Windshield adjustment

Most likely he forgot to replace the washer on the stud on the underside of the driver’s corner post.  The nut then bottoms out on the threads and seems tight, but the post isn’t really pulled in completely.  

Try removing the nut on that post and, if it has a washer on there, add another (or two) to take up the space to let the nut bottom out tight against the washer, not the bottom of the threads.  That should pull the corner post down and eliminate that 1/16” gap.

While that post is loose, gently maneuver the rubber gasket around to fit neatly against the post shape (they tend to wander a bit as they’re being tightened) and then tighten it down.

"The shop manager tried tightening the bolt beneath the driver’s side post, but said that’s as tight as it will go"  .  Wrong ...I would do what Gordon mentioned adding .......loosen the center and both post bolts now as they may have excess pressure on one side that can cause the glass to crack.  Make sure that the glass is seated properly into the rubber.  Then start with L & R sides tightening one turn at a time until you begin to feel in getting tighter, then the center post until you feel that beginning to get tighter. You can use a rubber mallet to gently tap the upper windshield frame downward...it won't break) Now go alternating left then right sides turning the bolt in just a 1/4 turn, do the same on the center post repeating until all three are just snug ( do not over tighten) Allow an hour or so to pass this the rubber and glass to settle in. Then ( if there is loose enough to &tighten a bit more) turn the left , right and lastly the center post 1/8 turn and stop. Should a gap remain under the windshield post  you can apply a some caulk by using a bit on your finger and wiping the excess away with a damp paper towel..... I use ACE Hardware  "Alex" brand... it is a Latex caulk it dries flat black to match the windshield rubber.

Lifesavers. Thanks you. 

Yes, I crawled under the dash and loosened up the nut and bolts (15mm). And noticed the passenger side was  not like the driver’s side (see attached pics). 

First pic is of driver’s side. Second and third are both of the passenger side, just different angles. 

The passenger side was tight against the gasket, the driver’s side was loose. And the middle rod I was able to remove the nut by hand. 

When you were telling the original story I had thoughts of David Stroud and a crack windshield.

Yeah, lucky the shop didn't crack it. Shop monkeys almost always wanna torque everything down totally macho. 

edsnova posted:

Yeah, lucky the shop didn't crack it. Shop monkeys almost always wanna torque everything down totally macho. 

Justin McCallister from Blackline Racing in Salt Lake City (Art Thraen's old shop) calls this "Chevy Hands". Whatever else I may have, what I've got in spades is Chevy Hands.

I won't think of touching the windshield.

I had a post that needed rechroming and I just could not allow it to be done locally, IM finally fixed it .

Let’s just say I wasn’t overly pleased when I heard they removed the windshield. When interviewing places to install the tonneau, I kept asking if they needed to remove it. This place said no. I went with them. Then they called and told me they removed it. I was not excited to get that call. At that point what’s done is done. 

Well, I’ll get the proper washers today, so that both sides match. Then do Alan’s method and slowly securing the windshield into place.  Wish me luck. 

I have a few of those stories myself.  

In fact I got rid of a 535 after a bad repair caused by a rogue body shop that did not contact me when they hit a wall and decided to fix it their own way rather than the right way.  

It happens also when you have other service providers ie: lawyers, physicians, optometrist, "Insert a service provider here" etc, who do stuff really without your consent as they think they know better than you and they forget that they should act as a teacher, consultant and YOU should decide whether something is worth it or not when it affects you.   I could go on with examples but it is hard to have control over everything unless ... you do all things yourself.  

This may be too late but I used some small freeze plugs with a hole drilled in them (on center) instead of the flat washers on the end of those angle tubes. This kept the bolts centered when I tightened them. Probably not necessary but I felt a lot better about it when tightening the bolts.

Love the color of your car Kevin.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Bruce

I think larger fender washers with a center hole more closely matching the bolt size would work best (like Aircooled said.  Maybe even cut them out of aluminum so they deform if needed to the fiberglass.  Big enough to cover the hole in the fiberglass and disperse the stress.

  Before you set the post to the fiberglass run a bead of caulk around the cowl post hole, then after you tighten down the posts wipe away the excess

When I installed my tonneau snaps I removed the windshield.  I had to, to get a drill in there to drill the holes.  I had no dash pad at that time.  Later on, when I installed the dash pad I removed the windshield again to install that.  

It's not that big a deal because Porsche designed it to be easily removed for racing.  Still, I'm willing to bet that those guys racing Speedsters back then must have had 2 or 3 extra windshields kicking around their shops, just in case, ya know?

