Viva HB Front and rear screen rubbers

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Re: Viva HB Front and rear screen rubbers

Postby jamezz666 » Tue May 12, 2020 9:31 pm

Hello Every

pictures should be sorted on my previous message now, but as you can see there is a fair old gap between each corner. Me and my dad both put full body weight into each corner, to try get it too sit right when attempting to fit the screen and it was a no go. The rubber is fairly heavy duty, as apposed to the screen rubber that come out of it.

I contacted the company yesturday, with a lengthy message asking the what's/why's and quoting their advert, and i received a message back requesting pictures of the rubber fitted too the screen. I had replied to tell them i couldn't get the rubber too fit and even two windscreen fitting companies couldn't do it. They haven't replied back yet and that was this morning. So this afternoon me my dad and two friends had spent roughly 1 1/2 to 2 hours attempting to fit the rubber to the screen using tooling and soapy water. With all 4 of us we managed to get the rubber too fit and i can confirm it does fit, but seems to be very tight fitting, with a slight flexing outwards in the centre of the screen.

This afternoon I got in touch with a 3rd windscreen company, just to ask a few questions and explain my situation and they told me the rubber should be able to be fitted to the screen just by one person and should not be really tight and causing the screen to bend/flex in the centre at any point. They believe either it was the wrong rubber or when it was made it wasn't cut to the correct length.

Current situation is the rubbers on the screen and looks good because its now shaped right in the corners, because of the tight fitting, but the screen is under a lot of tension. So i haven't had a reply and i'm now debating whether to have a go at trying to fit it myself using the string method.

I'm not sure whether it may be a case of bad luck this time and it would happily be resolved with another rubber, or if they're all like this..

I have a question.. are the screen rubbers meant too be in 1 whole piece, or are they meant to be split? because it did make me think.. if the screen rubber was split, it would be a lot easier to work with, but it would most likely have a big gap once fitted, where the split would be.

James
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Re: Viva HB Front and rear screen rubbers

Postby rizzo » Tue May 12, 2020 9:45 pm

The screen rubber is in one piece and as the screen man said you should be able to fit the rubber to the screen by yourself, if it takes that many to do it, don't fit it, your screen will be stressed, and the rubber will get worse if you try and succeed to fit probably shrink in the corners and leak.
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Re: Viva HB Front and rear screen rubbers

Postby 1972nail » Tue May 12, 2020 10:01 pm

I agree, it's not correct do don't fit it. Insist that you get it replaced or your money back.
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Re: Viva HB Front and rear screen rubbers

Postby cooperman » Tue May 12, 2020 10:16 pm

Don't fit it and wait for a reply first. If your screen was to break as you fit it I doubt you would get any compensation for it
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Re: Viva HB Front and rear screen rubbers

Postby thomas » Tue May 12, 2020 11:13 pm

I'd almost managed to forget screen-seal woes, and even that I still have an HB Viva. Seeing this has given me the colly-wobbles. I ordered I think it was 13m of seal off the roll from woolies trim, (Woolstenholmes, Rubber extrusion R1181-C) back in 2012-ish, still haven't got round to fitting it, or even trial fitting till some more welding and then painting is complete. I reckoned I could get away with having a join in the middle bottom (or top, haven't decided which would be best, but I think bottom less obtrusive, easier to hide) of the front-screen and having to mitre and glue the bottom corners anyhow of the rear screen.

I was planning to use this same seal for the HB rear-quarters too, mitring and gluing the several sharp angles. I totally mangled the daft metal-frame things that were screwed through the old rubber into the body-flange with self-tappers. Using this type seal with black insert (or chromey-plastic ones sprayed black in the interim) and also doing the door top window frames black too and any still visible body colour bits around the rear-quarters also black, it might just work out. I'd love opening rear-quarterlights, the flash-harrys have, with their much simpler seals, but have to focus on just getting the thing back together. Boot seal I've more or less accepted I'll have to get from Oz. Haven't even began to think about door-seals either.

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Re: Viva HB Front and rear screen rubbers

Postby Colin » Wed May 13, 2020 3:49 am

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153382143635

Thanks for posting this James. I was just about to buy these screen rubbers.

Just to clarify the main points from your post;

Rear screen rubber

The rear screen rubber fits OK (the supplier says it has to be 'cut & shut' to fit). So is the rear rubber actually too big or does it actually fit OK without being cut and shortened?

Front screen rubber

The supplier says the front screen rubber fits perfectly but in fact it's useless - being much too small.

Have I got that right?

