Front windscreen rubbers

Wes

Wes

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Have a question, and can't easily find answer here.
Is the e3 front screen rubber NLA, and.
Are there two versions?

Wes
 
As far as I know the gaskets are NLA. Please ask your dealer to request you be put on a notification list at BMW Classic for one. The more people that do that and email requests to BMW Classic, the more likely they may do a production run.

A glass shop that specializes in vinatge cars is a must to use. They will use ropes to try and save your gasket.

There were 2 non-Si versions. The older original had more rubber was designed to cover over the claw fastener strips that are riveted into the body. The later retro gasket will not fit with the claw fasteners and requires you to drill the rivets out, epoxy the rivet holes, and disregard the claw strip piece. You will be unlikely to have the early gasket if you get a new gasket at all unless it is a reproduction. I suggest you try to fit any new gasket you are lucky enough to get before using any glue to determine if you have the later gasket that will not cover over the claw strips. Sorry I don't have pictures but if you have an early E3 with them you will know what I mean from the description. They helped hold the headliner. BMW stopped using them in 1974.
The chrome trim was also different on the Si models so be aware of that. That was a different gasket again.

51311823080 is the earlier Bav gasket used on Bavarias into mid '74. The retro part under the same number requires removing the claw strips so test fit first or compare to your old gasket.
51311828235 is the later gasket found on the 3.0Si

Good luck and report back if you find any for sale. I know wallothnesch had some katacolour windshields made for the E3 a few years back. I bought one. They are no longer on their website. An email to them regarding a gasket might return a sorry response but also might lay a seed that there is a market if they get enough requests.

This is the sort of part that every owner should buy and put in stock if they become available again.

​

 
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I have an original early? Gasket on the shelf if someone wants to make copies.

Not for sale. Belongs to a client.
 
Hello to all, Is there a company that can reproduce a wind shield seal? I would be in on that, Do you know the rear windscreen seal part number?

Thank you
Larry Louton
Vin 3103568 1972 BMW Bavaria
 
Larry Louton said:
Hello to all, Is there a company that can reproduce a wind shield seal? I would be in on that, Do you know the rear windscreen seal part number?

Thank you
Larry Louton
Vin 3103568 1972 BMW Bavaria
Click to expand...
you might want to talk to Connor Ellington at Vintage Autobahn. he has sold reproduction windshield seals for coupes + 2002 for a while. (i believe they are repros - not sure if he had them made or bought from someone else). worth asking since there is access to an original (thanks Don)
 
Why don't we start a count of people willing to pay for early ones. 51311823080
So far I see 2 people. I would buy 2 to keep in stock. That is 4 at this point in the thread.
I'm sure that if we reached out to the e3 facebook forums there would be others.
The question is, does anyone have an old rubber they want to sacrifice?
Any place making them is going to want to cut up an example to get cross section info and corner info.

Perhaps the better solution is to notify BMW Classic that they have x amount of orders waiting and see if they will do it.
The last email I sent them was replied with an automated response to contact my local dealer for parts.
That reply did not come immediately so the email may actually have been read. BMW is fairly ridged with their processes. That is why it may be best to ask your local dealer to send an email requesting the NLA part be made avaialble again.

As for the rear seal it is rarely needed but required. The early part number is 51311828234.
I personally would buy 1 to put in stock.

BMW Classic recently put a 2800 on their facebook page
www.facebook.com

BMW Group Classic | Munich

BMW Group Classic, Munich, Germany. Vipendwa 408,081 · 5,457 wanaongea kuhusu hili · 3,867 walikuwa hapa. Welcome to the Official Facebook Page of BMW Group Classic, where every day is Throwback...
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com

I just dropped a comment regarding windshield gaskets. I did it in German out of respect. Maybe a few more requests in the comments might help

Squeeky wheel gets the oil
 
sfdon said:
I have an original early? Gasket on the shelf if someone wants to make copies.

Not for sale. Belongs to a client.
Click to expand...

Have a firm out here that may be able to re-make. This would require Don to loan me his as a template and sufficient member interest in buying a new rubber, which in turn will inform the price.
 
UPDATE:
Assuming Don will lend us a NLA seal there may be an option to have to tooling made to reproduce these. This is for the early version - e.g pre-facelift - could look at post facelift too at a later date.
A couple of members are prepared to cover those one off upfront costs but to make it worthwhile we need members to express their interest in buying a seal and be prepared to purchase.
Who's keen?
 
I went down this rabbit hole a few years ago, corresponding with BMW and trying to find the original producer to see if the tooling was still around (it's the upfront tooling cost that kills you) -they were not surprisingly unhelpful. I contacted a number of domestic producers but given the relative obscurity of the model the best I could do was find someone who would produce them if I fronted $20k of orders (but I would have the exclusive sale rights!) I got lucky that someone found one on the shelf and after that I gave up. I hope you guys have better luck.
 
I have a 74 3.0s parts car. The windshield is still in it. I have checked the rubber seal and it is still soft. I don't remember the glass condition at this moment. I will try and remove the glass this weekend and maybe that might help somebody. All parts are for sale.
Ed
 
I have an original gasket bought about 5 years ago but not used. How do I tell which "original" one I have? If I take an image an upload it, can someone identify it for me? My E3 is a Bavaria from 1972. It is away in storage so I cannot cross reference what is on the car with what I have. I cannot recall where I got it but I knew they were becoming scarce and those on my car were looking tired so I bought it, not knowing at the time that the gaskets varied by model and year.
 
Hello, I found an American company named Minor Rubber that has a video on Facebook how they would produce a windshield seal such as what we would need, quite the informative. I would be in for front and rear seals for a 1972 BMW Bavaria please .
Thank you Larry Louton
 
I'll be the first to admit, I've never participated in a parts reproduction effort... I'm encouraged by the dialogue on this thread and I'd like to contribute instead of riding on everyone's coat tails...

Can we start pulling together the technical details? A hypothetical example:
  • Components:
    • Series I Vehicles (1969 - 1973)
      • Front Window Seal
      • Rear Window Seal
    • Series II Vehicles (1974-1976)
      • Front Window Seal
      • Rear Window Seal
  • NRE / tooling setup cost: $5000 per window seal design, shared amongst buyers
  • Minimum order size: 10 units of a specific design
  • Unit cost: $375
  • Production time: 3 months
  • List of buyers
  • List of OEM part sources - individuals providing the item to be duplicated

I think this would help everyone plan their budget.. example: $500 NRE + $375 unit cost = $875 total for a Series I Front Window Seal
 
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