Want to shed a few pounds off the ol 89, any rear glass suggestions????

 

Think polycarbonate, or plexi-glass. I know a place that makes a lift off, race-weight, fiberglass/plexi-glass rear hatch. But its really for racing only, because the rearward view is distorted due to the shape/bends of the 'glass'. As soon as I find it i'll post it.

 

And unless it's tempered glass, it's not street legal.

No law says you have to have doors (jeeps) - take those heavy beotches off!

AND take the whole rear hatch off! 1987 Nissan Pulsar had a 5-minute removeable rear hatch specifically to take off and cruise like a vert and it was legal!

 

Not quite true. Look at the Lexan T-tops GM did. Those aren't tempered glass. By nature, lexan and polycarbonate don't shatter like glass does.

However, Any of the plastic based replacements will be very prone to scratches, fogging, and be much higher maintenance.

 

I talked to a glass replacement dude a while back about replacing a glass hatch with a lexan one, he says its illegal to change materials from stock, so if it came in lexan, you replace it with lexan, but if it came in glass you replace it with glass, Im not sure what the laws are with t-tops, but for windshields and hatches, thats how it works

 

He said he wanted to shave a few pound's and asked about rear glass. He didnt say anything about being law abiding.

 

Thank you, no I do not care about the legality issues right now...Am interested in a well made light weight rear hatch window...Thanks for all the replys...Tom

 

never seen one available over the counter, they are always custom made. Keep in mind too, they are a lot weaker than stock, so you have to build a frame and a center support or 2 to keep the plastic from flexing and breaking.

you would most likely have to make a new decklid as well, and it would all be pin on at that point.

 

couldnt you go with the fiberglass notch back hatch? im not much of a fan, but i assume they are MUCH lighter. i think they even have a plexi rear window. the window is much smaller, so even if it was glass, its still lighter

 

they may be lighter, but i can assure you they are not much lighter. just moved one the other day and it was surprisingly heavy.

 

yeah, prolly not a lot, i have no physical proof or anything. but our stock rear hatch to me just seem to have ALOT of glass...on of my cars rear hatch shocks are gone, and that sucker feels HEAVY lol. iv never seen a notch back in person so i wouldnt know how much it weighs, so i always assumed it was like ultra light or something.

 

I know they make a lexan one. Im not sure how it bolts on or if you have to race mod it. I think Jegs stock it or used to. I saw one on craiglist awhile back but didnt buy. As far as legality goes I think in NC you can actually have lexan windows just not the windshield.

 

It won't look good IMO.

There are plenty of better places to ditch weight before you start replacing glass. And on that note, the car should be pretty much maxed out in terms of power it's making before weight reduction starts becoming a focus.

It's like seeing racing seats in a stock car, it just doesn't make sense.

 

If you are 100% wanting lexan, try some of the fiberglass places.

If all else fails, get ahold of ALKY IROC. IIRC, he has 1 on his strip-only Camaro.

 

Look into the notchback deck lid. The glass is much smaller therefore lighter.

 

Yeah but is the hatch itself heavier or lighter? I know they make some for 4th gens that are street legal. You would think they would make them for 3rd gens too.

 

I would think so as they are made of fiberglass. But I have not put the two on scales to be sure. They do make them for third gen check Hawks

 

like i said earlier, there is not a huge difference in weight between a notch and a stock hatch,.
the 4th gen hatch has more of a frame than a 3rd gen, which it all glass, so its easier to make a light fiberglass/lexan deck for it. 3rd gens dont have that option, so all the lexan hatches you see are held down with screws or quarter turn fasteners. not a functional hatch like stock. It would be rather inconvenient on a street car

 

I didn't read your statement, but if I had I would ask you have you weighed them side by side??

I was just throwing out Ideas like the rest of the comments on here, I think if you are going to start striping weight you should start with all the seats dash pad door panels basically everything other than the cage and a seat!!!! I see no reason to give a street car a diet like that.

 

I think the notchback hatch was actually heavier. (The factory ones, I dont know about the aftermarket ones.) I just sold one about 6 months ago and remember thinking it felt a lot heavier. I would replace the doors and rear deck with fiberglass, but keep in mind that the door windows will no longer roll down. www.vfnfiberglass.com For all your fiberglass needs. (The windows can be found there as well.)

 

While I do thank all who replied, i know what I want to do, i have had my car for almost 10 years now, and I want to loose some more weight, I have pretty much bare boned it as it is...I have saw the light weight windows before, and was hard pressed to tell them from glass...I just did not know if they were custom, or mass produced after market...We all have our own thoughts, on what should, and should not be done to our cars, but they only apply to your own vehicle...With the new hood on, and the battery being moved to the back, i want to drop about another 100 pounds off the car...about 40 to go.......Thanks once again all, Tom