Re: Various CL Pickings

Posted by HH56 On 2017/1/13 14:51:23

I believe that is a solar shield but expect it would be a good bug screen too. They were very common in New Mexico when I was a lad in the days before AC and solar glass was common. Even my "don't believe in accessories" dad sprung for a set. I believe the material is still available today but mostly used in commercial buildings.

Those dad bought were thin aluminum sheets that had rows of slats approx 1/8" or less apart and maybe 1/8" wide by an inch long punched in. The slats were positioned at 90 degrees to the vertical. Mounted to a heavier outside frame for support, they were kind of generic in size and usually sold at places like Western Auto and other aftermarket stores. If the car window had a really weird shape, they could be custom ordered with width and length and shape of the piece just a bit larger than the window opening.

Held in place by a couple of maybe 1/2 inch wide by two or three inch long padded strips on the bottom which were part of the frame. You would slide the strips down between the window glass and inner molding. Friction holds the thing kind of bowed in the opening. They can be used with glass up or down. You bought a size slightly larger than the window opening dimensions so the shield top or sides would extend over the moldings and screen couldn't go flying out.

You can see out OK if you look straight thru but forget about seeing much of anything if it is close and at a lower or higher angle. Conversely, the sun can't directly shine in because the high angle of the sun is blocked by the slits. Obviously they had to be removed to pay a toll or go to the drive-in. Not the most user friendly of devices but did beat the other option of a piece of folded newspaper or a towel over the closed glass to keep the hot sun from shining in.