[ihc] K/KB windshields: a possible replacement

[Colin MM Rush <salmineo@xxxxxxxx>]

An interesting bit of information I gleaned this weekend.  I am not sure
how difficult the K and KB windshields are to find in good shape, but if
they are like the 1939 to 1946 Chevy and GMC pickups, they are
exceedingly difficult to find in usable condition, especially in wet or
coastal (salty) areas.  Both IHC and GMC had windshields that cranked out
from the cab to allow fresh air through, and they leaked pretty badly, so
they also rusted pretty badly.  I have a 1941 Chevy pickup windshield
frame, and I took it down to compare to the one on our club's M-5, which
uses a K pickup cab.  The channel is identical, and it appears that a
Chevy/GM frame could be made to work by taking it apart, cutting a little
off of the inside end on the top, and straightening the top bend a bit to
match the IHC one.  Then reassemble.  You will have to drill one of the
top hinge holes in a different place.  Also the Chev/GM center bar uses a
stainless steel cap over the rubber and steel center bar.  The Chev
center bar is available new, but the SS cap is not, so you will have to
use the old one.  The top and bottom tee-brackets look the same, and I
believe the regulator bracket is the same.  They appear to use the same
weatherstrip on the outside edge.  I do not know, but it may be that they
are being reproduced for the Chev trucks by now (they did not used to be,
but I have been out of the loop for many years), which means a new
windshield frame could be had.  I posit this for those that may not have
access to a good IHC one, where absolute originality is not critical.  
-Colin Rush

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