Sides of windshield pooched out. Normal?

[ArVeeNiner]

Hey all:

I've been trimming the windshield of my slider for quite a while now trying for the illusive "perfect fit". I'll get it pretty close but I'll think I can do better so I'll whittle more then decide that it looks worse, whittle more, then decide I can do better, and so on, and so on... At this rate I'll have no windshield left by the end of the weekend!

Throughout all this, I cannot correct the fact that the windshield pooches out on the sides. I found one post where one guy (Ted Chang I believe) put extra clips on the sides to pull it in. Now, I am Sikaflexing the windshield so I plan to pull it all in during the cure...no problem. In fact, I've seen another site where they did exactly that.

Even though I'll be gluing the sides, I want to make sure that I get it fitting as close as I would have if I were installing it via the conventional method.

My questions are:

-Is this pooching normal?

-When do I call it good??

Here are some pix:

The gaps you see are very small (1/16") and I have had it sitting a bit closer at some iterations. The gap in the middle is due to the fact that the aluminum dips slightly here so there isn't much I can do for that. The middle of the windshield extends slightly forward of the row of rivets on the tip skin.



Here is a view of the pooch on the co-pilot side looking up.



Here is roughly the same view after pushing it in. I'm pretty sure it will be simple to glue this into place.



Another view of the front fit. Again, the gaps aren't as bad as they seem.



I have quite a bit of overhang but it's roughly even all the way around. I've trimmed the front of the windshield a bit in order to lean it forward and to minimize the variance. Once I decide on "the" spot for the windshield, I will then trim the aft end so that the slider won't bang into it. I'm thinking I could even wait to do this until after the Sika cures.



And finally, views of the pooch on the pilot's side.





Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Thanks

[Lionclaw]

Same issue on mine when I sika'd it. I ran a ratcheting strap around the front from the steps to hold it down. Some pieces of 1x2 were wedged in to squish it down in certain places. More straps coming off the engine mount kept it from riding up the windscreen.

[pierre smith]

A very creative solution to an age old problem!

Neat,

[plehrke]

Originally Posted by ArVeeNiner

My questions are:

-Is this pooching normal?

-When do I call it good??

Pooching (tech term) is normal and you will never get it to touch perfectly everywhere as the windshield is pretty flooppy (another tech term) under its own weight. The edge around the front will hold the windshield down around the front and use the 3M chaulk to fill in the gap. I think it looks pretty good (based on your pictures)

[Rick_A]

I had some pretty big gaps when I did mine. I wanted to minimize the stresses on the plexi.

My approach was to use the "clips" that suggested in the plans to hold the windshield in place in the front and sides. I screwed the plexi to the rollbar using just enough force to hold the windshield were I wanted it.

For the large gaps, I shaped foam blocks to fill the gaps between the skin and the plexi. I then applied a flox mix to the smaller gaps and worked on shaping the transition area before I started the main fiberglass lay up.

Your gaps look fairly small. You should be able to filled them easily.

[ArVeeNiner]

Thanks for the info everybody. I think it's just about time for me to glue up this puppy.