The Story of a Kit Car Build

Windscreen

Not long after I’d got the HALDANE, I was at Capesthorne kit car show with a “For Sale” sign in the window of my ROCHDALE GT when someone asked me why I was selling it. I told him I’d just got a new project and it turned he’d bought the factory demonstrator to restore for himself, so we’ve kept in touch since and John managed to get a couple of windscreens for us at £55 each, so I have to thank him for that.

Earlier on I’d mentioned the cracked windscreen and initially thought it was because of the flimsy mounting points. Bolting to just the door hinge didn’t seem to be enough to support all that weight, so I made a few enquiries only to find out that it should have been supported by the bulkhead a few inches forward. I have Nigel Barnacle to thank for that info, and the first buyer to curse for trying to fool me.

When I started to inspect the screen frame and parts, I discovered that the tiny screws that hold the right angle brackets in were too long, so when screwed up tight would go through the bracket and tighten against the glass! Obviously not a good idea. The answer was to get some new screws, tighten them through bracket and file them flush. It worked a treat – a first for me!

I then made a frame to mount the screen pillars to the bulkhead as the ones I had were too badly mauled with to be of any use. It’s now a lot stiffer, although not enough to swing on to get in and out of the car – so, I’ll have to warn any passengers not to do that.