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Bulkhead Glass- Ok so I started work on the bulkhead glass fitment. As usual it didn't take long to see a problem. With the body fitted (in the correct place!), the bodywork window surround went past the bulkhead into the cabin area...seen here from engine bay side.
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| The bulkhead glass issue can be seen better here from inside the cabin. Basically the window surround is distorted inwards at the bottom particularly and will not allow the window to sit in the recess...nothing for it but to rework the entire area as the body was sealed down 3 years ago (correctly in position). Once upon a time I would have really worried about this, but during my build I've considerably developed my skills in fibreglassing and it now doesn't phase me in the slightest- I take it all in my stride!
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| At first I tried a 3/4 cut to the top of the window area from the engine bay side in the hope that I could pull the bottom edge back to allow the glass to sit correctly. No such chance-it wasn't going to be that easy! So I cut the whole damn thing off and moved it back 20mm. This also required me to grind off the top edge window lip entirely. This also exposed an air pocket in the gelcoat in the roof edge which needed filling(glad I found that!!)I then glassed the bottom back on and created a new top lip seen here.
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| To hold the window in place I dremmelled out 2 recesses and made up two little aluminium retaining plates secured by self tappers. I covered the window in resin proof tape to help me form the lip on the outside.
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| Here you can see the window now sits neatly in the recess where it should and the creation of the top lip on the outside taking place.
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Bulkhead window in place- With the window now correctly in place I could set about working to tidy up the surrounding area.
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| I first cut off the surplus 20mm that now protruded from the back edge, then ground out and filled the joint with some P40 paste to prevent cracking in the future- This was also done on the back edge.
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| I next tidied up the surounding lip and set about filling and sanding the area and sickaflexed the underside and edges where the surround would come into contact with the bulkhead to prevent water ingress and future squeeks.
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| After a good days work and a coat of primer, my efforts start to be rewarded and things are taking shape.
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| Window in situ- With the resin tape removed you can see how much better the window now fits and its fully removable at this stage too! I very pleased with this result.
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Time to move on to the Rear Quarter Windows. First in go the fibreglass inserts (after a little fetteling) to finally seal the cabin from the engine bay- a coat of sickaflex first and large rivets to hold in place. Sealed both sides round the back edges (engine bay) with more Sickaflex polyurethane sealent.
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| With the rear quarter fibreglass panels secure I next turned my attention to the window edging itself. I trial fitted the glass and found some areas needed building up.
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| As they say the devil is in the detail... I've seen some replica's with rubber edging strips and even original edging that don't even fit the window!!!! Whilst maybe a little extravagant, I felt that fitting rubber strips (albeit easier) would not look authentic and as you know I'm going the whole hog here so I thought sod it! I bought original surrounds that have no play at all and needed to adjust the edges to meet- here you can see a slight 'v' sanded out on the door recess edge to allow for the original surround to fit correctly.
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| I taped the surround to the window and dropped them into position to test the fit. Pretty good...just a little more should do it.
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| I'm particularly pleased wih how the front section fits- it provides a good finish to the areas when the door is closed and you can't argue that using original parts helps crate the illusion of authenticity. I can't understand why anyone would spend the money needed to build one of these cars, only to skimp on a £50 surround, opting instead for a cheap solution that when fitted instantly screams 'I'm a replica' as soon as you open the door!!! You can get away with it underneath and on hidden components- but not here! Do you agree or am I being too fussy?
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