Projects Shade tree Model A speedster kind of thing

The way it is here for example Seat belts if the car didn't have them OEM...no need...No wipers OEM...no need...and so on...obviously this is not across the board the same everywhere.

Speedster's on A Chassis...who knows...

 

here there isn't a law that states that a car has to have a windshield, but it states that if it has one, it has to be safety glass and it can't be broken...like the looks of your new windshield. I've always liked the look of a monocle on a speedster...

 

Lexan may be considered "safety glass". Cut the top off of a VW Bug and made a fenderless roadster out of it and used some 1/4" lexan for the windshield and never got stopped. If you don't do anything to provoke the cops, you can get away with lots of questionable stuff.

 

We don’t have safety inspections in my state, but when you get a title inspection, you have to present a complete vehicle. My speedster had no windshield when I brought it in and was therefore incomplete. But they passed it because I had a copy of the Mercury Body Corp price list showing the windshield as a $19.50 option. Meaning, you could get it without.

I really liked how my car looked without the windshield, but after three years I was damn well ready for one. It’s cold around here! I fitted it a few months ago; it was a shock at first, but the look is growing on me. And I console myself in the knowledge that I can remove the whole assembly in less than 15 minutes for an event or whatever. That’s how a lot of guys did it in the dry lakes days.

I really like how your windshield plan is unfolding (ha, see what I did there?). Your folding windshield will provide the best of both worlds. Your adaptation of unusual parts that somehow look period is one of the things I love about this thread.

Lots of threads on cutting laminated glass when you're ready to give it a try. @Lloyd's paint & glass did a nice simple write-up recently (start at post #391). Hell, he made it look easy enough that even I could do it. But I was able to trade my glass work for an old gas pump.

 

No plywood?

 

Laws are there to help us and hinder us, I reckon the windshield looks right at home there, the fold flat setup is a bonus

 

I used Lexan in a T frame on my speedster. Ran it for 12 years with no problems.

 

I won't try to respond to all of you, but I appreciate the comments. I'm a law-abiding citizen, and have a strong respect for the men and women who enforce the law. I don't resent having to put a windshield on at all, and I'm hoping I can find a truck rear window or something else flat that I can cut the glass out of. I have read what @Lloyd's paint & glass had to say (thank you for that) and I'm pretty confident I can figure it out.

I pondered this business last night instead of sleeping, at least for a while, and this morning I found a little time to work on the windshield support brackets. They just weren't going to fit, so I decided on some major surgery. (Looked on Ebay first, saw that I could replace them for about $75 if I ever get around to doing something with the MG). My inspiration is a 1930 Frazer Nash Super Sports, plus any number of other depression-era sports cars. You'll have to google it, I didn't want to steal somebody's image. Anyway, the brackets are cast brass, so I threw the metal-cutting blade on our antique bandsaw and started cutting away the ugly:



You can see the other bracket in stock configuration on the left. Then to the edge sander to smooth them up:





I din't take a picture of this, but I cut a scrap piece of wood with square ends and clamped the brackets on them so I could re-mark the plywood pattern. If the hinges are out of square or out of plumb, the folding action won't work. Then trotted it out to the car to see what I had:





Like I said, I'll cut a piece of wood to fit under the glass (plywood) and between the brackets. It will be pretty substantial, because I'll have to drill those brackets and screw them to it. The wood filler will in turn be glued and screwed to the body.

 

Looks like the shape is fitting for your speedster. This thing is growing like a twig.

 

sorry for making more work for you. haha. I like where your headed with it all though.

for my car it would ruin the look I was going for, but it seems silly for me to spend all this time to build this thing and only be able to drive it on dirt.

 

on the glass cutting, I've seen people have luck using a sandblaster. Honestly, I don't remember what they used for a pattern, I wanna say it was just a few layers of duct tape and blast off what you don't want.

EDIT:
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...-windshield-cutting-how-to-plus-video.296834/

 

Haha. No worries. This is work-therapy.

I get what you mean about ruining the look, and also about wondering what's the point if you can't be road legal. I think I'll miss the old clean look with no windshield, but form follows function, after all. @ClarkH has done a really fine job making one for his speedster that looks era-correct. By that I mean it was made from age-appropriate donor pieces, and really looks like it belongs on the car. I think that's impressive (and important) because he is working with a genuine Mercury body from back then. (Probably should have said that in your thread, Clark, but...) I'm just trying to make mine as unobtrusive as possible, while using what I have. Those MG brackets are really no different than what would have been on a PA Midget from the 30's (especially now that I've butchered them up) so, like my original SU carb, they qualify as period correct for me, even though they came from a 1952 car. Of course, I'm stretching that idea a bit, because how a Depression-era farm kid would have gotten ahold of SU carburetors and MG windshield brackets to put on his speedster is a detail I'm conveniently ignoring. Haha.

