Robofc

My 71 has almost all the glass scratched up. I would like to take 50lb off it but keep stock appearance, by installing 5-6mm double hardened, anti fog and rain-x coated Margard lexan.

My main concern is noise and scratching. I use it for mountainous road trips and occasional track days. How much more noise is there with Lexan?

Scratching: the hardened Margard or Markrolon is stil about 3.3X less scratch resistant than glass. But it’s a lot lighter. Maybe put in on rear and quarters only, so wipers and rolling windows are against glass?
thoughts and experience?

Cory M

I wouldn't run Lexan or polycarbonate windows on the street, they get beat up and scratch easily. I've got them on my racecar, have to use a special spray to wipe them clean because Windex messes them up. I also think your weight savings estimates may be optimistic.

r911

R windshield glass with defrost strips on a '73 is 16 lbs. - dunno the wt. of the polycarbonate

- in LA, JAck Olsen has something like that on his mainly track, some street, car

the newer 'vettes come stock with a light plastic windshield with some coating on it, so it is possible

it IS in back & up high so something to do after FG R. bumpers, etc.

Cory M

Just read on a build thread that doing all of the the side glass saved 35 pounds, more than I thought. So maybe you could leave the front glass and still hit your 50 pound goal.

*Edit: that weight savings also included swapping out the regulators for R style straps

r911

crank up windows + hinged R windows on both sides will come to about 20 lbs., so that 35 lbs. must also include the rear glass backlight

50 is not possible from substituting Lexan for glass unless you do the windshield too

Amber Gramps

If I can remove 400#'s from a cabriolet and still have a car comfortable enough to take my wife on 2,000 mile road trips than do we really need to replace the windshield? I'm of the camp that says it stays.

Oh noise......LOL..... Try felt carpet in a cabrio. You can talk before and after but not during the driving. Add in the Bisimoto pipe and it no wonder I don't wear my hearing aids.

ScottArizona

400 pounds?!? Do you have a diy LOL! You sound like me. I'm a sucker for weight reduction provided it doesn't too drastically reduce comfort, and provided is somewhat easily reversible.

Amber Gramps

Its all DIY outside of a few critical points I could not afford to do wrong. Milling new mounting holes on the rear 930 calipers, final welds on the raised and de-cambered spindles, and the leather on the seats were farmed out to professionals. Did everything else myself.

Oh, and Bilstein, Poway did the custom valving rebuilds on the dampers.

r911

the OP is starting with a light LWB, not a ponderous dinosaur, so it will be very hard to take 400 lbs. out and keep it as a driver

200 - easy; 300 - surely possible