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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!

1956 CMC(Flared Speedster)

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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!
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
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..
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