Savannah windshield

[Kyle Communications]

The rubber strip on the bottom of the lexan sits on the top deck just in front..you usually silicone it around the contact with the top deck

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

This is from Mabel

 

 

 

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

The carpet covers the hole up on the inside on the top deck

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

There are 2 open holes at the top of the screen on right and left..they remain open and are covered by the small wing to root fairings that are a real bugger to make fit and actually look any good

 

 

[IBob]

Pics........

 

 

 

 

 

[IBob]

Okay, the only way I could get the seal as far forward as Mabel's would be if the windshield was nowhere near touching the steel diagonals down there...

 

 

[IBob]

Yep...there it is: see that centre rivet back from the firewall rivets on Mabel? Well, Mabel has skin metal there, with the big hole just to the rear.

 

Look on mine and that rivet hole is well into the big hole. They moved the big hole forward. Which would also explain why the steel diagonals bear down on the rear of the hole.

 

That's okay, it's easily covered.

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

It looks like they have extended the U shapes in the bracket I have so it does go further forward. You can see how the builders of Mabel have butchered it a bit, maybe use that as a sort of a pattern then just cut a new cover section but it does look like they have shifted the big hole a bit further forward

 

 

[IBob]

Patch...and on with the game.....)

 

 

 

[IBob]

Okay, same system as Mark describes:

 

Measured and marked up centres top and bottom.

 

Put seal on bottom of screen and fooled around mounting it with the two strops. As Mark described, tightening tended to make the screen ride up the diagonals.

 

Finally took a deep breath and drilled for the two locating screws/clekos at the bottom of the diagonals.

 

This allowed me to tighten both strops quite hard, but I found tightening the upper one this way tended to pull the sides of the screen down a little, causing gapping of the seal (at approx 10 and 2 oclock, if straight ahead is 12 oclock). I also found the seal was sitting on top of the 3rd A4 stiffener rivet back on either side, causing further gapping.

 

Loosening the upper strop some allowed me to get the seal just to the rear of the A4 rivet, and also caused the seal to sit down flush all the way round.

 

With this setup the overlap of excess screen at the two side verticals was also a parallel strip, which I took to be a good sign.

 

Drilled and clekoed sides.

 

Wrapped top of screen back onto steel lateral, pulling it down as tight as I could, drilled and riveted.

 

The upper centre if the screen feels a little soft. I still have the option of packing between diagonals and screen, if necessary, as described above.

 

As always, thanks to the pathfinders here for showing the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[IBob]

And...having read some time ago about using different drills for plastics/Lexan...I then forgot all about it.....(

 

Have any of the experienced builders/maintainers here noticed major improvements from using these?

 

DRILLS FOR ACRYLIC from Aircraft Spruce

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

dont you love it when a plan comes together :)....just make sure you oversize the holes a little in the lexan to make sure you dont get any cracking from when the rivet swells and puts pressure on the lexan...dont need really any different drill just make a nice loosish clearance on the rivet holes

 

 

[IBob]

Mark, I'm just hoping I haven't achieved a nice fit at the bottom, but at the expense of too soft a fit at the top.

 

I'm trying to understand how this is supposed to work:

 

The Lexan can only be riveted in a straight line down the verticals at the sides. But the front diagonals have a bend in them part way up. What this means is that if the Lexan is tight to the lower diagonal, it will not be tight to the upper diagonal. Or vice versa.

 

In my case, it is tight to the lower, not touching the upper.

 

Having drilled and clecoed the sides, if I want the Lexan to sit tight to the diagonals all the way up, I would now have to rivet to the diagonals, which would then cause excess upper Lexan to bug out in some way. But everyone says not to do that.

 

What could be an additional help here would be if those who have done the job a few times...Mark, JG3, anyone?...could describe how they position and tighten the strops and what they are looking for as they proceed.

 

Thanks.

 

 

[perrynz]

Hey Bob. My screen doesn't touch the upper diagonals. It's riveted with 6 or 8 rivets on the bottom half only. (ie: below the bend)

 

Perry

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

mine has a softish strip I got from bunnings that sits on the front of the front of the front bars you can see it in my pictures its brown in colour. Its a door strip seal I think from memory. It sticks onto the front bars. You will still need to put silicone sealer at the bottom of the screen on your black strip that contacts the front deck this helps hold the screen of course and seals it. If there is any small gap at the bottom then the silicone will fill the gap of course. I think I have posted pics here on the first page. I am in Sydney at the moment so dont have access to all my pics but will be home later today. I didnt like the idea of drilling holes in both front bars for all those rivets. Reg Brost does his builds this way. I didnt develop it but I think it was just a better way and its worked perfect for me for the last 6 years and no cracks in the screen

 

 

[IBob]

Thanks Perry & Mark.

 

I found appropriate sizes amongst my miscellanea of old tired drill bits, and doctored a couple of them with a small slip stone to give 0deg cutting rake.

 

I'm not sure they cut differently, but it was easily done...and made me feel better...)

 

 

[MajorTom]

I did my windshield a couple of days ago. At first it seemed impossible to do, but following the hints of Mark, it worked out o.k. As Mark I started with 2 (later 4) holes in the lower front, them brought all in shape and drilled at the doorside. Then disassembled all again, inserted a 2mm EPDM stripe under the front bars and reassembled. What I changed, was the rubberedge. Found me something more fitting. And, as Rank might like to know, again the painted rivets proved quite o.k.