Has SAS come up with a solution for leaking Speedsters?

Good for Steve to develop a solution for leaking side curtains. The window looks and sounds a little clunky while raising and lowering and the front glob of weather stripping is a bit hokey but it's still a step in the right direction.
However, Henry has been doing this for over a decade now so it's really nothing new.
I was hoping for a solution that could be retrofitted to our cars.

Good job, still!

I'd like to see the car doused in water to see if it works. Not saying it doesn't work, but it is the practical outcome that counts.

I have to say that I am quite impressed. Steve has done some fine work there.

Neat to have a choice but it looks funny at the winshield post dash area and the top shape looks a little funky. I like the weather seal around the top. Like to see a finished car operate and get wet like Bob said.

I think it differs from Henry's solution in that it doesn't have the rubber strip that is always on the windshield post of Henry's cars. I think the relationship of the post to door opening is different on Henry's cars too.

I would say it is something new.

Very creative and innovative. I'm impressed with what Steve has come up with. I don't believe that "retrofit" is part of the idea though.
Great work, Steve.

An interesting solution. I'd like to see Steve come to Carlisle with one of these cars and demo the solution at the Speedster/Spyder tent Saturday.

Why not "retrofit" ?

Steve could market a kit of inner door mechanicals, wiring diagrams, sill modification required, and of course the windows themselves...
Or am I missing something?

Looks like you might also need new top canvas (different pattern) and possibly different top mechanicals/header bow. Hard to say with no details.

Justin, you are correct. You would need new bows and a canvas top.

It is not so much that you are missing something. SAS is a very small operation and struggles to turn out cars on a timely basis. SAS has never provided kits for anything and seldom provides generic spare parts but focuses only on SAS-peculiar items - usually something in the Subaru area or the SAS adaptation thereof. They do not offer an accessories list.

While it is not my intent to malign anyone's automotive repair capability, retrofitting the SAS system to a VW-based Speedster would be a real challenge. Sometimes something that lends itself to a scratch-designed application is really tough to retrofit.

I also do not know when SAS could find the time to further develop a retrofit system in that all of the Speedster replica models are slightly different. I suggested recently to Steve that it might be a good 'cottage industry' for some enterpising young lad (outside SAS) but he was not moved.

So...it wasn't the gull wing side curtains...I was almost certain.

Well Rich, it could have been a 'buy my Cabriolet' solution. Or, it could have been the geezer solution - 'buy my coupe'.

But I have to be careful here because Jim Kelly's SAS coupe may be the hottest rocket on the planet but we will have to wait awhile to see.

Hey Bob and Marty.

In my post on the 17th, I said I was very skeptical that there would be a solution at the end of all this. I guess I was wrong.

It appears that there might be a solution for the dozen or so new SAS owners who receive their cars over the next couple of years, but for the thousands of us current owners, there is no magic bullet solution.

Don't get me wrong, I applaud his efforts and I am sure those new SAS owners will be happy and dry.

Troy, I think your assessment is indeed correct. There is no silver bullet for this problem and likely never will be. I have spoken with Steve about retrofits and he agrees that it is a large and expensive undertaking for most existing Speedsters.

The SAS solution probably does not lend itself to a kit, given the diverse nature of the various Speedster versions. It requires a high quality canvas top and a new top bow system. Doors would likely have to be re-skinned. In most cases, door innards would have to be beefed up to house and attach the system. Not exactly a piece of cake

I agree with Charles about more Speedster orders.

I like so much about the Cabriolets but they don't have the appeal, to me, of the Speedster's appearance. Close and still beautiful
however.

SAS has apparently put a lot of work in this but I wonder if it addresses the issue described in another thread on the Tech General section...Anyone ever try this...thread. I don't know anything about the configuration of any doors than my older IM, but while SAS makes "progress" on waterproofing, I don't know if it addresses the issue of water coming around the window post inbound and dripping down between the door and rear fender joint and then going into the car rather than out and down onto the running board and then onto the roadway. Here's a pic of my "rain deflector". It's purpose is to deflect water away at highway speed. Without it, water curls around the lower window post and into the car. Is the SAS purpose to stop rain from getting in while parked, or at speed?

David, I believe Steve is aware of the "curling" phenomenon you mention. Several years ago, I experienced the leaking you describe on my IM Roadster.

I took it to SAS for some service work and mentioned this leaking. He said he would try the same technique on my IM that he had been using on the VW-based Speedsters. When I got the car back, it never leaked at that point again, so I am sure he is aware of the issue and planning on using a similar technique.

David, when I was at Steve's shop last Monday I had the opportunity to personally inspect and operate the new window system. Being aware of the leaking concerns at the point you mention I inspected it very well. Although it is not clear in the Videos Steve has designed his window closure operation to automatically press down on the body with the fitted "pane" just beside the window post. The pane has a resilient seal attached to it which when pressed down prevents water that curls around from leaking into the car as you describe. That same seal wraps around the body and down into the door jamb. It looks to be a very tight seal and is one of the design challenges Steve set for himself since he refused to alter the original look of the Speedster. The pane also shifts rearward during this last upward movement which then presses against the vertical seal at the rear of the window.

He also mentions in the video that he has a weatherstrip below the door skin that diverts water finding its way through the door joint towards the outside of the car. He solved that leaking problem many years ago.

I will be driving over in a few weeks to have my car serviced for the trip to Carlisle and will ask him if there are any other tricks he uses that are not evident. I know he is working with a patent attorney and writing him a description so I am sure he can explain it to me in plain english.

Clint

Clint, I watched the videos pretty closely, is there any problem closing the door with the window in the fully up position? Just wondering since the window fits inside the windshield frame.

Had to do a little research just like the Porsche Boxer and other cars when you open the door the window moves down just enough to allow the door to open and close with the window up. Well it looks like Steve is plaining to do something similar, he is testing a couple of options:

"The doors can be opened and closed with the window panes in the up position. "Up" can mean either of two things.

The top of the panes are forced outboard at the highest point of lift (also moves rearward to seal) by the lift mechanism. This action presses the pane's seal against the windshield frame for sealing and rattle control. As a result the panes tend to push outboard when the door is opened and can cause contact when closing. What are the two solutions being reviewed:

1. The window lift will automatically drop slightly when the door is opened in order to relieve the outward force. This occurs when the door handle is pulled or the remote door opener is activated. This is similar to a lot of current cars like the new generation Tbirds. The door can then be closed without interference.

2. The other possibility is to not have the mechanism force the pane outboard so there is no potential for interference when closing because the pane remains in the position at which it stopped when being raised.

These two methods will be tested thoroughy during the first two cars completion and the decision as to which is best will be made after that. Our side curtain cars of past could be opened and closed with no problem. The new power lifted pane is in exactly the same position as the past side curtains when raised. The only issue to be determined is whether forcing the pane outward at peak lift is really needed."

Clint

They did not need em in the 50's and we do not need em now! Saves weight! thats why there Speedsters.

Really?  What is the longest drive and the worst rainstorm you have ever driven through, especially on that long drive?  At some point, when the interior of you car and your shirtsleeve are very wet you may feel differently about staying dry....and warm. 

my 2 kroner

Before i install roll up windows in my Vintage i'd install a sump pump!

ami67, you must live where rain is a relative rarity.  On this side of the world, you need to be prepared.  The ride home from Carlisle in 2008 (aka, the second Biblical flood) certainly taught me that.

I remember it well Lane.  It gave my defroster a real workout, but the cabin stayed dry.  Not every Carlisle trip can be like 2012, right?

Roger that, but one can hope.