V1 AleX1/9's City Goblin - 07 SS/SC donor - Chassis #18 - WA registered

[Tim Moland]

Congrats! That's my next big step.

 

[BaltimoreHokie]

Congrats. I see no fenders. Did you have to do a windshield?

 

[AleX1/9]

Congrats. I see no fenders. Did you have to do a windshield?

No state inspection was required

I will eventually do a windshield and e brake. probably no fenders

 

[BaltimoreHokie]

Nice man. I do think the DF windshield is nice. Keeps the air out of your eyes. The ebrake is nice to have too. I don't ever want fenders

 

[AleX1/9]

Well it’s been nearly a year since I posted last, and I haven’t done much with the goblin other than drive it!

but since the goblin will be hiding from the rain for months, I kinda picked up where I left off a year ago on the windshield

I tried 3 different designs and templates before finding a shape I like and think I can actually make:

I decided I want some sturdy steel brackets supporting both sides and the flange spanning the bottom edge. So I started patterning some brackets. I’ll have to try 2-3 designs on these I’m sure, cuz the first ones look.... testicular?

And I’m either going to end up with a shorter windshield, a less aggressive rake, or both to make more room for hands on the steering wheel. I’m going to need a steering wheel quick release to be able to open the hood with the new windshield on it, and that will help with the space as well

 

[AleX1/9]

Some progress on the windshield fabrication. Next I have to decide on how short / skinny to cut the pillars, and make a final pattern for the windshield.

 

[AleX1/9]

Final-ish bracket shape and primer. Maybe cutting lexan tonight?

 

[Ross]

The tapered A pillars look nice.

 

[AleX1/9]

The tapered A pillars look nice.

Thanks Ross! I pretty much copied the Ariel Atom there. I checked out your build thread, awesome job! I love those monster wheels what are they 17x10?! I'm gonna go to something similar after I wear out this first set of tires

No Lexan yet but I'm getting excited it's coming out exactly how I wanted so far

 

[Ross]

Thanks. The wheels are for a mustang, 17x10.5 with 315 tires.
The atom 3 is my favorite windshield so far.
Really looking forward to your windshield build.

 

[AleX1/9]

Got bogged down with body work :/

Not a fan of that dusty chore.

But, I felt I needed a continuous bend along the bottom edge that matched the rake of the windshield.

So I used the fiberglass+bondo kitty hair method and filled her in

Then started drilling the mounting holes in the 16”x48” sheet of 1/4” thick lexan and patterned the shape while it was bent into the car. On the sheet it recommends drilling holes 2cm from the edge and +3mm larger diameter than fastener going through it for breathing room.

I struggled with the extreme top edge cut because I really liked the protection that area gave to the cockpit.

I ended up cutting about 2” higher than originally planned from the center.

Just waiting on some more black aluminum beauty washers to show up and complete the set, along with some stainless acorn nuts for the inside.

But mostly, it’s done!

 

[Ross]

Wow. That turned out really well. The first curved windshield on a Goblin!
You fiber glassed over the metal bottom rail? Nicely blended in. New body filler & paint?
1/4" Lexan is really thick. Any difficulties bending it? I was thinking of using 3/16".

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

1/4 inch?!? That is almost bullet proof!

 

[AleX1/9]

Wow. That turned out really well. The first curved windshield on a Goblin!
You fiber glassed over the metal bottom rail? Nicely blended in. New body filler & paint?
1/4" Lexan is really thick. Any difficulties bending it? I was thinking of using 3/16".

Thanks for the kind words!

The 1/4” bent fine over this curve, I wouldn’t want to go thicker for sure. 3/16 would be more than enough.

The bottom gap was small enough I was able to just mix my glass fibers into the filler for the thicker spots. It ends up looking like a furball a cat hacked up before you apply, but it’s strong as fiberglass and much quicker in this case

 

[Balphamore]

Alex that's looking really good. You did a great job on your windshield design.

 

[AleX1/9]

Alex that's looking really good. You did a great job on your windshield design.

Thank you Balphamore! I’m very happy with it.

Gratuitous bonus picture time

 

[AleX1/9]

So I’m doing some landscaping and property cleanup and I found this truck bed mat some previous owner left in the weeds.

One man’s trash....

My better than the old cardboard floor mats?

One of these days I’m gonna brake down and order some custom fit coco mats.

 

[Briann1177]

You really need to. You have a nice build so you might as well get some nice mats to go along with it. They are by far one of my favorite custom mods.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Can't beat free. A little tire wet and those mats will look like new.

 

[AleX1/9]

It rained for a total of like 6 minutes today. I took a 5 minute drive....

The windshield sends the air about 1" over my head total WIN on the cabin comfort!

Not so great is the rain managed to run between the mounting flange and lexan and I was getting water on BOTH sides of the screen. Not great. I was hoping I could get away witout using a sealant but now that is added to the list.