My DIY windscreen frame. (pics)

[Zedn]

With money a bit tight at the moment due becoming a father last week (yay!), i decided to have a go at making my own windscreen frame from stainless. I had half a sheet of 1.5mm stainless left over from my fuel tank so thought it cant hurt to give it a try.

I started out by buying the glass from o'brien for $140 to use for the mock up. I used some cardboard to make up templates for each of the pieces. I then cut these out and traced onto the stainless sheet.



I dont have a plasma cutter so i had to cut out each piece with a 4" angle grinder. It took some time but worked ok. I then clamped each matching piece together and smoothed out with the grinder.



Pieces were then clamped to the glass to hold the curves for tacking.







After tacking, the fram was removed from the glass so that i could finish weld it without heating the glass and melting the rubber. The welding was all fused except for a little bit of mig wire used as filler where any gaps were. Im glad i didnt use to much filler because it is a different colour when polished.

I was very careful with the finish welding because i was worried about warping. I just did small runs at a time leaving gaps in between and then going back and filling in. It still warped but i was able to get it back by bending it.




After welding came the slow part. I ground the welds down with the grinder using a 60grit flap wheel. I then used a hand file to file the whole thing flat then sanded with 120, 240, 320, 400, 600 and polished it up.








I am happy with the finished product, just need to finish making the side posts and its ready to install.

Unfortunatly i did crack the glass. Stupid it wasnt from the frame but my careless placement of my knee

[sjelby]

You are unbelievable Liam.
looks very nice.
well done.
Stan.

[Outwest34au]

Absolutely wicked work. That looks extremely professional.
You have more patience and talent than me.

Congrats on the rug rat too.

[Tenrocca]

When I first read you were doing this I thought you were kidding. The finished product looks amazing and you should be very proud of your work. Some of the best from scratch fabrication Ive seen. Awesome!!!!

PS. Congrats on the new Bub.

[Zedn]

Thanks for the comments guys.

We had a baby girl. Everything went smoothly (except for the 2:30am start).

Stan i havnt forgotten about the side vents either. They are on the list but i need a break from polishing!

[sjelby]

I am going to pull the jag diff down this week.
Any pointers on polishing the outer hubs?
And congrats on the birth of your baby girl.
My baby girl was a bit sick today, but she is 20 and it was self inflicted. lol

[Zedn]

Pointers on polishing the hubs.. Not really, its a filthy job and you will have no finger tips left when you finish. It does look good though.

I used 80 grit and 120 grit flap wheels from bunnings. Followed by hand wet sanding with 120 up to 1200 wet and dry then polished with the polishing kits they also sell in bunnings. Look for a kit that comes with a sisal wheel and a loose cloth wheel with a bar of grey and a bar of white compound. I used them on the drill. If you have a dremel or similar that will help also.

To be honest i would probably paint them in hindsight. The POR15 i used has not sealed them properly. I think this was because there were pin holes in the casting. These pin holes have caused oxidation to form in some spots under the clear. Im not too concerned at the moment but will eventually strip the clear off and consider anodizing.

[sjelby]

That sounds a lot easier. Maybe even just paint them in 2pak..
On a different note: What type of seats did you use?

[Krait]

Impressive work Liam, well done.

Congrats to you and yours on the arrival of your daughter.

Cheers

[Zedn]

I used RX7 series 5. They are quite narrow so fit well and were only $50. The MX5 seats are similar but thinner on the upright.

You need to be very carefull with what seats you get though because its hard to find something that complies (see Baz's post).

The RX7 seats are a bit short but are slightly talller than MX5. I am working on a way to modify them without comprimising the performance or appearance. Also waiting to see if Baz's method is acceptable with the RTA.

There are a few clubbie manufacturers that have ADR approved seat frames that you then have to pad and cover.

[Mando]

Fu@k me, I thought I could fabricate some nice things but they don't compare to your work. Couple of thoughts; how are you going to attach the bottom rubber and have you tapped any holes for the wind wings and the sun visors?

Regards.

[Zedn]

I have got some rubber that i plan glue along the bottom. Making a channel for the rubber was just too much work. It should look the same when finished.

I have left a 5mm gap all around to allow room for screws for mounting sunvisors and attaching the side bars. I havnt yet tapped these because i dont have any brackets yet for the hole locations.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Zedn

I have got some rubber that i plan glue along the bottom. Making a channel for the rubber was just too much work. It should look the same when finished.

I have left a 5mm gap all around to allow room for screws for mounting sunvisors and attaching the side bars. I havnt yet tapped these because i dont have any brackets yet for the hole locations.

Well done Liam and congratulations on the new daughter.

Don't worry about fitting or even drilling the holes for the wind wing mounts as you will be knocked on these by RTA as non compliant ADR -That is speaking from experience.

Lovely work on the screen fabrication also.


Baz

[Zedn]

Originally Posted by Baz

Well done Liam and congratulations on the new daughter.

Don't worry about fitting or even drilling the holes for the wind wing mounts as you will be knocked on these by RTA as non compliant ADR -That is speaking from experience.

Lovelky work on the screen fabrication also.


Baz

Hi Baz,

My engineer told me about the wind wings when i met with him. Dont know why but it was just one of the things he told me. I guess that a few people get caught out by it. I am just having padded sun visors as per the ADR requirements.

Are you any closer to the final inspection yet?

Liam

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Zedn

Hi Baz,

My engineer told me about the wind wings when i met with him. Dont know why but it was just one of the things he told me. I guess that a few people get caught out by it. I am just having padded sun visors as per the ADR requirements.

Are you any closer to the final inspection yet?

Liam

Contacted my Engineer yesterday as he had promised to send me his second revised report for the RTA by Friday last week which didn't arrive. It is now promised by the end of this week. A copy will go direct to RTA and C.C.'d to me. Then the next wait starts. I'm getting used to this now. Can't see anything happening this side of 2011.

18 family and friends are off for 13 nights over Christmas around New Zealand on Sun Princess on Dec. 17 and return on 30th so there's 2010 gone.

See my surgeon next Tuesday and I'm telling him to make arrangements to have my left knee replaced early in 2011.

So as far as the Cobra Registration goes... who knows. If the RTA start stalling me so I come within the confines of the new Engineer Signatory Agreement, which means that I have to start again from scratch with a new Engineer, we'll be off to Court where I've been assured through my Barrister, that a win with substantial costs awarded against them is well and truly on the cards.

2011 could be a very exciting year, not much better than 2010, but exciting just the same.



Baz

[Beejay]

Nice work mate!

Cangrats on the new bub too!

Ben

[john chesnut]

Congratulations on becoming a father!! And, great work on the frame. Very impressive.

[Merv and Sharon]

Well done Liam - on both counts. The earlier Thread from Istanbul shows another scratch built windscreen frame, but the edges are much thicker and solid. Yours looks great.

[Buzz]

That is really beautiful work! Congratulations on a fantastic job and the new addition to the family.

[trularin]

WOW, that is some beautiful work, congrats.

Good job on the windshield frame also.