All complete. I’m guessing once you install one correctly, it gets easier.  Good news, I didn’t break the windshield.  My membership just paid for itself and then some with your advice.

I went to Ace Hardware and picked up new fender washers, locking washers and nylon spacers. The nylon spacers fit perfectly inside the metal “spacer” post assembly. I thought it would be nice to minimize the slop in the assembly, but in retrospect I don’t know if it was necessary. 

I was able to install the passenger side rather easily. At least begin the threads by hand. The driver’s, less than accommodating. Between the steering wheel, gauges, and headlamp switch it is more challenging to access. Perhaps this is why the side wasn’t right. 

After serenading my neighborhood with a handful of four-letter words, I was able to finally hand tighten the driver’s side. 

Then I began “Alan’s process”: 1/4 turn driver side, then passenger, and middle. Then repeat. Finally finished and noticed there was still a gap. 

UGH!!!!

Lesson learned.  With your left hand grab the windshield post above the dash and keep slight pressure on the post in the correct seated position.  Then verify the large fender washer between dash and “metal spacer” is centered over the metal shaft (mine wasn’t in the pics I attached last night).  Once all that was done I hand tightened then wrenched it a 1/4 turn.  Then did Alan’s Process all over.  Took me much longer than I hoped.  But all done.

Cleaned up all the fingerprints.  Pics attached.

thanks once again for your help  

Nice, “Irish-Looking” Speedster.   I very much like it!

Let me say, that nothing goes as expected when working on one of these little cars.

Something always messes you up, but you’ve done a stellar job in correcting the situation.  The nylon washer trick was brilliant!

See?  See how the “Madness” creeps up on’ya?    

And yes, once you’ve done it once (or a few times) it gets easier and you learn more tricks each time.

That first time, you’re extremely nervous and thinking it might crack at any moment (they usually wait and crack sometime in the middle of the night after you’ve finished and walked away).  I’ve done six, now, and they’ve just become a PITA, what with the endless messing with that persnickity bottom rubber gasket.   David Stroud is getting good at replacing them, but probably would prefer not to have to, and Alan, after doing 753 of them “just does it” and deals with whatever comes along (and has seen his share of that, too).

I guess we can now look to YOU for tips and tricks on windshield installs!

Gordon, too funny . That's about how I do a windshield, just get it done. I've only cracked one and it was old and delaminated along the edge, removing  and reinstalling it was just a bit too much for the ole girl and yes, it cracked sometime in the middle of the night.

Kevin, we're always glad to be of help, glad it worked out for you.

Kevin, way to persevere!

Gordon's right - no project on these cars is ever as simple as you think, going in.

BTW, it looks like your tonneau has the same black underside as mine. And your interior is the same light tan color, too.

I keep the passenger side of the tonneau zipped down when I'm driving solo, and found the black dye from the under side was staining the vinyl on the top of the dash. It took some good scrubbing to clean.

I had my wife stitch up this little strip of light-colored felt, held in place by holes that hook over the tenax pins in the dash. Solved the problem.

Did I mention no project is ever as simple as it seems, going in?

Cheers!

IaM-Ray posted:

I have a few of those stories myself.  

In fact I got rid of a 535 after a bad repair caused by a rogue body shop that did not contact me when they hit a wall and decided to fix it their own way rather than the right way.  

...   I could go on with examples but it is hard to have control over everything unless ... you do all things yourself.  

Story of my life which is why I'm now semi-pro at:

*installing casement windows

*framing carpentry

*drywall

*cedar shake siding

*electrical wiring

*sweating copper pipes

*building retaining walls

*engine rebuilds

*auto upholstery (door cards, dash covers, headliners, etc.)

*tiling

*brick work

*tin work

*finish trim and millwork

*foundation repair

*auto-body repair

*simple metal shaping

*appliance repair

*writing legal "nastygrams" to bogus collection agencies

*skip-tracing

Trouble is...I don't have time to do most of that stuff. And now that I know what's involved, I trust even less most of the goofballs who would charge me more than I make per hour to do it.

It's a damn curse is what it is.

I will say, this is a small task, if you will. I mean, it’s simply installing a windshield. Just takes a little patience and time. 

But with each of these small tasks I run into with the Speedster, it does provide me with the utmost respect to those of you building your cars or to those of you that have built your cars (I thought about tagging you, but in fear of leaving some of you off, I’ll let it go; you know who you are).  You’ve run into these challenges every turn. And yet persevere. 

I tip my hat to you. 

Well, after a while, we HAVE to finish the build (took me seven years).

Otherwise, it ends up taking over the garage, like this:

It's a curse, I tell ya!

No image.