Thread: I couldn't build it for $3 K either!

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After the corner pieces were tacked together I started trying to figure out how I was going to fab the uprights.

I had originally thought about just a simple dogbone shaped piece about 3/8" thick. After I cut them out though, they just didn't look right. They were too flat. I had planned to use the windshield swivel "cones" that are on stock Model T and A windshield frames. These fit into a pocket on the stock windshield posts.

With the flat posts, the cones didn't have a pocket and looked out place. Also there was a gap between the post and frame that looked bad.

So I decided to add some pockets for the swivels and pieces to fill in the gaps.

I cut some more dogbone pieces out of 1/4". These were used for the outside of the posts.

I made the uprights 8" center to center. This would let me use a windshield as high as about 15" and still keep the swivel point above the center of the windshield frame. By doing that, the wind pressure on the windshield below the swivel point will always be higher than the top. This may not be an issue, but I felt it would keep the windshield pushed down against the cowl even if the wingnuts get loose. The windshield frame I have is 14" tall and I'm probably going to cut that down some.

The round ends of the dogbones are 1 3/8" OD. I just happened to have some tubing that size and the Speedway windshield swivels fit well in the ID of tube.

I took the 3/8" pieces I had originally cut and used a 1 3/8" holesaw to remove the rounded ends. This left a concave radius on each end that fit the tubing swivel pockets and the top of the cowl hinge pieces.

The tubing pieces I used for the pockets are not in the pictures, but they are 3/8" long.

I cleaned up the pieces and beveled the edges where they fit together.

After centering the 3/8 filler pieces on the 1/4 outside pieces I tacked them together and added the pockets to the one end.

I used a MIG welder to weld the plates together. Not only are the MIGs good for welding thin sheet metal, but they will also lay down a lot of metal in a hurry if you need to. I ran those passes pretty hot. The object here was to make sure the bevels were filled and the weld was burnt in well.

I switched to TIG to weld the tubing pieces on, but in hindsight, I should have stuck with the MIG. I had to go back and add metal in few places while I was grinding them, especially in the areas around the pockets. I had to add enough to fill in the radius. I colored this area with a marker in the pics.

I used a 4 1/2" grinder to do the rough finishing and then switched to the belt sander.

The final finishing was done with a DA sander. I locked the spindle so that the disc would just spin like a grinder. The DA sanding discs don't last long, but they give a nice finish. I used the DA to round the edges and give a softer "organic" look to the piece.

I went back to the "holes" theme to add a little more hotrod look to the post. My son thought I was crazy for doing that, but I thought it fit with the overall look of the car.

If I was doing this over I would probably taper the posts slightly from the bottom to the top. Maybe just a 1/4" narrower at the top.

I'm leaning toward the high luster silver powder coat for the frame and posts so I didn't sand past 120 grit. I may go a little finer when I get to the detailing stage at the end of the build.

Well that's all I have right now and I won't get to do any more until Monday of next week. I plan to finish the other upright and cut the windshield frame down then. I also still have to weld and finish the corner posts.

Well folks I'm back. Spent the weekend visiting friends in Mississippi and taking in the Super Chevy show in Memphis. Put almost 1000 miles on the 46 and had a great time! The nitro coupes, top fueler and jet cars were awsome! The swap meet was pretty big and there were a few good venders there. Bought a few things for the T, even though most of the stuff was geared toward muscle cars.

I'm recharged and ready to get some more done on the T. Just a little piece of unsolicited advice for everybody either working on or planning their first build. Don't get so wrapped up in your project that you forget to have some fun. Building or restoring cars is hard and sometimes frustrating work. It always costs more and takes longer than you think it will. No matter how much you enjoy it, sooner or later you're gonna get tired and fed up with the whole thing. Take a break and go enjoy yourself. It'll usually look a lot better when you get back. I wasn't burnt out yet, but I try to stop before I get that way now. I spend so much time in the shop, sometimes it feels like a second job. Having some fun was what this weekend was all about!

Tonight I'm going to post some more on the windshield frame and mounts.

