Thread: 32 Ford Roadster Windshield Finger Pulls

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Do you know if Lexan can be heated and bent at about a 30 to 45 degree angle. The reason I ask is I have seen wind wings made of a plastic material that were bolted to the windshield posts in the same location that the repo wind wing brackets bolt to. It looked like a very clean instalation to me, and I would imagine it would work as well, as using the stock style windwing brackets.
HemiDeuce

Originally Posted by HemiDeuce

Do you know if Lexan can be heated and bent at about a 30 to 45 degree angle. The reason I ask is I have seen wind wings made of a plastic material that were bolted to the windshield posts in the same location that the repo wind wing brackets bolt to. It looked like a very clean instalation to me, and I would imagine it would work as well, as using the stock style windwing brackets.
HemiDeuce

Yes.

If I remember right, 200 degrees F in the oven will get the Lexan to where it's bendable.

Time is part of the equation too.
Too long and you'll have it sagging when you take it out of the oven.

Little brother did the V-bend on his Henry J drag race car's windshield.
Seem's like he used a propane torch sparingly and used the car's body as a mold.


Do some experimenting with scrap pieces before you try to bend the windwings proper.

Plexiglass in a trade name for acrilic plastic. Lexan is the trade name for polycarbonate plastic. Lexan is a much better product in most applications. Plexiglass cracks easily and will craze over time. Lexan can be bent in a metal brake if thin enough and can be formed with heat. In heavy thicknesses it is considered bulletproof.

C9x Here is the result of a liesurely ten hour day with three trips to ACE hardware and two trips to Home Depot following several half days of ordering stuff from Bratton's Model A supply house. I am sorry that I was so pleased that I got it done that I forgot to wipe it off! The height can be adjusted after I get a top on. I used half of the pads from the rubberized cloth that came with the clamp kit and on the inside used the thinner of the rubber pads that were supposed to be reproduction rubber. The Brookville stanchions seem to be tapered more from front to back than the stock stanchions which are more rectangular in cross section so the studs that came with the clamp kit were too short and I had to make my own studs from 5/16" bolts with the heads cut off and threaded for the 5/16" NF24 thread of the clamps. Since the cross section of the stanchions is wedge shaped I used wedge shaped pieces of 3/8" neoprene fuel hose to cover the threads of the studs. It's not perfect but it passes the ten foot inspection for me. I still need to trim the rubber strip from the top of the windshield frame.

Bob, (I can help Bob???) all the furor over the swing-in windshield made me worry over it for several days and today I decided to just mock up the windshield just to see where the position for the "lip" should be and to my amazement the new rubber makes it pretty tight. In particular the side rubber binds pretty good at the top three inches of the windshield so I think anything less than a 50 mph collision with a Canadian Goose will resist moving the windshield in just based on the side rubber and the rubber along the bottom edge. The '29 stanchions have a 5/8" flat rubber strip which I glued into the groove with "GOOP" contact cement. I also ordered the 3/4" strip that was used on the '30-'31 roadsters which has a T-shape but since there is no groove for the T I went with the '29 rubber. I have been pleased to be able to buy a lot of '29 reproduction parts from Bratton's Antique Auto Parts in nearby Mount Airy Md and for my location I often receive shipment in one or two days. Their phone number is 800-255-1929 (toll free!) and the rubber strip for the '29 stanchions is part No. 28620 for only $3.75 plus shipping. The restorers say to paint the edge of the windwings black but I kind of like the way the edges "glow" a little bit. Bob why are you buying '29 stanchions? Building for yourself or a customer?

Despite the fact that this thread was originally about finger pulls and even though I bought the finger pulls, my recent adventures with drilling a round piece and the relatively tight fit of the windshield rubber lead me to expect that I never plan to swing the windshield out and so will not need the finger pulls!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Originally Posted by Don Shillady

Bob why are you buying '29 stanchions? Building for yourself or a customer?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Time will tell that story Don. Right now I'll just blame kenny d. for bringing them into my life.

Like the progress you're making there, a picture of what you did on the side rubber you described would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Looks good Don.

One thing I meant to point out with the WW clamps is to substitute stainless allen bolts for the stock slot head screws on the clamps proper.

