picture of the cut off part
It turned out to be easier than I thought.
I used a cheap sand blaster I got at harbor freight
cut It faster than I thougt It would about an hour.
Now I hope it fits............

 

Nice, Keith.

 

How about a picture of the part you are installing and what media did you use?

Later Man...

 

dave you can see the media in the picture it's 70 grit sand....
I'll post a pic of it installed.

 

nice work........... I'm going to try and file this in my "filled up" brain.

got some picture of the finished piece? what did you do to finish the edge after cutting?

 

keith, looks great.
what did you cover the window with. (the edge near the blast line) some sort of rubberized tape ??

 

just used duct tape and cardboard pointed the nossel away from the tape.
went over the edege on the finished windshield looks smoother than the piece in the picture.

 

just an update on the windshield
as you can see it didnt fit !!!!!
I cut the roof 3-1/2" which changes the angle that the glass lays back and with the wrap around sides you have to cut them too. I made templates but their are just too many curves. As you can see by the pic I need to lay the glass back about another 1-1/4 but Im afraid Ive already cut it too short at the top of the corners. will cut again wish me luck.

 

Bummer!!!!

 

Sorry. well at least now you have a test one to develop your pattern for the next one with. Trim a little at a time off that one until it will set in place, then add to the pattern where necessary. Unfortunately I have a bad feeling that it may never be able to be made to fit once you have changed the geometry of the compound curve. One idea I have is to start with a stock windshield surround and windshield, cut the windshield to the height desired then fit the surround to the glass. Finally graft the surround into your cab and alter the doors as necessary. Two you could give up the stock glass entirely and find a late model glue in windshield without the dogleg the right size (there are a number of compact car sized windshields that may work) and rework the opening to fit. Finally rebuild the door A pillars to match. It's far more easy to cut almost any shape out of flat glass for the doors. 3 you could use a stock glass inserting the top into the header above the windshield and/or the bottom into the cowl. If you have leaned the A pillars in towards the center of the cab, all bets are off.

 

keith is my hero. look at the mods.we all should be asking him for help. going to be one mean f100. keep on and then show us how. i always thought it was cut or broke using tape ,alcohol, and fire. maybe it was to bend it. my remember is used up.

 

I would suggest making a card stock template from the opening and then placing it on the windshield to get the proper trim lines. As others have pointed out, you may be screwed because of the compound curve...and then again maybe not. I have done some amount of fabrication with fiberglass and would not hesitate to use a windshield as a buck to form a fiberglass mockup. Make it thick enough to hold its shape but thin enough to be easily cut/trimmed. Once you get the fiberglass mockup trimmed to fit you can lay it back on the real windshield and trim as necessary. If the mockup cannot be made to fit then at least you haven't wasted another glass windshield and hours with the sandblaster. Good Luck!

 

Great idea......That's what I'm going to do when it's time to do mine. Thanks for the idea!

 

thanks guys.... some good ideas
Hey charlie I made two templates. One card stock very thin not a good idea too much flex.
One card board about the thickness of the glass better but if you look at the glass
close you will notice it curves top-to-bottom and side to side and then you have the curved ends!!! I like the idea of fiberglass using the windshield as a mold or as you called it a buck. Ive never done fiberglass where do you buy it? Will it stick to glass? Do I first coat the glass with a releasing agent? what kind? Do you do the thickness all at once or in layers?
thanks keith

 

Keith,
I have a fair amount of FG experience (one of my good friends family owned a FG boat building business where I spent a good amount of time helping out and asking questions, trading an education for my labor) so I can provide a good amount of guidance. I made some good use of my knowlege in art college where I would do body casts for models...