My Split-windshield project for El Macho

[TEakins]

That absolutely insane customs timing. Did they offer any explanation of why it took so long? Missing paperwork? Lost? Did they try and hit you up for storage?





Sorry for the continued hi-jack but I found photos of that split windshield abandoned Cruiser in the desert. The TNK wiper motors and a few other parts may or may not have come home in my luggage and one ended up on my 65 40 and the other is a spare for my 66 45, they live on!

That absolutely insane customs timing. Did they offer any explanation of why it took so long? Missing paperwork? Lost? Did they try and hit you up for storage?





Sorry for the continued hi-jack but I found photos of that split windshield abandoned Cruiser in the desert. The TNK wiper motors and a few other parts may or may not have come home in my luggage and one ended up on my 65 40 and the other is a spare for my 66 45, they live on!

I have no problem with high jacking, especially with cool pictures that are on topic. Thank you all for your contributions. I have a new friend in Pakistan. He is going to keep an eye out for split-windshields. He frequents the scrapyards. Here is a photo of one of the scrapped trucks:

Here is one of the videos of one of the scrapyards that he sent me:
ADrive | Online Storage, Online Backup, Cloud Storage - https://www.adrive.com/public/thw7C2/WhatsApp%20Video%202026-02-11%20at%2009.47.14.mp4

 

[diesellibrarian]

Never seen a split wind screen on a 40 and now it's all I can think about. Thanks a lot lol.

 

[charliemeyer007]

My M35A2 1968 multifueler 2.5 ton 6x6 had a split windshield - that was part of the AC system along with the door windows or pull the rag top.

Once in a white out, I had guys holding onto each side of the bumper walking along feeling for trees to keep us on the road. Open windshield allowed me to hear them yell over the I6 diesel.

 

[FJ404345]

This is my first thread. I have enjoyed many threads here over the years and some have been very entertaining while others have been very helpful or have revealed resources I was not aware of. So I am going to share my adventure with the split-windshield i acquired recently. I have owned El Macho (1978 FJ40 restomod) for 30 years. About 13 years ago JimC and I finished the frame off restoration which took about 10-12 years. I would visit JimC's shop 1-2 times a month over the years and we would work on it while our dogs played together. Also JimC is very methodical about everything he does Cruiser-wise and so it took years. I am very fortunate that I met him in the early '90's when he was a charter member of the now defunct Mid-Ohio Land Cruisers club. El Macho has a lot of upgrades including everything aluminum except basically the hood, doors, lid, and hardtop sides. It has mini-truck power steering now and 4 wheel disc brakes. It has a JimC desmogged and rebuilt '77 2F with his meticulously rebuilt carb and a full roll cage. JimC did most of the work while I was the guy who cleaned up rusty parts, rattle-can painted stuff, and helped with the disassembly and reassembly. Plus I was the guy who had the pocketbook to pay for parts and paint, and of course periodic payments to JimC which I felt were not enough to compensate a Cruiser Swami such as himself.
I thought I was through with my build, having added a 3M vinyl wrap about 3 years ago and then last year finally getting a Warn 8274 on the front bumper. I do not wheel it anymore for a variety of reasons so it is a garage queen, grocery/errand-getter, and Cars'n'Coffee rig. Then one day last December 2025 a mud member, FJ404345 (Eric), posted he had decided to sell his split-windshield. I have always wanted one for my pseudo-military rig and I saw it had been posted by Eric only 30 minutes prior. I jumped on the opportunity and soon was exchanging texts with him. It turns out he lives in Curacao in the South Caribbean. The windshield is a relic of the Middle East from the late 1960's and is partially restored. It was an ordeal to get payment to him. I first tried to Paypal money to him. They wouldn't let me send money to Curacao. So I tried to wire money through my bank. They were having trouble with the necessary codes and bank protocol. I had to go back 3 times with documentation. One bank officer was convinced I was getting scammed. He assumed that since it was someone who I had never met and only knew over the internet, was in a foreign country, and that I am an old man that I was dumb enough to not know an obvious scam. Finally they couldn't get their bank codes figured out and suggested Western Union. I thought WTF why didn't you suggest that the first day! It was no trouble sending Eric the funds for the purchase and again for the shipping via Western Union. For the curious he charged me $1000 for the windshield and $300 shipping via FedEx. Here is a picture of El Macho with the OD green canvas soft top I bought used from a mud member in BC, Canada. It will really be complemented by the safari windows. Here is a photo of the windshield from the collection of pics that Eric sent me. It has been partially restored and is in good shape, but needs a little more work before glass can be reinstalled.
View attachment 4088072View attachment 4088074

@TEakins

Nice you made this thread, looking forward to follow and to see the process and the end result

 

[FJ404345]

@TEakins

Love your serial number on the hood … good use of your tlca #

@FJ404345 was yours from Abe or Ehsan?

