Lightweight armored vehicle and method of making same

A method of retrofitting a standard automobile for lightweight armor consisting of the following steps:

• removing interior furnishing and windows from a passenger compartment of said automobile;
• taking window operating mechanisms out of said automobile;
• reframing windows and doors to receive bullet resistant windows therein;
• contouring said automobile adjacent said reframed windows for said windows;
• inserting rigidly woven polyglass and ballistic resistant cloth in doors and walls of said passenger compartment;
• installing said ballistic resistant cloth in floors and ceiling of said passenger compartment;
• reinforcing frames of said passenger compartment;
• refurbishing said interior furnishing of said passenger compartment;
• said reinforced framing, bullet resistant windows, rigidly woven polyglass and ballistic resistant cloth creating overlapping barriers to penetration of said passenger compartment by most projectiles in event of attack with a minimum increase in weight.

An automobile having an enclosed passenger compartment with doors for entering and leaving said passenger compartment, having walls, ceiling and floors, wheels and an engine for turning of said wheels through a drive train and transmission to move said automobile, said automobile having improvements to resist attack comprising:

• permanently installed bullet resistant windows for said said passenger compartment;
• multi-layer polyglass sheets rigidly formed with a resincatalyst mixture in combination with multi-layer ballistic cloth being installed in said doors and said walls of said passenger compartment, said multi-layer ballistic resistant cloth being further installed in said ceiling and floor of said automobile;
• side walls of said automobile adapted by installing therein an outer layer of mutli-layer rigidly woven polyglass sheets and bonded thereto an inner layer of multi-layer ballistic resistant cloth to prevent penetration by projectiles, such as bullets fired by super power small arms;
• a fuel tank of said automobile wrapped in multi-layer ballistic resistant cloth and a battery of said automobile encased in multi-layer rigidly woven polyglass sheet to prevent explosion;
• and
• electrically ignited tear gas cannisters attached at a plurality of locations along said walls, switch means electrically connected between said battery and said cannisters for discharging tear gas radially through ports at said locations in said walls in response to closure of said switch means, said electrical ignition having electrical match means for creating an arc to ignite an explosive charge, said cannisters being retained in housing means mounted behind said ports to maintain discharge ends of said cannisters adjacent said ports;
• said bullet resistant windows, multi-layer rigidly woven polyglass sheets, and multi-layer ballistic resistant cloth overlapping and securing said passenger compartment against penetration by most projectiles in event of attack thereby providing lightweight armor to protect passengers in said automobile without significantly decreasing mobility.