 

Oh yeah,
@hillbilly4008, that glass trick is interesting, but I don't have a sandblaster. I found a couple of YouTube videos of guys cutting curved shapes out of laminated glass, seems doable. This is my favorite:

 

Finesse and patience is the key to cutting glass. Just remember that glass breaks. Sometimes when cutting a factory curved windshield for a chop top, i sneak up on the desired measurement by cutting an inch at a time. A good score line is important. And patience while running your break along that score line. A hardware store handheld belt sander works great, that's all I've ever used. 80 grit belt, finished up with a 120 grit. Lots of water. Get a spray bottle full and spray the belt and the glass every 3 or 4 seconds. If you need any help just yell.

 

Finesse and patience, huh? I'm in trouble, then. Hahaha. Seriously, though. I'll probably take you up on your offer of help. Thank you.

 

I'm like'n it. I think it will add a certain amount of ..."class"...if you will, as do the carbs.

 

A couple of elements here to consider...

Driver comfort much like motorcycles...8 hours without a windshield wears one out literally whereas deflected air and other weather elements makes for less physical stress on longer jaunts.

I had a Harley without and experienced that...but I liked the windshield free look and accepted it as the liability or con per say...50 mph wind is very strong and you don't realize your constantly using strength to keep your Noggin forward.

Clark expressed this I believe...

That said some styles of windshield actually do work and RW has a way with getting things set complementing the Vintage Inspired Escape...

 

@Stogy,
I agree, but I don't know how many 8 hour drives I'll be taking in this heap. Hahaha. This is a windy ride, though. I think I mentioned a while back that I can't even hear the engine at speed, just wind wind wind.

I got the wooden filler piece marked and cut out yesterday evening, and the brackets drilled and countersunk for screws. It was ticklish business for me, has to hold the brackets at the right angle to allow the folding to work, then has to be beveled on the bottom to fit the car with the windshield at the proper rake. Lots of trial and error, but I got it. I made it as thin as I could over the hump of the body, but discovered when I mocked it up that the glass would be riding on the top of the body when it was folded, so I added a stip to the bottom to raise it up a bit. If that description is confusing, you can see it in the picture. The main piece is Tulip Poplar, kind of dark, and the piece I added is Atlantic White Cedar, real light colored. I stole an old trick of cutting halfway through the Cedar piece at about 1/4" intervals so it would take the bend, then glued it to the main piece. Sanded it all down this morning and fitted it up again. Just right.







I was satisfied with that, so I measured and marked the right spot, got a 4-in-hand rasp and took the paint off of my glue line, mixed up a batch of epoxy thickened with colloidal silica (this is all WEST System stuff for boatbuilders), and glued it down.





The little nail you can see in the bottom of the 1st picture is just temporary. I put one at each end and one in the middle so I could get it all lined up again after I rasped the pencil lines off. I'll close this out with a view from the driver's seat, complete with Stogy's owl. Hope you and yours are all OK.

 

It's funny. I don't know how many times I have said "That makes as much sense as a wooden windshield!"
I really enjoy reading your posts. You are great at making something out of almost nothing! Keep up the good work.

Dave

 

EXCELLENT!

 

Great execution and style @rwrj...the inspired evolution has been aced again...Another great day at The Hamb...Thanks always for sharing...

 

Just gets better and better.

 

This is great. I think lots of H.A.M.B. members pride themselves on creativity and problem solving. You deserve “A”s in both areas.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I really wasn't on board with the windshield idea. It still looks a little off to me, but I have to admit, you really did a great job on it and the top and bottom curve of the glass help alot in the aesthetics IMO.

 

I think once the glass is in it will take a new dimension .. Of course you will need a A sticker in the lower passenger side.. Nice..

 

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/friday-art-show-4-7-20.1190825/#post-13539871

...Just Right Winding Down Shade Tree Lane...

Happy Friday RW

​

 

That should help keep the wind off ya.
I don't have a wind shield on my single seater but the other day I was looking at vintage race cars online and the majority had a small lexan (4"-8" tall) wind shield that curved around the top of the cowl. So I'm wondering what would they have been using for material back in the forties?

 

The old WW11 Bomber I worked on had Plexi or Lexan in the Cockpit and Turrets both Flat and Curved...So I think you have several period options with our safety glass an inspired replacement for the scary good Ole days glass...

 

@Stogy,
I have no experince with that kind of thing, but it's a cool picture. Thank you.

 

Plexiglass, (acrylic) is more likely to crack than Lexan. Learned that from back in my days as an aircraft mechanic/restorer, but if you are just using a flat panel with no holes drilled in it Acrylic works well and is less likely to scratch.