Original purpose of the fold down windshield?

My folks had a red MGA, with the rare hardtop. Half the time in the morning, it wouldn't start. My mother would roll it down the driveway, and pop the clutch in 2nd. That would get it running about half of those times. The rest of the time, she'd dog it over to the side at the bottom of the driveway and we'd walk back up and take the truck. Dad would get home from work, "do something" under the hood and drive it back to the top.

I hope you never had to use the factory supplied crank that was clipped to the bulkhead behind the seats. They came in handy for doing tune ups but I can't say I ever used one for what it was intended.

As for red, I worked next to a BMC later British Leyland dealership and was told the dealers could not get enough red cars. It was what most buyers wanted. He said they would take new cars, mostly white and many "Alamo Beige" cars which no one wanted and paint them red before they were sold. They went for a slight discount and looked awful because they were basically an external spray - door jambs were done but not under the hood or in the trunk. I thought he was kidding but he showed me a few when they were in for service.
 
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I hope you never had to use the factory supplied crank that was clipped to the bulkhead behind the seats. They came in handy for doing tune ups but I can't say I ever used one for what it was intended.
I don't remember that at all, but I was about 9 when it was replaced with a brand new VW bug. It may or may not have been there, I remember my mother would get 4 kids into the thing - two in the passenger seat, two hunched over on the package shelf behind!
 
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I believe the front windows were put down for a lot more reasons when they were a lot easier to put down.
Better visibility on the trail for one.
The TJ is a pain compared to my previous CJ.
 
One of the reasons I was attracted to the TJ was because of the windshield.

My dad's old CJ that I drove through high school had it. Of course it was more readily functionable and fun to lower while cruising the beaches.

I haven't tried to lower mine but aren't there extra steps? Removing part of the roll bar perhaps?

There are 6 bolts to remove on a TJ to fold the windshield down.
Then you would be left with two roll bars to nowhere remaining, I assume 4 more bolts would take care of that.

I folded mine down on my TJ once, to route the wires through and drill the hole to come out under the dash panel for my compass rearview mirror addon.

My CJ7 and my CJ3B I never tried it.
 
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I suppose you're right. You must have had different gearing, or something, because I could not get it over 40 going downhill with a 50 mph tailwind. We had trailers that carried antenna sections. We landed somewhere, LCVP'd the Jeep and trailer ashore, then drove across the sand to the antenna site and erected the antenna. Antennae were part of a litorral electronic navigation system, obsoleted by the SATNAV system, now known as GPS (after a few improvements). Never had a problem with getting stuck.
I will add that the HUGE Army M48 Patton tank that roared up from the jungle onto the berm road I was driving on one day and nearly on my rear bumper could go faster than my Jeep could lol. He was definitely having a little fun with me. I was maxed out and it was clear my maxed out Jeep was slowing that tank down. 😱🤣
 
I don't remember that at all, but I was about 9 when it was replaced with a brand new VW bug. It may or may not have been there, I remember my mother would get 4 kids into the thing - two in the passenger seat, two hunched over on the package shelf behind!

Here's how they worked but this guy didn't quite do it right. You should basically push the crank with your palm and NOT wrap your thumb around the handle. That's a good way to break it if the handle kicks back ... your THUMB not the crank!

https://www.google.ca/search?q=mga+...#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:d1824080,vid:bhaiHjnQo50
 
WW II Jeeps even had canvas bags to eliminate glare from folded windshields. Besides the reasons given, fitting under low branches, obstacles was another benefit. Back in the 80s we always drove our Jeeps and FJ-40s with windshields down whenever we could. Even on streets, never got tickets, just wore sunglasses lol. Still going windshield down in the Rubi. Here's my CJ-3A I sold for the Rubi.

IMG_1603.JPG


Willyswith Den.jpg
 
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WW II Jeeps even had canvas bags to eliminate glare from folded windshields. Besides the reasons given, fitting under low branches, obstacles was another benefit. Back in the 80s we always drove our Jeeps and FJ-40s with windshields down whenever we could. Even on streets, never got tickets, just wore sunglasses lol. Still going windshield down in the Rubi. Here's my CJ-3A I sold for the Rubi.

View attachment 380741

View attachment 380742

That’s what got me wondering why fold it down in the first place. They had a canvas bag to stop the reflection in the drivers eyes and so the enemy didn’t see them as soon. They also canvas covered the headlights or od painted the headlights to make them more invisible to the enemy. Saw an interesting YouTube video telling this story.
 
Why does the front windshield fold down? A bit of fun maybe, nostalgia maybe. WWll it folds down to point your rifle out the front?

Definitely helpful for shooting - fold mine down every chance I get when out on the farm. Can get the six bolts out and windscreen folded and tied down in about 2 minutes now! See profile pic...
 
Dunno about original, but my neighbor loves that feature.
I see him driving around with his down all the time, smile stretched from ear to ear. Probably has a mouth full of bugs by the time he gets from point A to B, but hey, what ever makes him happy.
 
One of the reasons I was attracted to the TJ was because of the windshield.

My dad's old CJ that I drove through high school had it. Of course it was more readily functionable and fun to lower while cruising the beaches.

I haven't tried to lower mine but aren't there extra steps? Removing part of the roll bar perhaps?

Very easy to do.

IMG_20180722_175338838_HDR.jpg
 
Dunno about original, but my neighbor loves that feature.
I see him driving around with his down all the time, smile stretched from ear to ear. Probably has a mouth full of bugs by the time he gets from point A to B, but hey, what ever makes him happy.

Probably has a motorcycle in the garage, too.