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On the subject of windscreens

Very old windscreens are dangerous because they get badly worn with stone chips and general scratching. The windscreen in the red MK 1 looks OK but coming over the rise looking west just before sundown on the last lap home just like driving into a whiteout. I have had to put my head out the window to see forward.

I have also dreaded the possibility of getting a broken windscreen because I have only one spare. Repeated approaches to many sources for a new MK 1 windscreen have met with many rebuffs and continuous mix-ups as I try to explain that it is not a MK2 windscreen and YES THEY ARE DIFFERENT.

In addition some manufacturers have said that they will supply a MK 1 windscreen provided I give them a sample windscreen to make a pattern and order a minimum volume of 10 production screens. Heck there are only about 15 MK 1 cars in the club!

Finally I hit paydirt when I rang a local windscreen manufacturer by the name of “Moran Glass” at Tingalpa. [PH 3390 8855]. Peter Moran after the usual mix-up of MK1 versus MK 2 sorted things out and advised yes they could provide me with a MK 1 windscreen but would need a few days notice as they did not have any in stock. He had the dimensions off pat e.g. the MK 1 windscreen is deeper than the MK 2 and slightly narrower. He advised the price would be around $110 plus GST.

It was only after I put the phone down that I realised I knew the organisation I had been talking to. In fact my family and friends have done business in the past with Moran Glass. They replaced the windscreen in my son’s Toyota 4 wheel drive Ute, the Ford LTD and the Ford XF Ute we used to own and also a number of friends’ vehicles. We were all very happy with the service and the relatively low prices charged at the time. I also suspect that the new windscreen I fitted to the Series 3 some years ago came from there.

I recommend you check with this company if you need a windscreen. At least they are local for the Brisbane members.