Thanks, Colin
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Re: Viva HB Front and rear screen rubbers

Postby redfirenza » Wed May 13, 2020 11:36 am

If the front rubber is that tight I wouldn't mind betting that's the Escort one, you can use them but they are very very tight from memory and you have to fit the insert into the rubber once its on the screen and then pull ithe assembly in with a cord
The Australian rubbers were never perfect for the amount they cost, the corners always a bit tight and would fall in, it sometimes helped if you put a bit of packing like a bit of screen wash tube in the glass groove on the corners
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Re: Viva HB Front and rear screen rubbers

Postby jamezz666 » Sun May 17, 2020 9:08 pm

Sorry i haven't got back any sooner. To keep this short.. If you're desperate, buy east kent trims front screen rubber (haven't tried one myself) or if they haven't got one, go for what i bought but only if you're desperate.

So after leaving the rubber on the screen for a few days in our warm works unit, we found down the sides of the screen the rubber was loose, but on the corners they was still fairly tight, but not tight enough that the screen was flexing anymore. So come too today we asked my dads friend (ex windscreen fitter from 30 years ago) to give us a hand and it took 3 of us to fit it into the car. He also told me the rubber isn't right and in the process of fitting it, the rubber was splitting on the inside and when we got near to the end with both sides of the string, with a lot of pulling and i mean a lot.. a chunk of the rubber split and is hanging (inside of the car). In the corners the rubber has many little splits. Now the outside.. the rubber just covers the corners, but you can see the corners are trying to pull in and not stay flat. My left corner has a gap, because of the way the scuttle was repaired. Now fitting the chrome insert was a right old bas****! you couldn't push the chrome insert in, which we've done on other cars in the past, but we had too use a load of washing up liquid and a flat bar tool, just to lift the rubber to get the chrome insert in and in the process of doing that, we took a couple little chunks out the rubber and also scratched the paint on the scuttle. So my advice.. don't buy their rubbers! unless you're desperate! i'm definitely not taking this screen out now, as it was that much of a pain in the *Bleep*, and the screen is now not flexing, so it should be safe. hopefully this will save some people any hassle.. but as i said before, it may be that they sent the wrong rubber, which they was certain that they sent the right one. They also never got back in touch, which is pretty poor in my opinion.
Must add that where the rubber is joined, it's slightly swollen and has been like that since i've had it, so it stands a little proud on the roof. Just please don't be fooled by the pictures on their advert or there description of a "perfect fit"

I'm still yet to fit the rear screen rubber, which i'll attempt doing next weekend without splitting it in 2.
I'll keep this updated.

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Re: Viva HB Front and rear screen rubbers

Postby Colin » Wed May 20, 2020 9:26 pm

Thanks James,

I tried to message these people but haven't received a response either. It's sounds as if you've had a proper battle to try to fit a screen seal that is simply not fit for purpose, so I for one will follow your advice and avoid Classic-Car-Seals' screen rubbers.

I have now bought a rear screen rubber from East Kent Trim Supplies. Their front rubbers are however now out of stock so will have to wait for them to come back into stock.

From the facebook discussion on the subject some people seem to have successfully fitted Mk I Ford Escort front screen rubbers to their HB Vivas. I will bear that in mind as a last resort.
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Re: Viva HB Front and rear screen rubbers

Postby jamezz666 » Fri May 22, 2020 11:12 am

This is what it looks like on the car, which to be honest doesn't look too bad from a distance, but it's when you get up close and start to see how bad it really is. Naturally the lower corners are tying too pull in (excuse the left corner poor body work) and from the inside the rubber is split everywhere. The picture showing the lower right corner from the inside, has many splits.. which some of them the camera couldn't pick up. The other picture showing the centre top from inside, is a big chunk of rubber that's torn from having to pull the string so hard with all my body weight.

If these rubbers was really cheap and you didn't have a choice, i'd then say go right a head.. other than that.. stay clear from them.

Image
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(EDIT) Just noticed after looking again.. it's hard to see the splitting in the rubber on the pictures! i'll try get some more later, but if you look at the last photo, following the the top edge of the rubber, you will see it isn't a straight line and that's where the chunk of rubber is hanging out. As i said i'll try get better pictures later.

The rubber would be great, for which ever car it was originally designed for. For the viva you have to stretch and pull far too much. It seems like the rubber is of good strength and quality, but the splitting of the rubber happened, because the rubber lip was stretching far too much to get over the lip on the body. The corners was the worst for splitting, as it's too tight of a corner for the rubber to get around, which is where i'd believe the rubbers from RareSpares would be better, as it looks as if they're moulded in the corners.

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