Windshield Restoration: Part 2
Work continues on the Windshield… getting closer and closer to being done! Huge progress was made November 3rd when I was able to get the windshield adjustment screw bolt welded into my outer windshield frame thanks to Paul and Tom at the Planes of Fame Air Museum. That same weekend I finally figured out the best way to get all the remaining paint off the windshield… wish I’d known this from the beginning! I then test fitted everything and it worked well!
Tom Goodhope and Paul De Laurell look at welding the bolt into the outer windshield frame at the Planes of Fame Air Museum.
Welding the bolt on!
Back at home, the outer windshield with both bolts for the first time in who knows how many years!
Here’s a close up look at the weld before I took a sandpaper grinding disk and cleaned it up.
Here’s a close up look at the weld before I took a sandpaper grinding disk and cleaned it up.
So, with that done, the next step was to try and get the last bit of paint off the outer windshield. Wire Wheeling was taking forever, a progress of about 1 inch every 5 minutes. Ugh.
But then I discovered the abrasive wheel for the angle grinder. I was able to get ALL the paint and rust off in just about 10 minutes. WOW.
Hardly anything left to the abrasive wheel though, it took most of it off!
Otherside of the outer windshield after doing the best I could with the abrasive wheel in those pockets of metal.
Now for the big test… dry fitting of everything! The reproduction inner windshield (in red primer) with the now correct adjusting arms and all the nuts/washers/etc along with the new windshield wipers! Everything fit pretty well. All that’s left (aside from painting) is getting the Windshield glass, putting a weather seal around the two glass pieces, and adding a weather seal around the entire inner windshield which will cover that gap around.
Here’s the inner windshield rotated outward (this is what those adjusting arms do!), rotates pretty awesome!
Another look at the inner windshield rotated outwards. The idea behind this was that someone could shoot through the windshield without having to shoot through the glass.
A close up look at all the washers required for the adjusting arm.