Windscreen brackets, simple to make

[Gerry]

I had a brass plated original style screen but no brackets and couldn't find any I liked, so decided to make them from scratch. These were not difficult at all and only needed some hand tools, a welder and a few pieces (off cuts) of mild steel. (You might need a lathe or a friend with one)

If you have a welder, grinder, hacksaw and some files in your workshop then with a bit of elbow grease and time you can make your own custom brackets. If I remember the width of the screen and the body are so different I would have needed to mod any that I bought.

As you will see from the pics I took a little bit of a different approach to the brackets and their resulting support structure in the hope I would do away with the rod ties to the front light stands. For some reason I have always thought the tie rods distracted from the look of the engine and seemed to 'unbalance' the overall proportions of the T. Course its only my personal preference.

From the onset I decided that the brackets should be an integrated part of the body and dash, so with that in mind I drew out some ideas. The one that hit home was to carry the bracket into the dash and then make the dash around it.

Started out with 2 bits of 1/4 MS plate for two reasons. I wanted it to look right and I knew that a lot of grinding, filing and sanding would reduce the thickness anyway.

I drew a line on the body the same shape as the bracket I wanted and transferred it to the steel plate, then cut them out. Using heat (could be cold bent, and I did cold bend them for the final fit) curved them to fit the body contour as close as I could. Using my faithful power file I 'sculpted' the inside of each bracket to get a reasonable fit.

Then to the dash parts, I used 1/8th plate for the bits that would run along the dash and once again transferred the profile from a pencil drawing, cutting them out with a hacksaw and file. I taped the parts to the body and tacked them together before moving them to the bench and fully welding inside and out .









G

 

[EX JUNK]

I had a brass plated original style screen but no brackets and couldn't find any I liked, so decided to make them from scratch. These were not difficult at all and only needed some hand tools, a welder and a few pieces (off cuts) of mild steel. (You might need a lathe or a friend with one)

If you have a welder, grinder, hacksaw and some files in your workshop then with a bit of elbow grease and time you can make your own custom brackets. If I remember the width of the screen and the body are so different I would have needed to mod any that I bought.

As you will see from the pics I took a little bit of a different approach to the brackets and their resulting support structure in the hope I would do away with the rod ties to the front light stands. For some reason I have always thought the tie rods distracted from the look of the engine and seemed to 'unbalance' the overall proportions of the T. Course its only my personal preference.

From the onset I decided that the brackets should be an integrated part of the body and dash, so with that in mind I drew out some ideas. The one that hit home was to carry the bracket into the dash and then make the dash around it.

Started out with 2 bits of 1/4 MS plate for two reasons. I wanted it to look right and I knew that a lot of grinding, filing and sanding would reduce the thickness anyway.

I drew a line on the body the same shape as the bracket I wanted and transferred it to the steel plate, then cut them out. Using heat (could be cold bent, and I did cold bend them for the final fit) curved them to fit the body contour as close as I could. Using my faithful power file I 'sculpted' the inside of each bracket to get a reasonable fit.

Then to the dash parts, I used 1/8th plate for the bits that would run along the dash and once again transferred the profile from a pencil drawing, cutting them out with a hacksaw and file. I taped the parts to the body and tacked them together before moving them to the bench and fully welding inside and out .









G

Very nicely done with your great craftsmanship ability.

Jim

 

[fletcherson]

Looks good! I agree about the support rods. I don't like them either, but you do what you have to. No offense to anyone, just my opinion.

 

[Gerry]

The next step may need a lathe, depending on the diameter of your frame and if there off the shelf pipe available with the same internal measurement as your frame OD, or not. Mine was the later so, as I have access to a lathe, I turned out the 1/2 rounds from solid, giving a good fit to the frame and make the wall thickness exactly as I thought it should look. Once turned, I them slit them down the centre; and get this guys; with a hacksaw!!!. There is a reason I turned them first and then cut them in half. It gives you a saddle with just less then a 180* cup. Only step left on the bench was to cut a 45* angle at one end of each of the 4 pieces and weld them together in pairs.

Back to the car, I positioned the frame mounts by measuring the frame width and setting the freshly welded part equally apart from the centre line of the body. Once one was tacked into place the screen frame was offered up and the second mount clamped into place. Measurement were taken again but more importantly I spen a while looking at the assembly from the front, side and back. With bodies not being symmetrical its always a good idea to use your eyes in case one side is so much different that with the correct measurements it still looks wrong. Once everything was OK I tacked the 1/2 rounds to the body brackets.