I finished the second windshield post just like the first and figured I would move on to mounting the bases. I'm using a cross bar and mounting plates similar to Don's setup(Project $3K) under the dash. My bar isn't quite as big. Two bolts through the back of the mounts will be OK there, but I wanted to hide the front bolt.

First, I set the bases in place on the cowl and marked their position with a sharpie. Then I ground up a couple of 3/8" nuts and tacked them to the front inside corners of the bases. I held the bases up to the cowl, lined up my marks and marked where the nut contacted the cowl. I used a step drill and die grinder to make a hole in the cowl to just fit the nuts. A short piece of all-thread was used for a stud. My intention is to fit reinforceing plates inside the cowl for these studs. The plates will be "glued" to the inside of the cowl with fiberglass "kitty hair".

The windshield frame was made from 1/2' black pipe. I cut a 5/16" slot to mount the glass and I'm going to glue the glass in with silicone so I hope 5/16 will be enough. The glass is 1/4" thick. If it's not I'll have to build another frame since making the slot wider after it's put together would be pretty hard.

My first frame was made from 4 pieces as it was a "full frame". It was 14" tall and 40 1/2" wide. The top was removable so the glass could be installed. The problem was that the top bar was right in my line of sight. Not cool! Talk about annoying. I decided to go with an open top frame.

Fabbing the frame was pretty straight forward. I used corner magnets to anchor it to the table and a 5/16" lathe bit to keep the slots aligned. Keeping it all square was the hard part as it trys to "draw" as it cools. I had to "cheat" a little by tacking it slighly out of square so that it would be square when it cooled. I could have built a jig to hold everything, but didn't want to take the time. The top was held on with screws through the side and the frame is mounted on 3/8 x 24 bolts welded to the side of the frame. These are covered by the swivels.

The final open top frame was made by cutting the first frame down. I cut 5" out of the width and 1 1/2" out of the height, making it 35 1/2" X 12 1/2". I think the narrower frame looks more in proportion. It looks like I'm going to be looking just over the top of the windshield. That's exactly how I like my motorcycle windshield to be. I can "slump" a little for protection if needed, but most of the time I look over the top. Since this thing will be a four-wheeled motorcycle, that ought to be about right.

I still have to fab the inside reinforcing plates and finish weld everything, but for the most part the posts and windshield frame is finished. Now I can move on to mounting the steering column and finishing up the door. I'm trying to get most of the fab work done to the body so that I can glue the interior piece in. Got a lot of reinforcing to do though and that means fiberglass. Man I hate that stuff.

Here are some pics of the original wide frame compared to the finished frame and mounts.

Nice work on the frame . great idea the look is outstanding Hotrod

Bluestang

Thanks

Don

I used a table saw and abrasive blades to do the slot. I didn't go onto detail or post pictures because it's a pretty dangerous procedure and I was concerned someone would try it and get hurt. That probably sounds "elitist" to some people, but I'm really not like that. I do dumb things sometimes and don't want to incourage anyone else to. I looked like Darth Vader with all the protective stuff I had on!

Basically, I made a wooden jig to hold the pipe and shimmed two metal cutting abrasive blades 5/16" apart. Takes lots of VERY small cuts.

There's so many dangers involved I couldn't even begin to list them. DEATH being the worst.

My advice for anyone reading this is to find someone with a milling machine and let them do the slots for you.

Mike

I understand. I have done some of the very same things to get something done, then later on said "Whew, I actually didn't get killed." I think you were smart to not offer that info, but it sure did work well.

That windshield is gorgeous. Love the style and different look of it. I am really enjoying this thread, J Robinsons, and all the others. So cool to see how others approach these things.

As for the slots, I would have sworn you had a Bridgeport or something. Nice job.


Don

Hotrod46, you are an inspiration. Your windshield post are definitely the coolest I’ve seen. Keep up the goooood work!!

Wow, looking great, How the heck did you mill that slot into the frame so straight? That had to be some job, but you made it sound so easy.


I know what you mean about taking a breather every so often. It rekindles the spark to do some more work.

You gotta tell me about that slot in the frame though, very cool.

Don