Finally.. some REAL progress on Penny..

[Steve1968LS2]

Originally Posted by SN65

Hi Steve,

Yes the foam will help in the Stiffness of the "A" pillars, but your main concern should be in rotational stability. If at all possible I suggest that you "glue" in the front windshield and disregard the rubber boot.

The glued in windshield will add quite a bit to the overall stability of your unibody.

Just a suggestion.

Cool idea but I hate the idea of pulling the basically new windshield.. also, how hard is it to remove it at a later date? (for repair)

[race-rodz]

hard to pull it without breaking..... yes-kinda. to better explain, most glass shops can successfully cut out a glued in window, but they will tell you right up front that it will probably break.

almost(if not ALL) new cars have glued in glass, usually the reason for removing it would be if it needed replaced.... and then it doesnt matter if its broke.

in your car with the full cage.... i dont see where the minor amount of extra stiffness from the glued in glass would "help", i would think that tieing the A-pillars to the front down bars(look at a pic of the a-pillar in a nascar) would do way more than glueing in the glass.

[Payton King]

Steve,

I would be shocked if you windshield is not glued in. Most glass shops will not put glass in the way they use to...buytle strips. They have a tendency to come out during a crash.

My glass was recently put in and they glued it. Better sealing with no wind noise as well.

[Leadfoot1]

Breaking a windshield while removing???

That has never happened to me!

I had a friend tell me how to remove them a long time ago and i used his method ever since and never even scratched one.

Maybe you all know about it but i felt it could help if you don't.

The method involves 2 person. One in the car the other outside. You use a Piano cord and insert it thru the glue between the windshield and the frame (after removing all moldings and cowl grill if you don't want to take chance of scratchint it) a thin screwdriver will help making the start up hole.

Then, simply take your time with your buddy and "slice" the glue all the way around in a 'sawing like' motion from the in side out. It'll come right out and all that'll be left to do is cleaning. The piano cord are easily available and are metal so the cut the glue as it was butter and don't give up.

wear some gloves as it becomes hot at some point and the possibility of cutting yourself is there too.

removing a windshield is not something we look forward too but this method is fool proof and you will never fear windshields again!

Hope it helps,

Lead.

[SN65]

Originally Posted by race-rodz

hard to pull it without breaking..... yes-kinda. to better explain, most glass shops can successfully cut out a glued in window, but they will tell you right up front that it will probably break.

almost(if not ALL) new cars have glued in glass, usually the reason for removing it would be if it needed replaced.... and then it doesnt matter if its broke.

in your car with the full cage.... i dont see where the minor amount of extra stiffness from the glued in glass would "help", i would think that tieing the A-pillars to the front down bars(look at a pic of the a-pillar in a nascar) would do way more than glueing in the glass.

We pull glass all the time at the shop here and we rarely break one. Glass is kind of expensive and the insurance companies kind of frown if you break them all the time. :-)

Even if you have a role cage installed, the windshield (and, to a lesser degree, the rear glass) opening is still a large rectangle. Glueing in the glass has the same effect as installing a cross brace in the middle of the opening. If you were going to install a full NASCAR style cage, I would not wory about the windshield, but most of us want to have a "little" space to move around in the cabin and also have "some" room for a passenger. A NASCAR cage does not allow for either.

The windshield glass is a major structural component on all late model cars. Especially when you consider the size of late modle windshields.

[Steve1968LS2]

Tomorrow we bolt in the LS2 and T56 and start the process of getting her running. Should take 4-5 days for all the systems then back to BOS to get the front sheetmetal re-hung.

Yesterday we finished up the LD 3-link and the brakes.. the results:

[fatlife]

looks great, were you an interior decorator in a previous life time?? I really like the tread pattern on those tires also, are those the toyos or nittos? Also have you figured out what you are going to do about the exhaust yet?

[Steve1968LS2]

Originally Posted by fatlife

looks great, were you an interior decorator in a previous life time?? I really like the tread pattern on those tires also, are those the toyos or nittos? Also have you figured out what you are going to do about the exhaust yet?

Maybe.. my house, when I was single, was pretty well decorated.. chicks dug it

Those are Toyo R-Compounds.. they had sizes Nitto didn't in the NT01

Yes, No.. might run the old exhaust and dump it before the axle. However, there's plenty of room to run it over the axle, but it looks so nice and clean I don't want to clutter it up. I am going to stick with the Spintechs and the oval tubing though.

[Damn True]

Originally Posted by Steve1968LS2

Maybe.. my house when I was single was pretty well decorated.. chick dug it

Those are Toyo R-Compounds.. they had sizes Nitto didn't in the NT01

Yes, No.. might run the old exhaust and dump it before the axle. However, there's plenty of room to run it over the axle, but it looks so nice and clean I don't want to clutter it up. I am going to stick with the Spintechs and the oval tubing though.

There is precious little available in 17" in widths over 275 with any kind of good compound for track use.

Honestly Steve, how many miles do you see from tires with UTQG ratings of 200 and below?

[fatlife]

I had an older porshe with the RA1's and got about 12,000 miles for a set, but it didn't have a ton of torque to beat on the rear tires