Thread: '32 Cowl Reshaping

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I have a Downs fiberglass '32 body and just received a 3" chopped windshield frame and stanchions from Lobeck---the fit is terrible! The frame is about 5/8" above the eyebrow in the center which is way too much for the seal to do it's job and this is kinda cheating by mounting the lower stanchions alittle low at the ends of the eyebrow. I'd like to re-shape the eyebrow and cowl so the windshield fit's properly. I think if I used that much body filler it would possibly crack and I hate the thought of using fiberglass mat and resin, mainly, because of the mess. I have heard there is body filler with fiberglass strands in it that is much stronger--would this be the right thing to use or does anyone have any other suggestions?? I'm going to try to attach a photo to this--sorry if I mess up! Thanks, Bruce

Matt and resin will make a bigger mess, but it's really the only right way to fill that big of a gap. The glass impregated filler is good, Evercoat has a fine strand out know with Kevlar added to it, but I think you would be much better off building the majority of fill with 'glass. The filler is good, but down the road with all the pounding and shaking of the road, and lots of good old heat from the sun that much filler would quite probably give you grief....

Listen to Dave---He knows what he's talking about!!! If you fill a gap that big, you will have a big mess on your hands. That flat, horizontal section of your car gets the most sunlight, and a humungous build up of material in the top of the cowl will expand and contract at a different rate than the rest of the glass body, causing it to crack out and ruin any finished paint job. I think the only way to fix that properly is to make about 5 evenly spaced relief cuts which extend from the passenger compartment about 3/4 of the way to the firewall across the top of the cowl, parallel to the centerline of the car. Work from inside to jack all the peices of cowl out to the proper position, as determined by your windshield frame, then put a layer of mat and resin on the outside to hold everything in place. After it kicks, wait 24 hours, then remove all the jacking from inside and lay up a couple of layers of mat and resin on the inner cowl surface. Wait 48 hours after it kicks, then bondo finish the glassed area on the outside. It appears that the cowl is the correct shape at the firewall, as the hood seems to fit okay. That being the case, the actual "bodyworked" area will be relatively small. It looks like they may have pulled that body from the mold while it was still "green" and without proper support the area directly below the windshield has sagged.

It may just be the photo or the angle of the photo, but the windshield frame looks like it has way to much curve in the bottom ... to me.





Owned a original 32 roadster for 30 plus years ...
I believe I would check the windshield frame against another one ( that fits good ) before I went to messing with the body

You said it's a 3" chop, looks like maybe the stanchions are for 2". What is the measurement between the wing nuts on the windshield stanchions? Should be 6 1/4" center to center of the wing nuts for 3"
'

Typical 'glass body stuff.... Most of them are a copy of a copy, or a mold shot off an old mold..... I've never seen a 'glass body that is a correct match to the original, closest I've see is a Wescott.... All the other aftermarket components are the same....Doubt any of the body pieces are exact reproductions, but rather made to fit whatever body the prototype was designed to fit......

how is the fit up to the cowl to windshield frame with out the stanchions just laying the frame up to the cowl? re work a set of stanchions?

Originally Posted by jpelli

You said it's a 3" chop, looks like maybe the stanchions are for 2". What is the measurement between the wing nuts on the windshield stanchions? Should be 6 1/4" center to center of the wing nuts for 3"
'

Hi jpelli,
I checked the upper stanchions and they are the 6 1/4" for the 3" chop.
Thanks, Bruce

Originally Posted by Deuce

It may just be the photo or the angle of the photo, but the windshield frame looks like it has way to much curve in the bottom ... to me.





Owned a original 32 roadster for 30 plus years ...
I believe I would check the windshield frame against another one ( that fits good ) before I went to messing with the body

Hi Deuce,
I know what you mean about the curve of the bottom. That's the first thing I thought when I got it and matched it up to the body. The frame is the right height in the center for a 3" chop (length of a dollar bill) but Monday I'm going to make sure everything is right by matching it up to another guy's windshield, just to make sure.
Pat,
I held the frame up on the body and it doesn't match the shape of the cowl.
Dave & Brian,
Thanks for steering me away from using alot of (thick) "bondo". I like Brian's idea about cutting, jacking and reglassing the cowl. I'll have to look everything over real good and plan that out.

Still open to more suggestions but THANKS EVERYONE so far!!
Bruce

Might want to call Downs and see what windshield frame will fit the car... They just went through an ownership change, maybe thinks aren't up to par yet. They used to put out a decent body.....

Yeah, I see that it's called Legend Motors Worldwide now. I heard that Jim Downs died. I've helped build a few Downs cars and they all were okay but this is the first roadster. I had emailed Downs a few times about this but never got an answer, I'll have to give them a call but I bet the answer will be, "We've never had that problem before."

this sounds abit harsh but can you run a come long a cross the top in side of the cowl where the doors jam s are and bow it abit cut loose any cross brace and get the body warm the glass will move alot

The body would not be that far off. There may be some minor insconsistencies from body to body, but nothing like your photos show. That has to be a windshield problem of some kind.

I'm kind of in the same pickle as Randy wondering about the picture angle and so forth, but on the other side of the fence. Trying not to let the w/s frame influence my eye, it looks like the cowl doesn't have the right crown in the mid section, almost looks like it is flat or sinks a bit. You definitely don't want to patch all that with filler, looks like you'll be in for some cutting and reshaping. Had to do that on the deck lid flange of the Gibbon '32 I did a few years back to get it to make the deck lid fit the body correctly.

IMHO - that windshield frame looks like about the way it should. I've attached a scan from a Speedway page. I looked at my '31 roadster windshield and it appears to have a more gentle curve the the '32.

The car pictured is an OEM deuce as well