I purchased an aluminum Duvall Windshield here on the H.A.M.B. from an older gentlemen who hat a lot of cool traditional speed parts. It was supposed to fit a 30/31 cowl but it turned out to take a lot of modifications to get it where it is now. In between Speedway canceled my order for the brass Duvall Windshield so it was time to get the tools out and start modifying. What you see here is the current state of the windshield with the upper frame already welded. Other than the regular Duvall windshields I decided to have the center post a little higher to give it that V shape look. The two on the outside are about 4" wider over all to line up with the width of the body. The body is a 30/31 Brookville Roadster by the way. What y`all think about the shape of the windshield? I`ll document all steps it took an will take to get it finally done.
I had to bend the lower left and right frame pieces to align with the shape of the cowl with the effect that the glass channel was no longer straight. I TIG welded the channel from the point where it stated to make a curve on both sides. Aluminum was also added to the front of the frame to have enough "meat" to re-cut the glass channel. As you can see the center post had also some issues. I had to make a spacer to align with the frame pieces and the angle had to be corrected.
next step was to take care of the center post. Luckily the aluminum welds really good. The 1/8 spacer was added to the bottom and welded all around.
I had to add about 2" on each side of he upper frame to have both sides meet up right in the middle. Unfortunately I didn`t take pictures of the pieces I welded in but the result looks really nice.
Great looking work! I always liked the look of those on a 31 but couldn't justify the expense of one or the amount of labor it takes to get them to fit correctly.
Nice work on the windshield Phil. I’ve been driving behind mine for 20 years at least and besides looking nice, there is so much less turbulence behind these compared to a one piece windshield. My first one was a bronze casting made from pine patterns that I made. The current one is an aluminum casting with metal on three sides only. I prefer this configuration. Hope to see your finished product sometime.
Phil, any update on how this turned out. I have what may be the same raw casting. I was looking at my pieces and it looks like I will have some of the same issues you had. Any additional tips would be great. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
...Yes, and knowing how to use it...priceless...your giving it the love it deserves with style...in the end it will be polished?
Glad to hear the aluminum welds good. I bought one here on the HAMB and am assuming from the same guy. I have not used mine yet and appreciate this thread. The reason I bought the aluminum one was I liked the idea of polishing it rather than chrome plating the brass one.
I like the final shape you came up with. Has a great look. Big fan of Duvall windshields. I bought one of the early Cam Grant ones here on the HAMB 5 yrs ago, than had to build a car around it. Five years later, I hope to be driving it sometime this summer. Keep up the good work and good luck.
Looking forward to see this come together, I have one for the W.E. That I eventually have to complete.
Looks absolutely fantastic. Great fit and your tickling has added to the overall look perfectly. Cheers, Josh
I’ll take some pictures tonight, progress was slow due to work related travel. The aluminum welds really great, that was my concern in the beginning. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
I like the brushed aluminum style, I guess I’ll brush and clear coat it. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
I haven’t worked much on the windshield lately, but the chassis is sitting now the first time on wheels and I’m happy with the stance and the rake of the windshield. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
I worked on the dashboard/cowl transition, turned out pretty good. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Windshield looks gorgeous. If only I can find something similar to start with for my 31 roaster project
I have been useing 4943 filler instead of4043 because it seams to wet out better for me. Frank I have been using 4943 filler instead of 4043 it seams to wet out better. On Aluminum
The Jalopy Journal
