Doug Dastardly Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Hi Guys, I've got my windscreen sat in place and it looks okay (in fact better than okay, it really looks like a car ), but unlike the normal body there are no real measurments to follow for proper alignment with the FW body. Has anyone got any advise or tips before I drill anything? As a side issue, should I have little aluminium panels to seal off the sides of the body, front and rear of the body? I've seen other blogs where they're fitted but I don't have any. Are they not needed due to a change of body or are they just missing? Thanks, Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s2rrr Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 There is a dimension in the ZK build manual 1007mm from rear bulkhead to the inside face of the top of the screen . I used a piece of wood with a notch cut in it. I also recall the screen pillars was not supposed to squarely mounted i.e different on both sides for some bizarre reason. Dimensions given are 75mm near side and 85mm off side horizontally back from the scuttle face and 135mm vertically from the scuttle lower edge. There does not appear to be anything on it in the FW body fixing kit but they are a couple of years old now. Its all abit hit and miss and I would be careful about drilling holes until you are 100% sure. The comment in the bodywork fitment manual is " These are approximate dimensions for the screen pillar positions, you will find that they fit naturally in one position on the radius of the scuttle and give you a best fit condition." As for the small bits of aluminium closing pieces they fit in between the body and the chassis I think to stop stones and debris being collected in the void. Mine are still on the shelf and I may do them eventually. Mine is a standard wide from with an FW rear so have both build manuals, a real joy to decipher at times. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLiNK Motorsport Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Easiest way to fit the windscreen: (1) Cut a notch in a piece of wood the correct dimension from the rear bulkhead. (2) Place windscreen in groove on scuttle. (3) Prop windscreen using the piece of wood in (1) against the rear bulkhead cross member and place the top part of the screen in the notch. (This gives the correct 'rake' for the screen. (4) Make sure screen is central side to side on scuttle. (5) Slide the side pillars down from the top of the screen until they meet the scuttle then drill through scuttle using the fixing holes in the side pillar as a guide. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Dastardly Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 Thanks Guys, The problem with your answers is that with the FW rear it overlaps the rear bulkhead so you can't get an accurate measurement. I'll speak to the factory and / or go for 'best fit' Thanks, Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matta Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Doug - Assuming the chassis is the same and you have an RAC roll bar fitted, you could go with the measurement between the top of the screen and the roll bar. Then just follow Blink's instructions, using the bar measurement, rather than the bulkhead. I'm happy to measure mine when I get home this evening and let you know. Cheers, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Dastardly Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 Thanks Matt, It would be nice to know that measurment, especially middle, right and left in case it's 'normal' for it to sit squint as bob alluded to. It would be a nice guide, but the more I think about it, and knowing what I do now about the irregularities of these kits, I would use it as a guide and not an absoloute. I also think I'll have to get the doors out to make sure they are going to sit nice and level before any fixing. I would hate to get the winscreen looking nice only to have one door hanging at a funny angle. I'm not sure yet how I could fix the screen well enough to hang the doors without anything permanent. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matta Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Hi Doug - I'll measure it and let you know. They are slightly 'squint' though, as I discovered when I changed the screen and pillars for the newer type on my last car. It's not huge though. I seem to remember the measurement across the centre line of the drivers seat compared to the same across the passenger seat was probably no more than 5mm - certainly wasn't much. The holes for the pillars were also in completely different positions on the scuttle at either side. I've never hung brand new doors - do they already have the hinges attached to them? If not, then just concentrate on fitting the screen and pillars, then any adjustment on the doors can be taken up when positioning the hinges. Cheers, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Not sure if you actually have that much play on the door hinges; I could be wrong, mine were second hand too, but I was under the impression that the door frame is predrilled underneath the vinyl, and that all you're actually doing is finding those holes and then punching holes through the vinyl to suit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matta Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Regarding the doors being predrilled. If they are then you're right, it'll be a bit more of a pain. However, when I moved from 'old' pillars to 'new' pillars, the newer ones had the hinge points as part of the pillar casting (Doug's will be these ones I assume). To make my original doors fit, I had to move the door hinges, particularly the lower one. It was easy to drill new holes, as the metal frame in the door was substantial enough to just redrill. However, I can't really see the doors being that far out, assuming the earlier process is followed to ge the rake of the screen right. If the doors are predrilled, I'd hang them loosely on the windscreen pillars. Then, with the screen sitting in the right position, supported by the piece of wood, slide the pillars onto the sides of the frame and see how the doors lie. It's not an exact method, but you'd scramble your brain trying to get milimeter-perfection on a Westie screen! Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 TBH, I suspect the natural sag hang hang of the doors would make it all slightly irrelevant anyway! Yes, with the frame it's easier to move holes a large distance, but small distances get tricky when they overlap the existing hole IYSWIM! Not tried seeing how a roof would affect the rake as yet, but the main thing I've noticed rake wise, isn't so much about the cosmetics, but making sure it's "correct", or the trailing edges of the sidescreens don't sit on the tub well enough to keep them from bowing in to the cockpit at speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matta Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Tell you what Gadgetman, you and I can just nip up to Dougs house tonight and fit it for him - it's only a few hundred miles... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I was expecting to be a nightmare; but once started really wasn't that bad! OK, fair enough, I'm on ZK bodywork rather than FW, but I basically marked the scuttle up as per the build manual, with different measurements for near and off side, (more out of curiosity than anything!). I then used a variation of Fraser - BlinK's approach; I used a camera tripod set up in the cockpit, with one leg on the floor either side of the tunnel and the other on the rear bulkhead. I then set the centre column to run out horizontally and support the top edge of the windscreen, while the bottom edge sat in the moulded groove. The whole set up held it remarkably stably! Then just went round with the tape measure lining up the key datum distances from the top edge of the screen to rear bulkhead. Interestingly on mine, while the N/S Factory locations for the pillar mounts could have been used with a bit of filing to open them out, the O/S holes would have either needed redrilling, or the screen not sitting in the groove at that end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Dastardly Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 I've just spoken to the factory (despite how frustrated I get with the actual kit sometimes, the people have always been great) and Mark's advice was to use the doors to set the rake. He did however give me a measurment from the screen to the rear bodywork return as a guide. He also confirmed that the doors are predrilled, although it's not easy to find a 5mm hole under some stiff vinyl. Here's hoping my car really looks like a car by sunday night. Thanks for all the input everybody Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Dastardly Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 Think my weekend might be spoilt. Is this the right hinge: I have two of these, so only two bits with pins. The pins fit in the top hole of the upright but don't seem to fit in the bottom holes. According to the manual all four hinges should have pins so am I missing bits or have things changed? Oh well the GF will be happy if I'm not in the garage Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Dastardly Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 And another wee complication....... Sorry if I'm needing my hand held at the mo......... The manual says to drill two holes through the screen groove for the heated screen wires but of course the heater ducting is where the holes would be. The factory advice was to still fit a heated screen even with a heater. So I can drill through inbetween demisting vents and just run the wire underneath the screen, but this means the wire being jammed underneath the screen. Is this normal? Or has anyone any other ideas? Thanks again, Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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