Rear screen chrome fitting

[cass3958]

I have been a busy boy this week.

This weekend I attempted and 99 percent completed possibly the hardest job on an S Type.

Yes I put the rear windscreen chrome back on.

What a bitch of a job as the chrome does not want to be the same shape as the rubber it is going in to. My fingers are burning and sore. I had been putting this job off literally for years. Five to be exact but I knew someday it would have to be done. I had tried in the past but failed. I had asked several classic car dealers if they would do it for me but they all declined knowing how hard it is.

Five years ago I asked David to put out the word for me seeking information on how to successfully fit the chrome surround. Several gave the normal answer of “It just pushes in to the rubber seal” which is correct for the front screen but not the rear. Then I got a phone call on my mobile/cell one day whilst out on the bike from a guy in America. Must have cost him a fortune in phone charges.
He ( I am sorry but I have forgotten his name) said he had been building Jaguars and classics for years and when he puts the rear chrome in, he assembles the rubber window seal, which comes in two parts the outer glass seal and the inner beading which forces the rubber seal against the glass on the rear screen whilst out of the car. He then adds the chrome and glues it all in place so it sits correctly holding the rubber to the shape of the chrome. Finally when all is stuck fast he offers the rear screen up to the car and uses the string method to pull the rubber seal in to position around the aperture from the inside.

Great advice if your screen is out of the car and you are starting from scratch but my screen was in the car and I was not going to pull the screen back out with all the inherent dangers of breaking it.

So back to my dilemma.

I decided to fit the chrome in stages over the weekend allowing one section to stick down before attempting to fit the next section. The rear chrome fits under the inner rubber lip on the window seal, the outer edge is not tucked under the rubber but sits on top. The outer edge of the chrome follows the contours of the body work and should fit flush. The chrome needs to be glued down on to the rubber seal and the best glue I found to use was Puraflex 40. This is a rubber based sealant and adhesive which comes in black or white. This is a great product but it goes everywhere. Get some on your paint work and then try and wipe it off with a rag and it just multiplies. The more you try and clean it off the more you spread it around. It’s like trying to catch steam with your hands. It does come off with white spirit, eventually but be careful of your paint finish. In hindsight I should have put masking tape around the paint work to cover it up before starting the job.

I started in the bottom corner and applied some Puraflex sealant in to the rubber lip then a line on to the beading. I pushed the edge of the chrome in to the rubber lip in the corner and then held it in place with lots of masking tape before doing the same with the upper corner. The curved corners were trying to pop out even with the masking tape holding them so lots of pressure had to be applied on to the chrome whilst waiting for the Puraflex to go off enough to hold it in place. Hence the aching fingers. The two long ends I left dangling as before, when I had attempted this, as I pushed the long ends in the corners kept popping out. Securely held down with masking tape I left it over night for the Puraflex to go off and then the following morning I glued the long ends in to place. The ends of the chromes have a small hole drilled in them so you can use stainless steel wire to fix the two ends together which helps to pull the chrome together and in to the rubber lip. The ends are then covered with the two small sections of chrome end covers which are glued in to place. A couple of months ago I asked on the forum if anyone had a spare couple of end covers because for the love of me after five years I could not find my original pieces. I bought a new pair from SNG Barrett to fit but whilst I was searching for a small screw driver yesterday low and behold I found my original pieces in a plastic bag in a draw. Bloody typical! Anyway I now have a couple of spares in case the originals fall off.

Not an easy job and I would recommend not removing your rear chrome window surround unless you really have to. If you do have to remove the rear screen whilst doing a re-build consider the advice from our anonymous American colleague and fit the rubber seal to the glass then stick the chrome to the rubber so the chrome shapes the rubber to the correct profile before offering it all up to the aperture in one piece.

I have subsequently been told this is apparently how they were fitted in the factory as new.

[DevilDog]

Saved for future use....thanks for the info and nice job.

[Tom Hoffman]

Great post Rob!

[Jose]

there is a 1961 Jaguar Factory Tour video on youtube which goes through the different steps of building the MK-2.

there is a short segment where the front windshield is set onto the rubber by two workers and by golly they make it look so easy, with some kind of tool, however, no chrome is seen being fitted. The rubber was already fitted before the glass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKJPFRNO344

[NigelW]

Well done getting that chrome in Rob. The windscreen company that fitted my rear window in spent two days trying to fit it but gave up and run away without charging me anything. I fitted it myself in the end with the help of a friend.

[cass3958]

Thanks Nigel. I have attempted it twice before and walked away both times. Took a big push for me to get it finish this time.
Only took five years.lol. Must be one of the hardest jobs to do on the S Type. Sounds silly but the chrome was just not the same shape as the rubber seal so really difficult to get the corners to sit right hence having to do it in stages over the weekend.