Sigla felt channels

[thom]

I've finally got around to assembling my door windows. To start with, I did a dry fit of the EIS felt channels glass, and slider bar. At first glance, it seems to be OK. There was concern because the bottom of the reproduction channel is really thick, but it doesn't seem to be an issue. I don't have an original on-hand to measure, but my guess is the top is thinner so it sort of evens out. I'll have a better idea once I start assembling them for real.

What are you guys using to join the glass in the slider? I used a couple layers of electrical friction tape, which seems to be holding them pretty well for now. I tried using a cast-off safari seal, but it kept wanting to pop back out.

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-Thom
1956 Single Cab
1957 Porsche 356A Sunroof
1957 23-Window Deluxe
1957 Mercedes Westfalia single cab
1963 Unimog 404
1965 E-Type

[campingbox]

[lumber-baron]

Thanks Greg, at $5/hour I’m money ahead

[campingbox]

[campingbox]

[House]

They go here on top and bottom:

Also seen is a smaller piece here:

[House]

They are used in more than one spot and a couple different sizes and shapes.
I will have to do some digging some to show what I am talking about…

Here are some from MR:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2485273

[thom]

[lumber-baron]

After searching for months I gave up and made a pair of sliders with a 5mm channel so the glass will fit snug without a seal around it and it will slide in the non Sigla felt channel. I just checked EIS after reading the last post here and they show the Sigla bottom channel for $95 a pair…

[House]

I haven’t opened mine yet, but I assume another important thing it doesn’t include are the rubber blocks that go into the felt slots and keep the vertical metal divider bars in place? Don’t remember offhand if it requires 2 or 4 per bus…?

[thom]

The one important piece that the kit does not include is the thin rubber strip between the rail and the glass; it's similar to that which holds in the vent wing glass.

_________________
-Thom
1956 Single Cab
1957 Porsche 356A Sunroof
1957 23-Window Deluxe
1957 Mercedes Westfalia single cab
1963 Unimog 404
1965 E-Type

[thom]

I got mine today. The guys at EIS must be wondering why there's such a sudden rush on these.

The 'kit' is just 4 pieces of the 'standard' felt and two special pieces for the bottoms. They should just sell the bottoms separate, as I'm sure lots of people have bought the standard kit only to realize the bottoms won't work; otherwise you're just paying a premium for the standard felts.

I did a quick mock-up - I'm a long way from actually installing the frames in the doors.

_________________
-Thom
1956 Single Cab
1957 Porsche 356A Sunroof
1957 23-Window Deluxe
1957 Mercedes Westfalia single cab
1963 Unimog 404
1965 E-Type

[House]

Mine showed up today too.

[Yustrn]

Here is the rundown for enquiring minds.

This is from the perspective of someone who recently spent a crazy amount of time tearing apart, cleaning, and rebuilding their bus sliders only to be frustrated that afterward, it was almost impossible to open or close their windows.

After replacing the felt on one window so far, the felt is wider than I got from WCM, so it's a tight fit into the channel, especially the bottom slider. This meant to get the latch plate to fit, I had to cut a good amount of the new felt to get the latch plate to fit and allow me to insert the screws.

Other than that, I have no complaints, and my slider window now moves like Ron Huff's mom after two shots of patron.

On my other bus that needs the same, I'll probably use the Lind method and just cut out the center channel tbh.

Are they worth the extra cash? Probably not. Am I stoked my windows will now open and close without problems? Yep

If you're gonna complain about the price, these probably aren't for you since they don't fit right out of the packaging and still need to be cut, if you just want to cry once and know your windows will work...go fot it.
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I own a copy of "The Car of the Century" by Garwood. This means I am authorized to act like a twat in thesamba forums.

[70bus]

For extra attention (as well as helpfulness), be sure to put up a 'fit and finish' post. :)
_________________
Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people." - Robert Williams

Raul the 65 singlecab

Karl the 70 nine-seater

[Yustrn]

Mine got delivered today; I am commenting for attention and to let you know I could afford the extra $40
_________________
I own a copy of "The Car of the Century" by Garwood. This means I am authorized to act like a twat in thesamba forums.

[thom]

I'm in the same boat: I had them in my cart, but was double-checking to make sure I'd have the correct glass, latch and slider, and whammo, the price went up $40.
_________________
-Thom
1956 Single Cab
1957 Porsche 356A Sunroof
1957 23-Window Deluxe
1957 Mercedes Westfalia single cab
1963 Unimog 404
1965 E-Type

[70bus]

[Lind]

A couple years ago I emailed EIS and they said that they had no plans to make them again. I tried to get another parts supplier to reproduce them, but they thought that the demand would be too low. These only fit USA spec passenger models from around '57 through '63.

I went ahead and figured out a workaround, which works just fine. I even gave away my last set of Sigla felts to a friend who really wanted them for his bus. Now they were available again for $80, which was really about the limit of what I would have paid for a set. Then the price went up to $120, which is about $100 more than my wholesale price for ones that work just fine. I will put my money somewhere else, there are lots of places to spend money on these buses.

I like to see stuff get reproduced, but I don't like to feel like I am getting gouged. Kind of like the guy in Argentina who makes beautiful repro stuff, and prices it at pretty much the same as NOS or nice original stuff sells for. Neat, but if I am paying full price, I will just hunt around and get NOS stuff.
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Wanted:
Idaho VW license plate frames or other dealership items.
VWoA literature and early dealership or distributor literature/pictures/information
.

[70bus]

I'd call and ask them to refund the difference, and express displeasure at using Amazon-style ass-hattery; remind them they could apparently make a profit and a happy customer at $79, but they can get a return and lose a customer at $119.
_________________
Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people." - Robert Williams

Raul the 65 singlecab

Karl the 70 nine-seater