Windshield cut

Hey Folks,

I just bought a 2000 CMC Flared Speedster and the windshield was cut into the body , caulked in ,and sat down about 1" into it. Since the windshield was cracked I bought a new one with all the correct posts,surrounds,rubber ect. from JPS. Anyone ever seen this before? My first inclination is to fill the slot back in and put the regular setup over it. Any ideas on how to do that (glassing) would be much appreciated.

Cheers!

It's easy to fill in the slot, taper the slot edges and rough up the surfaces to be filled in, fill this in with Tiger Hair filler ( this filler has fiberglass strands in the material) then top coat with regular body filler and sand it smooth. ~Alan

Wow!
Thanks Alan! That was fast....I wanted to upload a photo of the problem.
Thanks again,
Greg

Holy Carp! I have NEVER seen such a thing! What were they thinking?
Yes, by all means, fill'er in and start over.

That's a bit wider than it seemed at first description. Put some duct tape on the back side and layer fiberglass mat into the slot from the front side. Then a skim of short strand fiberglass filler and a final coat of lightweight polyester filler for the finish. Prime, spot putty, final prime and color coat.

Sanding smooth between all layers of filler and primer, of course.

Luck!

T

I understand why it this may have been done, some time ago Jim Youngs did a blurp about shortening the speedster windshield height and he did it this way in a Kit Car Builder Magazine article.
The slot needed to be that wide due to the angle of the windshield glass. Prep is the key....you must sand all surfaces to rough it up. I would run three layers on the underside...a 2" then a 4" followed by a final 6" width of fiberglass matting for proper structual support. Fill in the actual slot with the previously mentioned Tiger Hair material and finish with a poly resin top coat....and mucho sanding it's not a very difficult job. Email me and I'll give you my cell number if you have any questions doing the repair . drclockATpa.net Alan

Once hole roughed in, trial fit the new windshield as you may have to build up some areas to get it to sit right (without gaps under it). Amazing MIS-PLACED creativity some folks have!

Thanks again for all your help! I think I might have to use some double sided aligning clamps to level the dash side to the hood side as the cut release some pressure and in a couple of spots there are height differences.3/16's lower at ends on the hood side.

Or maybe sticks standing from below holding up 1/8" luan plywood strip 3" wide to level both sides and support fill, then glass over that.4etting plywood with resin of course. like a stringer in a surfboard. man you guys r up early!

Thunder Ranch has used this approach on a couple of cars I think....I don't like it, but it is one cheap way to reduce windshield profile...

Yeah, Greg.....I was looking at your pictures and wondering about what was left of the structural integrity of the front cowl, once that slot was cut out.

The back of the cowl, up under the dash, is supported by the steel frame under the dash but the piece in front of the windshield loses a lot of integrity once that cut is made. Look up under the dash and you'll see what I mean. I think TC's got the right idea of repair which would gain back a lot of the lost strength. Nothing beats real glass mat and resin to give it strength, then top that with the glass reinforced bondo and then regular bondo to smooth it out. Use your new windshield as a template for filling and sanding to get the cowl contours to match the bottom curve of the windshield. You'll soon find out that NOTHING is straight on that cowl - there are multiple curves going on in 3-dimensions all over the place, but matching to the windshield curve is the best way to get it all right. And don't forget using the bottom gasket of the windshield in place to make sure it all fits!

If you really worry about strength under there once glassed in, you could mount the VW wiper assembly and then fabricate a brace welded to the body frame under the dash. That'll "Git R Dun"!!

gn

Thanks Guys,
I'm glass matting the underside today then filling it with Tiger hair then bondo then Evercoat feather-fill primer. Another friend who works on Vettes agrees with all suggestions and says make sure to sand everywhere I'm glassing to get the wax off that the resin excretes on its outside skin so that everything will stick.When I'm done I post some pics.

Thanks for the support and great info!

It would have been nicer it the previous owner had got someone like Acalpp Glass In New York to cut down a shorter windshield if that is all they wanted..

I don't like that kind of a body whackin It can be fixed as Alan said.

But I would advise refiberglassing It in to regain some strengh. Plus it would be less likely to re crack after a year or so..

Here is the "semi final result.Thanks for all your input!
Greg

Greg, that looks mucho better!