Unwelcomed project!

[DetMatt1]

The windshield in my convertible was in terrible condition with deep scratches from the windshield wiper which were there when my dad bought the car 18 years ago and worn from years of media blasting over the road. I bought a new one from Roseville Moparts(thank you David Radcliff) and had an installer over yesterday evening to install it. We found this after removing the old....
I don't want to be down for long because of this so the repair starts now. Lucky I have some doner parts!

 

[Ray]

Surprise. Or not. You more or less have to expect that when you open a can of old Mopar.

 

[340challconvert]

Metal work around front windshield

Matt, I know how you feel.
This is exactly what worries me as I drill down on my A66 vert.
My windshield has been cracked (happened while in storage?) for years. I have a clean used one or a supposed NOS spec windshield to install that I just purchased.
I hope there are no surprises when I remove the chrome and damaged windshield.
Are you doing the work yourself or farming it out (metal cutting and welding)?
Good luck with the repair
Phil

 

[DetMatt1]

I'm a do it yourselfer and I'm not really surprised by what I found....

 

[DetMatt1]

I don't want to risk damaging anything while doing this repair so in order to get the fender off, the front bumper assembly had to come off. Also pictured is the doner part that I'm getting the metal from. Next will be moving the dash out of the way at least a couple of inches and maybe this will be the opportunity to put the ralley instrument cluster in it.

 

[moparlee]

That's what's nice about having a stash of doner parts on hand. You just don't know what you may need someday. Looks like you are right on it Matt. Keep us posted on the progress.

 

[RUNCHARGER]

An hour job turns into a major teardown, welding, painting and reassembly. Gotta love it, at least you'll know it's fixed when you're done.

Sheldon

 

[NoCar340]

I feel your pain, Matt. I started cutting the roof off my Challenger yesterday and found some nightmarish stuff. So far, I've been lucky in what I've found (there's much left to do) because all the damage seems to be limited to the roof panel itself, which is all I'm planning on replacing. Still, the RH roof rail is essentially gone and the top of the windshield frame is completely shot, but the areas to which I must weld are still solid. Weird, but I'm thankful for it!

By the way, if you're going to be replacing a large panel with a lot of spotwelds (particularly a roof), look into a RotaBroach spot-weld cutter. It's way better than the type you see most of the time, and don't be scared by the drill bit pilot in the center--it's spring loaded and doesn't actually drill a hole. It just centers the cutter perfectly without using a punch.

 

[DetMatt1]

I swear by the Blair brand, they're made in Michigan. I drilled almost my entire '68 RR apart at the spot welds with one. This job will be patch work, no spot weld cutting.

 

[NoCar340]

Oh, OK... I thought maybe you were going to be taking large sections out at the pinchwelds.

The RotaBroach cutter (I have the 11096 kit) is made by Blair. I bought it on the recommendation of a friend that owns a restoration shop. This cutter makes the ordinary parts-store Blair cutter with the black cutter heads look like a child's toy. I quite literally cut 11 welds out of my car before I realized the drill was running backwards. :eusa_doh: It didn't even occur to me to check because it was going so well. Going in the correct direction? Nothing short of staggering. There's no doubt I'll get the whole roof off with one cutter head.

They can be found elsewhere for less money (including eBay), but this is what they look like. They do not work with a standard arbor, you need the specific one shown in the kit.

Blair 11096

Close-up on the cutters themselves:

 

[DetMatt1]

Yep, I have one of these. Blair makes a great product!

 

[DetMatt1]

I got the rusty stuff cut out after I unbolted and moved the dash out of the way a bit. Cleaned up the surrounding metal and treated it with some POR and then ground the POR back off where the panel bonding adhesive was going to bond the replacement piece in place. Cut the corresponding good piece off the doner roof, cleaned it up in the blasting cabinet and gave it a coat of welding primer which I also ground back off where the adhesive will bond it. Mixed up a bit of adhesive and used it generously and used self tappers to secure while the epoxy sets. I will then weld the but joint in front of the windshield and probably just use body caulk to seal it up on the inside of the windshield. Here's what that looks like.

 

[MOPARMITCH]

That's some great fab work Matt. Can't wait to start on my E body. BTW, was great to meet you and significant other at Carlisile. :icon_super:

 

[DetMatt1]

The pleasure was all mine Mitch and I look forward to next year when maybe we can hang again.

 

[DetMatt1]

Ready for the windshield!

 

[340challconvert]

Nice Job! Wish I had your fabrication skills.

 

[DetMatt1]

Thanks, I appreciate that! The glass goes in Monday evening. I put 1200 miles on my Imperial over the Carlisle weekend and I'm itching to put a few on this one.

 

[DetMatt1]

Monday didn't work out but Thursday evening did!

 

[MOPARMITCH]

Hey , can you come here and help me with rust eradication on my GTS?

 

[DetMatt1]

You do your own metal work, don't you?