'm going and ultimately cause a huge accident leaving hundreds of people injured and off work for several months having a huge impact on the economy and devaluing the pound.
Plus whatever street cred I had would go thru the floor.
Yep, you're right it just ain't worth it.:run!:
:haha: Absolute brilliance!!! :haha:
Having read some of the replies to someone's ingenuity and resourcefulness I have been put off in making a very small addition to my F.
I was considering getting one of those English flags and following the majority of patriots who are only patriotic when there is a national football game on, but then it occured to me....
If the flag somehow became detached from the 'stick' it could fly off and quite easily wrap itself around a pedestrian walking by, who not being able to see could easily walk into a ladder that a workmen is using to help him paint some windows. The sudden movement of the ladder could mean him falling off into the street and landing on a small dog which let out a huge squeal sounding like tyres screeching, the workmans pot of paint could fly through the air and empty its contents all over my windscreen leaving me unable to see where I'm going and ultimately cause a huge accident leaving hundreds of people injured and off work for several months having a huge impact on the economy and devaluing the pound.
Plus whatever street cred I had would go thru the floor.
Yep, you're right it just ain't worth it.:run!:
http://www.film-fx.com/noops2.gif
Class!!!! :englandsmile:
Just about summed it up there Noops!!!
:D :england: :haha:
and landing on a small dog which let out a huge squeal
Thats awful, I hope the dog is OK?
Thats awful, I hope the dog is OK?
Yeah the dog would be fine it was a Scottie dog consequently not an England supporter.
http://www.film-fx.com/noops2.gif
Petevick
27-05-2006, 14:21
Yeah the dog would be fine it was a Scottie dog consequently not an England supporter.
http://www.film-fx.com/noops2.gif:haha: I don't understand football, but I'm sure thats gotta be funny :haha:
vBulletin® v3.8.0 Beta 2, Copyright ©2000-2010, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.