LocostUSA.com

Learning how to build Lotus Seven replicas...together!
It is currently March 28, 2024, 4:17 am

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 545 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1 ... 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37  Next
Author Message
PostPosted: October 3, 2016, 11:21 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: April 26, 2008, 6:06 pm
Posts: 3268
Location: Under the weather. (Seattle)
horizenjob wrote:
There may be a compromise here. Mkejim used a pickup windshield that he cut in half himself, but he had a little trouble doing so. If one picked out a curved windshield, a glass shop that cut cut the safety glass with a water jet could perhaps do a good job of taking a piece out of the middle of the windshield. They might even be able to do other things if you built a jig to hold the glass the right way.
mkejim wrote:
I finally ended up getting a water jet company to cut it & still had it crack.



While the curved windshield on mkejim's car is great looking, for the sake of practicality I've been leaning towards the all-flat-glass windshield. Although, I've been thinking I would complicate it (like I do everything else) by making it a 4-piece affair. Do the split windshield, like Jack has previously laid out, and then little triangular side windows that would crudely mimic the overall shape of the old-truck curved windshield. Since at the current (non-existent) rate of progress I have a looooong time before needing one, I haven't put too much time into figuring it out yet, but I'm not exactly sure how it would be best to construct the frame for for such a beast yet, considering all of the corners would be >90*.

Image

_________________
-Justin

"Orville Wright did not have a pilots license." - Gordon MacKenzie


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: October 3, 2016, 12:54 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: November 11, 2013, 4:47 am
Posts: 1617
Location: No. Nevada
I thought the FIAT glass was expensive at around $1K, but looking into the Porsche Speedster glass with frame I find 550 glass not that much less.
Three attempts at cutting cheaper glass easily matches the price.
The FIAT TV's were imported to the US, now selling for silly money to the more dollars than sense crowd.

For my car I am down to Spitfire which is not ideal but very inexpensive at FREE to $110.00
Or Porsche 550 if I can find a better price than I have found so far, and lastly the FIAT TV glass.
I need to check dimensions but I think the FIAT TV glass would look the best.

Another possibility is the 1958'ish Vauxhall Cresta PA, available from Pilkington (#6209).
I'm unsure of the width, hopefully narrow as it's an English car but may be too wide as it was a sedan.
Should not be expensive as they were mass produced and interesting that it has a double curve.
Curved top to bottom as well as side to side in an effort to reduce glare.

The strongly curved end windshield glass was an American innovation/peculiarity copied by very few other countries for a short time.

Vauxhall pics, the rear glass would be even better than the front if it were legal.
http://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/sna ... ldsmobile/

_________________
If I must be a one-man PC free zone, so be it!


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: October 3, 2016, 1:58 pm 
Offline
Mid-Engined Maniac

Joined: April 23, 2006, 8:26 pm
Posts: 6410
Location: SoCal
RichardSIA wrote:
... Another possibility is the 1958'ish Vauxhall Cresta PA, available from Pilkington (#6209)...

Parts for cars like this always make me a bit ill, knowing what parts shops will say when asking for virtually anything. That said, if you have a real part number from a real business that actually has stock, that's a different story. Still, when a rock hits it, you're going to cry, wondering whether the place will answer the phone the next time they're called. With flat material, you aren't bound to the peculiarities of sole-source and/or oddball vendors.

_________________
Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/


Last edited by KB58 on October 3, 2016, 2:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: October 3, 2016, 2:05 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: November 11, 2013, 4:47 am
Posts: 1617
Location: No. Nevada
Pilkington #6209.
They are multinational and do have a strong U.S. presence, selling a lot of vintage glass for Fords and Chevy.
The Vauxhall PA was made for several years in tens of thousands of units unlike rare FIATS and SIMCA's.
I've contacted the club hoping they may provide dimensions but I think it's going to be wider than ideal.

UPDATE Fiat TV glass source discount inquiry reply.
"How many do you need. The price will not be much less but maybe 15-20% off depending on how many you order.

Regards,
David Besharat
Italian Auto Parts, Inc.
Phone: 678-637-5103
Fax: 914-829-9018

So all we need is a group buy to save up to 20%. :BH: :?:

_________________
If I must be a one-man PC free zone, so be it!


Last edited by RichardSIA on October 3, 2016, 2:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: October 3, 2016, 2:10 pm 
Offline
Mid-Engined Maniac

Joined: April 23, 2006, 8:26 pm
Posts: 6410
Location: SoCal
BTW, I saw a hot rod that had a split windscreen. However, instead of simple rectangles, the builder put an angle on the top edge so that when seen from the front, it looked like the car was frowning - frankly, it looked awesome for such a tiny change.

_________________
Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: March 14, 2017, 10:06 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: November 11, 2013, 4:47 am
Posts: 1617
Location: No. Nevada
Another possible contender for DOT glass.
Rezvani Beast roadster glass.
Appears to have a nice curve and height, width looks good too.
I'm trying to buy one for my Dio Tipo, will report back with their response to my inquiry.

_________________
If I must be a one-man PC free zone, so be it!


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: March 16, 2017, 1:14 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: July 29, 2006, 9:10 pm
Posts: 3160
Location: Oregon, usually
I suspect the reason they crack when water jetted is a lack of support. If the glass is trying to flex some (as it will from its own weight unless it is evenly cradled and unable to shift when it's made into two or more pieces) it's going to put a lot of stress on the last little bit of the cut. Maybe making a rigid frame for the glass (wax the glass, make a support frame from fiberglass?) would work.

_________________
Locost builder and adventurer, and founder (but no longer owner) of Kinetic Vehicles


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: March 16, 2017, 3:25 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: November 11, 2013, 4:47 am
Posts: 1617
Location: No. Nevada
Turns out the Rezvani glass is an original Ar-i-el At-om 3 part.
Ar-i-el has them custom made and will not sell any, saying they are always waiting for them. :BH:

_________________
If I must be a one-man PC free zone, so be it!


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: March 19, 2017, 9:02 pm 
Offline

Joined: September 15, 2014, 8:13 pm
Posts: 162
Not to hijack this post any further in the glass direction, but what measurements do we have, if any, on curved glass windshields? I still think this would be the bomb for my ride, but I have no way to know which ones will fit. Right now, I have 50.5" from rail to rail on the Bauhaus middy. Anybody know what the ultimate widths are for the windshields noted above (C1 Vette, the Italian stuff, Porsche 356/550, etc.)?

Would the manufacturers be able to tell you?

Terry

_________________
Figuring out how to build in the bucolic garden state
Build log: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=18224


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: March 20, 2017, 4:37 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: January 31, 2012, 12:49 pm
Posts: 1713
Location: Louisville KY
How about something like a 57 Chevy windshield, split down the middle to fit the width, laid back, top or bottom (or both) cut off to get the height correct?

Attachment:
57 Chevy.JPG


You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

_________________
***************
Geek49203 aka
Tim Wohlford
Louisville, KY
Hayes front, S10 +2 rear, Lalo body.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: March 20, 2017, 8:15 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: November 11, 2013, 4:47 am
Posts: 1617
Location: No. Nevada
Pretty sure the Chevy glass will be too wide.
The more cuts the more likely to end up with a crack.
This is why I've been looking at Italian and British glass as they are almost certainly much narrower.

_________________
If I must be a one-man PC free zone, so be it!


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: March 20, 2017, 9:45 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: January 31, 2012, 12:49 pm
Posts: 1713
Location: Louisville KY
RichardSIA wrote:
Pretty sure the Chevy glass will be too wide.
The more cuts the more likely to end up with a crack.
This is why I've been looking at Italian and British glass as they are almost certainly much narrower.


I guess that's the entire point of my idea -- that the thing is too wide and I'll end up with a joint in the middle as I cut it down to size? But at least I'd get a curved edge to it.

_________________
***************
Geek49203 aka
Tim Wohlford
Louisville, KY
Hayes front, S10 +2 rear, Lalo body.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: March 20, 2017, 9:48 pm 
Offline

Joined: September 15, 2014, 8:13 pm
Posts: 162
Thanks guys, but I am looking for actual measurements to make either a selection (right size), or a decision (flat glass, cut one up, etc.). There is absolutely no doubt I could have a 1950s truck windshield cut to size as has been done elsewhere on the site. Not cheap though and leaves a post in the middle.

Where the Bauhaus has a big advantage is that my car is much wider than a 7. Having seen one real and one replica example, I would put money on it being wider than a 550 Spyder by a bit, maybe quite a bit. I looked at a C1 Vette last year, and I just don't have a feel for it. It probably is not smaller, but it may be about the same. I read that some years back, Jack McCornack claimed to have measured one, but never gave the dimensions.

Jack, are you out there? Did you ever write them down?

_________________
Figuring out how to build in the bucolic garden state
Build log: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=18224


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: March 21, 2017, 3:10 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: July 4, 2006, 5:40 pm
Posts: 1994
Location: Novato, CA
My old Devin had a windshield adapted from a small powerboat.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: March 21, 2017, 3:33 pm 
Offline

Joined: April 8, 2012, 7:05 pm
Posts: 128
Location: Warrens WI
My VW type3 windshield is right around 48'' at its widest point, measured to the mount flange, not a deep curve and still too wide for a locost but might work for a full body car.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 545 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1 ... 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37  Next

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
cron
POWERED_BY