like when people continually jump in on someones auto body thread and shoots down the complete replacement route rather than the body filler route?

like the owner has no option?

 

The question is can you piss off people with tempers?

 

im not in an argument with jeff. You are reading it like that. Many keep replying that it can be done (cutting tempered) when the information is out there that you cannot. I already stated to jeff that his idea is interesting and i wished him good luck. I thing many of you dont read posts very good..you just like to reply and smash away at the keys.

 

Should I be discouraged by all of this? I refuse to be! I get motivation from being told something can't be done! My HHR will have GLASS rear windows in the barn doors. If the original window can be cut, fine. If custom curved glass has to be fabricated, so be it. Some company out there makes curved tempered glass for the OEMs, it doesn't just fall out of the sky! I'm not going to let the glass issue stop the project! There sure are alot of custom hot rods out there with chopped tops & cut down side & rear glass, they aren't all flat...most have compound curves. Yea, I'm probably the only one out there stupid enough to spend all of this time putting impractical doors on an HHR, but it'll be unique.
Anyway, since all of this energy exists on this subject, how about all of you guys come on over & let's get this HHR done!!! I'll post more pics as things progress.

 

Like I said, if someone who's actually used a Flow or similar water jet machine could answer how it could be done, that'd be great. Instead, we have someone who keeps beating a dead horse, jumping up and down saying it can't be done. I've seen tempered glass that was cut after the tempering process with a waterjet machine. It's possible, end of story.

My thoughts would be to use the original backlight to make the patterns to create the new backlights out of Lexan. Even if it is possible to cut the original glass with a Flow, you still have the defroster grids to deal with.

 

why dont you contact a hotrod shop or any custom shop for that matter in or around your area? maybe even a limo conversion place...

 

Good idea concerning the limo conversion company! That's a resource I never really thought of, but makes sense. I did talk to a street rod glass supplier in CA just a little while ago, he said good luck getting one of the large companies that produce curved glass to stop production of large batch runs to do a small custom job such as mine. He also mentioned the limo companies, said some of them will do custom jobs when their orders are lacking. It's going to be an adventure!

 

What about finding a donor vehicle that has glass close in dimension to what you need? After your doors are customized to accept the new glass, if you ever need a replacement, it will be very easy to find.

OR, find a non-tempered piece of auto glass with the correct curvature that can be cut to fit. Many pieces of auto glass overseas are not tempered while the North American version is.

 

Yep, that's another route I may explore. I'll head to the junkyards, templates in hand, searching for laminated windshields with the proper curvature that I can have cut down. One way or another, this thing will have GLASS in the doors!

 

look here jeff! i say just ditch the whole project and forget it ever happend. i mean who said that you couldn't do barn doors on a hhr. im more than sure that along the way as you were cutting (measure a trillion times and cut once) you made some mistakes here and there. from what ive been reading on the past 3 pages worth of posts, it seems that you "cant" cut glass. so i say just ditch the whole damn thing and put everything back to normal. besides i already told you to stop your lolligaging!!! LOL! also when "CRAP" like this becomes a huge "debate" on what can and cant be done...why reply just let it be and let whoever spend their money and break stuff so on and so on. i dont want it to sound like im taking sides, just putting in my two pennies worth of useless rambling, but im sure that you all get the point. it's like here the tex mex thing to say is " nomas di que si y se cabo, y ya se cailla la boca" meaning just say ok and he'll bequiet. or just nod your head and be done with it.