More welding and some grinding to come
G

 

[Gerry]

The next step may need a lathe, depending on the diameter of your frame and if there is any off the shelf pipe available with the same internal measurement


I find this 10 min editing limit very frustrating. I always go back and look at my posts, spot bad grammar, incorrect spelling and punctuation mistakes and I can't correct them. Is there no way, like other sites, the editing feature can be just that, with no time limit???
Gerry

 

[fletcherson]

Good point about bodies not being symmetrical. I am currently frustrated with a similar issue with mine. One side is concave, the other is convex, sort of. I didn't realize it until I had built and installed the steel supports so it is solid now. Grr! I didn't realize it until I removed the door reveals to reposition the doors to clear the windshield posts. Bad mold, I suppose. It will work out, but will take much body work to pass my test. If only I had realized it before I built and installed the braces I could have semi corrected it via the mid mount and at least made them somewhat symmetrical. I know that you can't see both sides at once, which is likely the mold builders viewpoint, but I know and it makes me crazy! I realized there was a slight difference when making the braces, but I didn't want to distort the sides so I built them to fit, left and right sides. I had no real way of determining what the difference really was without the aid of hindsight until the reveals were removed and a strait edge told the tale, lol...one of those things that drives car builders crazy. Likely no one else will notice, but the builder always knows.... Or is that just my OCD raring its ugly head again?

 

[Gerry]

You can turn an asymmetrical body into a symmetrical one with careful observation and a belief that your eye is a better judge of things, to correct the differences. It always goes 'against the grain' to do it but the end results means that no one can tell. Mind you every time you look at your work the differences stand and and shout at you. In the end who really cares......

 

[choppinczech]

Good point about bodies not being symmetrical. I am currently frustrated with a similar issue with mine. One side is concave, the other is convex, sort of. I didn't realize it until I had built and installed the steel supports so it is solid now. Grr! I didn't realize it until I removed the door reveals to reposition the doors to clear the windshield posts. Bad mold, I suppose. It will work out, but will take much body work to pass my test. If only I had realized it before I built and installed the braces I could have semi corrected it via the mid mount and at least made them somewhat symmetrical. I know that you can't see both sides at once, which is likely the mold builders viewpoint, but I know and it makes me crazy! I realized there was a slight difference when making the braces, but I didn't want to distort the sides so I built them to fit, left and right sides. I had no real way of determining what the difference really was without the aid of hindsight until the reveals were removed and a strait edge told the tale, lol...one of those things that drives car builders crazy. Likely no one else will notice, but the builder always knows.... Or is that just my OCD raring its ugly head again?

I think there's a lot of molds of molds of molds out there. I found several asymmetrical places on my body.

However, mine was a super cheapo eBay body. I'm sure higher end vendors have better molds.

 

[tfeverfred]

The next step may need a lathe, depending on the diameter of your frame and if there is any off the shelf pipe available with the same internal measurement


I find this 10 min editing limit very frustrating. I always go back and look at my posts, spot bad grammar, incorrect spelling and punctuation mistakes and I can't correct them. Is there no way, like other sites, the editing feature can be just that, with no time limit???
Gerry

It sure would be a good idea. I've posted information and either spotted it too late, or some one else brought it to my attention. When this site first started, I mentioned it to Mike. He gave me, what appeared to be a good reason, but I can't remember what it was.

 

[fletcherson]

I think there's a lot of molds of molds of molds out there. I found several asymmetrical places on my body.

However, mine was a super cheapo eBay body. I'm sure higher end vendors have better molds.

Yea, I am being cheap and using the body I got with the car instead of investing in a new one, but I couldn't justify not using as much of what I had. I have no clue who made mine. The car was built by a local speed shop called "the rod shop" back in the late '70's. It is likely an equivalent to a speedway or the like body. It had a significant dip in the cowl and the dash was not symmetrical either. That's all fixed. If I hadnt removed the reveals, I would have never been able to tell. It looked strait. In retrospect, I could have easily taken some measurements from the inside center line and discovered it, but I simply didn't expect it to be an issue... It will make me pay more attention to the bodywork and net a better end result. How's that for the "glass is half full" mentality?

 

[tfeverfred]

Very nice work.

 

[choppinczech]

Gerry, you've got some mad skills.

 

[Gerry]

A plan starts now in my head regarding the screen posts and the elimination of the rods from the screen to the chassis. Mmmm I wonder if???
Only one way to find out, is do it and see. The brackets are tacked together and seem for all intents and purposes to be right for the job, just a matter of commitment, a welder and a grinder to fabricate them into a form and shape that works.

Back to the bench, weld, grind, weld grind, until I have something close to to idea in my head. I just love working metal (can't cut a bit of wood straight if my life depended on it) it gives me so much satisfaction to see 'complicated' shapes evolve right there in front of me.











You may be thinking, what's that bit of flat doing welded to the back side of the bracket? It has no real strength but could serve a purpose for a latter addition to the upholstery. That may appear to be quite obvious, but there's more to this that meets the eye.
G

 

[choppinczech]

Did you do the welding with MIG or TIG?

 

[Gerry]

All MIG. Builds nicely and quick.

 

[choppedtop]

I think Gerry is quite the crafty guy.

 

[Gerry]

A bit more fettling by hand and power file followed by a quick polish.







Finally a trial fit.









The finished bracket.



But wait, there's more to come.....

 

[Dan Noecker]

Nice job, Gerry. I'm impressed.

 

[Larry]

Awesome job.

 

[tfeverfred]

Gerry, for something so simple looking, they sure look sharp. Maybe, it's because I know you made them, but they still look sharp.