The wiper motors can be found at a boating supply store … early cruisers used them dual wiper motors and the boat/hot rod motors are a good replacement

Johnny, that windshield came from @TeamJB a couple of years ago, actually over time I bought two from him



Now I still have one left over

 

[TEakins]

That absolutely insane customs timing. Did they offer any explanation of why it took so long? Missing paperwork? Lost? Did they try and hit you up for storage?

They always get bogged down during the December holidays. Maybe they down-sized and there is only one guy left in Memphis. It was too big to get lost. They did rewrap it in black shrinkwrap and put their stickers on it, but the bubblewrap and tape were not disturbed - maybe just the patched together cardboard covering. Perhaps they had to have a dog come over and sniff it and he only works every other Friday except when he doesn't come in. I am thinking it leaned in a corner, was a large package, and everybody just walked past it thinking, "Somebody else can get that one, I'll do this jewelry package."

 

[charliemeyer007]

Those drug dogs formed a union - they got collective rights now.

 

[TEakins]

So I decided to work on the worse flip out window first. I built a table for my sawhorses with a 2' x 4' piece of 3/4" plywood and screwed a 2"x 3" rail on the back of it. I have some very large C clamps that I used to clamp the bowed-down bottom bar of the flipout windowframe to the rail. It was bowed both down and in - which was causing the lower outside corners to not seat and appear bent up. I started by clamping the bottom bar against the wooden rail and heating it with a heat gun while I smoked a cigar. When it smelled hot and areas of my table and rail began to burn, I doused it with water to quench any glowing embers and also hopefully annealing the metal to encourage it to stay straight. I let it cool while I found my abandoned cigar and removed the clamps to reveal my anticipated success. However it did not work and the bottom sag sprung back. Okay, so I tried it again with some wood shims purposely placed where the deformity was so it would overbend and be straighter when it sprung back. That was working and after fussing with it I was happy that the down bowing of the bottom bar/channel was corrected. Next I had to take the dip out of it. I used the same overbending technique and I was really getting a feel for it now. Slow and methodical-like. I was happy that the window now fit flat in the mother frame without rocking and the corners were no longer flipped up. I will still be fussing with it some and checking out that the channels are consistent and clean for glass and weatherstrip down the road. Now that I am a skilled windshield frame metalworker I will tackle the passenger side flip out which doesn't look as bad as the other.

Before

After

 

[Unimogguy]

Now after seeing that there’s 2 different versions of the split window I wish I would have gotten the earlier version for my 1963 FJ45 with the defrost vent, correct side latches and the holes for the early mirror. Bummer!

But with the split window already being rare I wonder how rare the earlier version is???

 

[TEakins]

Well I got the TNK wiper motors running well and painted. I did end up buying the Chinese motors from a hot rod supplier just for the grommets and hardware. I was able to get replacement terminal covers 3D printed by the vendor, Cruiser King in Australia (antonmechanical1@gmail.com). I restored the interior adjustment knobs with PlastiCoat rattle can paint.

Now I have returned to working on the flip out window frames. One thing that worried me was the screws that hold small brackets that hold the two piece window frames together. They need to be removable to insert glass in the frame. They would not budge with penetrating oil or heat. I sent away for an impact screwdriver because I couldn’t find mine. It arrived so as fate will have it I should come across the other one soon. Fortunately the impact screwdriver worked and I was able to back out the screws.

I am still tweaking some of the weatherstrip channeIs of the flip outs and mechanically removing brushed-on primer to reveal where the frames have had pinholes filled with solder. There are a few other small holes to be filled so I went down the rabbit hole to learn lead working. The mother frame has some dings also, so it will be good to know how to do this. My plan is to use a skim coat of polyester filler after the lead working. I have a starter kit from Eastwood and have been gathering other supplies such as a respirator for acid fumes from the tinning butter. I don’t have an Oxy acetylene torch, but I am hoping my propane torch with a diffusing tip will work out. Eastwood included an informative DVD and they have another tutorial on YouTube. So it looks like I am ready to go. I will be back.