pwengland

I know this topic has been covered a number of times, but most of the posts are quite old. I'm looking for a lexan rear hatch for my 944 race car. I've seen a number which just replace the glass, but am looking for a complete unit with spoiler and frame so I don't have to risk damaging my original glass (want to keep it aside as a spare on my other 944)

Any thoughts on who is doing this. I have seen some from GT racing and some others but all seem to require you to use you old frame (if that's the correct term)

V2Rocket

Hi,
Can't help you on a source but would like to let you know on some facts...
The weight of a complete 944 glass hatch listed in the old GT racing catalog is WRONG (they said something around 80lbs).
It appears they have amended this on their current website though, but they still overstate the glass weight...
http://www.gt-racing.com/944-rear-window-3-16-part-124/

I have personally weighed a 1987 944 hatch, complete with glass, rubber spoiler, metal frame and 3rd brake light, and it was only 52 lbs (~24 kg).

My early model 944 hatch (basically identical but without the 3rd brake light) was 50 lbs (~23kg).

A piece of lexan of equivalent VOLUME (length x width x depth) will weigh approximately one-half that of glass.
I would expect the hatch linked above is thinner material than the stock glass since it is significantly lighter.

pwengland

Thanks for the input, the weight is one key factor, but also don't want to risk breaking the glass in a crash if it was to happen.

MAGK944

Have you tried the regular used parts suppliers on here? I'm sure they have spare frames and wings available for sale without the glass.

ddombrowski

We just went through this.

Apex performance no longer supplies the lexan hatches. I don't recall exactly what the deal was but I think he just stopped making batches with his supplier. He said he would do it if we wanted to (a group buy would be better). I had considered putting a thread on here asking if people would be interested in doing a group buy but I dragged my feet and we were up against a deadline so I didn't have time.

I ended up buying my hatch from Five Star, as did a number of other 944 race car teams I follow. I have two hatches, one on the race car and one on a parts car, so it was easy enough to take one apart knowing we'd have a glass spare if we needed one.

I have a handful of photos from the process that I'd eventually like to put together as a guide, but haven't yet (are you sensing a pattern here?) Most of theprocess is the same as if you just wanted to reseal your glass hatch, but you're replacing the glass with the lexan.

We ended up putting a few weekends into building this thing, it was a good amount of work. I want to say that Apex quoted us something like $250 in labor if we wanted him to build it instead of just providing the lexan part.

If you could buy a frame without the glass, I'd jump on that deal. It was a lot of work to remove the glass. Well, not a lot, but it was a PITA.

PorscheDoc

I've never seen one where you didn't have to use the original frame. In the states, we just source used hatches pretty easily and cheap and then remove the glass and install the lexan. Not sure about that feasibility overseas.

linzman

I just bought a windshield and hatch from 5star. Excellent quality. It should be easy to find a spare hatch and remove the glass. Hint, try to remove the glass in one piece, if it breaks, it's a b%*tch to get all the small pieces off the frame. Heat works well. Be careful not to bend the frame.

thingo

You can get a Lexan piece from plastics4performance. They ship to Australia for a reasonable price and are easy to deal with. But that's just the lexan, you will have to source your own frame.

SloMo228

Are the Lexan hatches folks are using the kind with the anti-scratch coating? How does it hold up? I've been considering a plastic hatch but my 944 is a street car and want to make sure it can hold up to the elements OK.

MAGK944

I have the1/4in optic armor #944771-4 on one of my street cars and it is extremely durable and scratch resistant. The coating they use must be top notch as I really haven't treated it with anything special, just windex and a microfiber cloth. I went with the 1/4in instead of the 1/8in because I didn't want to fit supports down the center. You still have to drill the frame surround to bolt it in place though. I don't have a rear wiper fitted but I've heard that the coating is not affected by wipers.

SloMo228

Thanks! I don't have a wiper either and my 944 now gets to live in a garage and is my second car so it won't see a lot of abuse anyway, just didn't want it to turn into a scratched, hazy mess from normal use.

I have delaminated glass so I may be ordering from Optic Armor sooner rather than later.

MAGK944

The part # I stated was incorrect, it's #944776-4. It's been on the car for about 6 years and I do an average 3k miles a year in that car. Garage kept but driven in all weather conditions here in FL, including parked in direct sunlight all day when I've used it for work.

Appologies to the op for the off topic, back on track now

968gene

How difficult was the installation? Thanks,

MAGK944

Gene, the reason I fitted lexan on my street car was because I shattered the glass in my hatch trying to reseal it. The hardest part is removing the glass from the frame. If you want to retain the glass you have to be very careful and work slowly without leveraging against the edge of the glass or it will shatter, with a loud bang, into a zillion sharp pieces. Then you are left with the next hardest part, removing the small fragments from all the sealing material around the frame, took forever.

If you do get the glass out as a whole you will have already cut through most of the adhesive and then it's quite easy to clear the remaining stuff of the bare frame.

Installation of the Lexan (I had it delivered cut to size), is not hard just time-consuming. After a test fit, you drill a series of small holes 6 inches apart around the frame, chamfer the holes on the outside, apply beads of window sealant both sides, fit the Lexan and drill through it using the holes in the frame as the pilots. I masked off the Lexan on the test fit so that the sealant wouldn't get on it during final fitting. As you go along loosely fit small countersunk bolts and locknuts in the holes so that the bolt heads fit flush with the outside of the frame with the locknuts on the underside. You can use rivets instead if you wish but you should use the nuts and bolts (or something removeable) to locate everything first, then remove them one by one and rivet. I left the nuts and bolts in but didn't torque them too much letting the locknuts do their job. Just enough to compress the sealant and snug everything up. Took me a whole weekend. Maybe some of the racercar owners will chirp in as they have more experience doing these and may know some shortcuts or point out things I might have missed or forgotten.

968gene

Excellent response. Thanks!