1977 El Camino

The rear screen when done properly is bonded in. Not like fancy modern bonded screens though. There is a mere 1" lip of wonky metal, hastily welded at the Chevrolet factory circa 1977.

Alarmingly, the correct glass for the car only offers about 1cm (maximum) of overlap to bond with the wobbly lip. There are small 'nail head' type nipples all around that hold clips that hold the cruddy tin trim strips on.

They had their priorities completely back to front on this one. "To hell with secure glass, lets use this tiny bit of real estate to weld nipples to and then attach some tin strips via a complex arrangement of the nipples and fiddly clips".

I had no clips. A soon as I started fiddling with the trim it just came away in my hand because it wasn't held on by any clips. I hate the trim pieces anyway. They're well Woolworths. So I didn't want to pay $4 per clip for 20 clips and wait three weeks for them to arrive just to re-attach something I actually hate.

I've gone right up to the edge (not quite, a few mm gap) so the bonding area is as much as possible.

I still have to consider that the first time I drive it round a corner at 30mph the screen will either crack or pop out completely. But fingers crossed it passes that test.


As for tinting.... it actually has a blue tint on it but it's disappointingly pale and I can barely detect it even when I'm standing next to it.

I still have to peel off and re-tint the side windows so I'll do them all together as a job lot... if I ever get around to doing them at all.

That all looks very smart, rattle cans appear to be a good finish as well, nice job.

I can see your nipples!!

How is Monsoir Pascal these days, is he still teaching French?

(Car talk aside for the moment, I had the sexiest French teacher in the world. Keep in mind this was back in 1983 so by now she probably looks like the emperor from Star wars. But back then... oh baby... she was sexy as heck to a 13 year old hormone battery farm.

The school was a huge inner city comprehensive. 1960s standard prefab design with massive windows.

She had created a massive map of france out of sugar paper and stuck it to the window.

Each lesson, she'd bluetack some city name, or a packet of anchovies, or a picture of Sasha Distelles to the map according to the lesson. I sat right by the window. Right where she used to climb up, in her little rah-rah skirt, the naughty minx. I'd have her stockinged legs right in front of my face, and I saw Angel's beckoning me if I glanced upwards.

Oh, Mrs Elam. You didn't make a man of me, but you certainly showed me all the brochures.)

(By the way blackpopracing I posted you a pic in the Naughty corner. Not of Mrs Elam. A pic of the issue I was dealing with on the car that you asked about)

Anybody else want to get something off their geography teacher's chest?

Our French teacher was Mr Stoddart but we called him rockin Johnny Stodge. He used to turn up in his vw camper and we all though he was shagging the cookery teacher.

We didn't know he batted for the other side. Kind of spoiled our illusion of him.

The school i went to was proper hard, no nice looking female teachers.
Lots of old school male teachers.
Mr Mckenie was a tough old boy. The only thing I remember him saying to me ( in a very strong Irish accent ) was "choose a window laddie, you're leaving". He wasn't a liar.
We had to make our own fun and dream of the sexy French teachers.

Aah must be something about old school French teachers, Miss Savage a curvy well proportioned brunette lady always well dressed and lusted at by all including most of the male teachers (all boys school so maybe not all!). That was 1978 so I am guessing she's pottering about in a bri-nylon house coat and settles down to watch day time telly these days.