You can crank em up a bit tighter and no chances of a screwdriver slipping and gouging the Lexan.

From the discussion of Brookeville on here, it sounds like they've hired Kyle Bond (Gibbon) as a quality control consultant.

Bob, here is a picture of the side rubber with the windshield open a crack. I just scratched up the inside of the channel with the point of a pair of scissors, filled the channel with "GOOP" and slid in the reproductions '29 rubber. You can be sloppy with the GOOP since when it dries/cures you can peel off the excess with a little rubbing. Now that it is in there the main seal seems to be at the top three inches of the side and the rubber along the bottom edge wedges in pretty tight.

C9X, you always have a better way! I will look for the allen head screws, thanks!

Henry Rifle, I have checked out the original Ford Service Bulletins and pictures of restored '29s and I do not see any lip at all. Apparently the rubber was supposed to be enough to seal it up, but the fact that the '30-'31 roadsters used wider side rubber with a T-channel tells us there may have been problems with the '28-'29 set up. I am going to keep it this way until/unless I have problems with it.

Don Shillady
Retired SCientist/teen rodder

Originally Posted by Don Shillady

C9X, you always have a better way! I will look for the allen head screws, thanks!


Don Shillady
Retired SCientist/teen rodder

That is, of course, after doing it the hard way . . . twice....

Anyway, if the WW bolts are 1/4-20 I have quite a few.
Give me the length and I'll send some over if you PM me your address.

C9X, Thanks for the offer, but the main studs were 5/16" NF24 and I have solved that problem. I am open to ideas for some silvery tubing that I could use for the wedge shaped crush washers where I am using the neoprene tubing. There is a stainless washer behind each acorn nut and they look OK. Today I trimmed the rubber strip on the top of the windshield and looked for the rear view mirror that I know I bought but did not find it yet. I am taking a breather and fall back for planning. Really I need to fix the steering connection and add the accelerator cable next so it is back to down on the floor again. Thanks very much for your help. I know where to buy the allen head screws but not in stainless. Are you saying you could send four (4) of the allen head screws? OK, I will send you my address by e-mail. I just checked and they are 1/4" -20 and the length is 3/4" under the head. Actually I took out the screw and the rubber stayed in place stuck to the Lexan so it looks like I have good adhesion.

IC2, maybe you need a rest for a few days? You are really pretty far along so just count your blessings as in "the glass is half full". The folks who annoy me are those who think you/I/others can just buy parts and bolt them together. As I have said before, my best tool is my rat-tail file and now I just assume that any part will look OK but will not really fit at first!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Originally Posted by Don Shillady

IC2, maybe you need a rest for a few days? You are really pretty far along so just count your blessings as in "the glass is half full". The folks who annoy me are those who think you/I/others can just buy parts and bolt them together. As I have said before, my best tool is my rat-tail file and now I just assume that any part will look OK but will not really fit at first!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Don,
I took yesterday off and am back to my patient, serene, life loving self - I'm going to a camera swap meet this morning then back to my project. As far as tools, my favorites are my grinder and welder - so I can grind it to size then weld it back together the way ol' Hank Ford originally designed it.

I'm happy to see that you are getting yours together, finally - Is another research paper going to prevent finishing this winter?

Originally Posted by Henry Rifle

From the discussion of Brookeville on here, it sounds like they've hired Kyle Bond (Gibbon) as a quality control consultant.

Jack,
IMO a Brookville may be OK for a professional builder with good fab and body prep skills but they are not for the weak in patience and thin of wallet. My patience is about gone - I even spouted a few words yesterday I didn't know that were in my vocabulary

I believe that Lebarron Bonney make the top for a 2" chop also and they also have an option that more fully encloses the sides. Your top frame will dictate which fabric kit you'll need, ie 2" chopped windshield needs 2" chopped top frame that is covered with 2" chopped fabric pattern.

Thanks Offy, I will check with Lebaron Bonney but that may be bad news for my stainless frames since they are probably for the stock height. Hopefully they can be cut down in some way.

P.S. I just checked with Lebaron Bonney and they said they do not sell a '29 top for the chopped height.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder