Classic R #27 Build - Windshield

One of the jobs I've been putting off is installation of the windshield. It's a dependency for wiper and demister vent installation, and wiper motor installation is a dependency for getting the frame finished (since there will be holes/bracket work on the frame), so I resolved to get on with it this weekend.

I have not yet completed installation of the scuttle to the frame. I'm working with the scuttle attached using spring clamps at the moment. I'll do scuttle and hood installation and true-up concurrently later.

For my car I chose a traditional framed windshield installation because - thanks to PA regs - I will have to go with approved windshield glass and a frameless installation using lexan won't work for my road car. There are a couple of build videos applicable to the subject of framed windshield installation: the first is on the Build section of the Stalker Cars forum and it although doesn't explain how the classic R framed windshield is installed, it does cover installation of the windshield stays. The other video is a 2005 Dennis Brunton original for the Classic chassis over on the Stalker Cars google drive and is in two parts: the first part covers the template and stay installation; the second part covers final installation of the framed windshield onto the car. It too assumes a lexan windshield.


I followed Scott's guidance on installing the stays, aligning the bottom of each stay with the fold in the scuttle. My mounting holes are slightly oversized for the hardware I chose (1/4-28x3/4 stainless button head screws). I think I drilled 17/64 to allow modest clearance. I suggest easing the holes in the stays somewhat as on mine they were slightly undersized and damaged the threads on one of the 1/4" screws I was using.


Driver's side stay installed. I put a flat washer between the screw head and the stay, and a flat washer and lock washer on the inside of the scuttle.


Spacing - I put the trailing edge of the stay about 4 3/4" from the frame edge then marked the center of the nearest mounting hole. Once I had that reference point in hand the rest was straighforward, working by feel to keep the bottom of the stay in the scuttle fold and then confirming with a quick measurement to the bottom of the scuttle to make sure it wasn't crooked.


Both sides installed and viewed from the front. The stay bends were too tight and needed to be cleaned up. I did that off the car, bending parallel to the fold line in the scuttle using the bench vise and a rubber mallet. I made final adjustments on the car later after I had messed with the frame a little. You have to be careful though not to damage the bend in the stay where it wraps around the scuttle.


The frame installed between the stays. To get to this point, I had to re-bend the corners of the frame to fit between the stays. On my frame, the overall width at the bottom was 38" inches and some change. However the stay spacing at the scuttle is more like 36". I therefore had to absorb about 2" by adjusting the bends, distributing the error as evenly as I could. To do this I clamped the frame upside down, vertically, to the welding table using two G clamps so that the legs stuck up in the air. I put each clamp just at the beginning of the radius each side. Following an internet tip I scribbled magic marker around each bend on the front, side and back. Using a mapp torch, I heated the bend up until the magic marker disappeared - that's supposed to be the correct temperature for annealing. Once things had cooled down a bit I used a ratcheting strap across the top of the legs to adjust the gap to about 36", making final adjustments by hand. The metal does bend quite easily but you have to be somewhat gentle with it - no sudden movements and everything done incrementally. It took about a half hour to make the adjustment.


To make the decision about windshield height I went back to this dimensioned drawing from the Lotus Seven Owners Manual (filched off the web from somewhere). Once again, for me, this is driven by PA regs, which state that for a specially constructed vehicle the minimum vertical windshield height is 12" unless the original vehicle used a different height, in which case that height may be used - but it must be more than 7". This drawing shows 12". Absent any other objective evidence about Lotus Seven S2 windshield height, I'm going with 12" measured from the top of the windshield frame to the highest point on the scuttle, in accordance with the measurement on this drawing. This will leave a small pointy gap at each corner of the windshield that I need to figure out how to deal with, perhaps a small filler plate made from aluminum channel or a rubber seal.

Incidentally I found mcmaster P/N's 9001K23 or 9001K44 looks like a match for the 1/2x3/4x1/8 channel used for the Stalker kit windshield frame.

With regard to the template: in the process of adjusting the frame bends, the plywood template for the glass will no longer fit since it's intended to match the wider spacing on the windshield frame. It also won't support the 12" high windshield that I'm planning so I'll have to lay it out slightly differently to get it to fit.

-Dave

In an interesting twist, I was able to acquire a complete windshield from another Stalker builder right here in PA. Dave on usa7s.net listed his used Super Stalker windshield for sale and after successfully test fitting it on my Classic R scuttle the deal was done.



Two interesting things to note here: 1) the profile of the scuttle has probably not changed dramatically in 6 years because the windshield was a pretty good fit right off the bat. 2) The windshield frame that I have is substantially shorter than the one I bought. In the pictures, I overlaid mine on top of the new one to demonstrate the difference. The original frame has blue masking tape on in showing where the frame leg ends. That solves a problem for me because I need to have at least 12" height in the center of my windshield, and with the frame I had before, that was going to be a struggle because of the short frame leg size.

One less task to think about!

-Dave

I picked up an aluminum windshield washer bottle while I was away recently. It has a small pump located at the bottom of the bottle. The whole thing's a bit big but it does fit in the spot I had in mind for it, which is on the passenger side footwell, forward of the battery. The only difficulty with this spot is the proximity to the header. I plan on making a small sheet metal heat shield to go between the bottle and the header as I don't particularly want to deal with boiling windshield washer fluid. I intend to have the heat shield wrap around under the pump to keep road dirt from accumulating on it.


The bottle is just slightly too wide to allow it to bolt directly onto the passenger side footwell panel because the holes would collide with the frame. Consequently I had to make custom mounts to accommodate it. I turned the whole thing around through 180 degrees and then made a spacer and a mounting bracket to match. The bracket uses two of the sheet metal screw holes I'd made for the footwell panel so I don't need to drill any additional holes in the chassis.


The other side uses this long spacer (3 3/16" long) and a 4" bolt. I'll powder coat both the spacer and the bracket later.

-Dave

This is the heatshield and pump cover I made for the washer bottle.


I started with a cardboard template to check the fit, then transferred measurements to a piece of thin sheet aluminum and cut and folded the part. Some of the folds are a bit soft and could do with a little TLC - I may make another one of these later from the template once I find a way to make bends in the short sides of sheetmetal work.


The heat shield covers the face of the bottle nearest the header, then wraps around to protect the pump from road dirt.

Dave,

Would you be kind enough to send me the dimensions and angles so that I could get a Frame made for my Brunton.

Anzar.

anzarhasan1@gmail.com

Hey Anzar,

I'm way behind on my Seven and trying to get caught up so haven't frequented the forum much of late. Did you get what you needed on the windshield or do you still want the dimensions? I have it here now so can get to it easily enough.

-Dave

Dave, I applaud your tenacity almost as much as your skill. Both are overwhelming to us sluts who just like to drive and hate to work on these things. I mean you make it an absolute work of art, knowing full well it's gonna get dirty and gritty if not a little bunged up along the way. Maybe it's just a phase, huh? anyway, good on ya; meeting you is on my bucket list and motorhome agenda.

Hey Ted, thanks for the kind words. I think about the post-build wear and tear a lot and I wonder how beaten up #27 is going to get once it's actually running, but ultimately it doesn't matter to me. I always enjoy seeing the 'patina' of use on the cars on race days as long as the cars are well maintained. I mentioned that to someone once at a US Vintage Grand Prix and he gave me the 'are you mad' look.

It's been too long. I need to get this car running!

-Dave