And so it begins...the AP build.

[Daniel Lorenz]

I would say to ignore the angle and just lock the rear of the roofspider down when it aligns with the rear clam. Then press the front of the spider backwards until the window fits nicely. That should be your position since both rear clam and window is hard to change.
The rest can easily be modified to fit

 

[joe]

By “window”, do you mean “windshield “?

 

[Daniel Lorenz]

By “window”, do you mean “windshield “?

Yes, sorry for the bad choice of word

 

[joe]

Heat and clamps, clamps and heat. Pushing on some spots to ease up tightness in others. There are also a couple of small 1-2mm bumps on the edge of the windshield. If they were removed, it would free things up a little as well.

 

[joe]

Any thoughts on adding rigidity to the A-pillars and top corners of the spider where it meets the windshield while I have the inner panels off? Wondering if filling the 1/2” trough in the A-pillar with thickened epoxy would help?

 

[Douglas]

The SGT/AK have copper water pipe in the A pillars bonded to the inside, only knowing this because I had to cut mine open to allow it to relax as the inner and outer halfs were assembled out of alignment and caused a twist.

 

[Devin]

Joe, not sure if your “ceiling panel” is already bonded in place but I would highly recommend doing a round or square 1/2” tubing substructure. I couldn’t believe how much strength that added to the roof spider. I believe I could actually stand on the roof without the windshield in place and will have no fears of anyone using the front corner of the roof to help themselves into and out of the cockpit.

 

[joe]

My inner roof panel is not bonded yet and I've considered doing something like you have done. How did you get the curve in the square tubing?

 

[joe]

Off the subject...sort of. I bought a 2013 Boss 302 new in the fall of 2012. Ford offered a day or 2 of schooling at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah to help owners get the most out of their cars. The night before, they had a dinner for guests in the museum. Little did I know what I was standing next to in these pictures that I found on my computer. I wish I would have taken more pictures!

 

[Devin]

My inner roof panel is not bonded yet and I've considered doing something like you have done. How did you get the curve in the square tubing?

I took advantage of my tractor (any large immovable object) and the entire length of the pre-cut piece to make multiple small bends along the intended portion to fit snuggly into the upper roof curve as well as mimic the shape of the side windshield posts. I’m sure a little heating of the metal would have made it easier but be careful about too much stress & radius in one spot…many smaller places of bending are better and less stress than one larger bend. I probably had 30-40 different tiny bends in the header piece alone. After getting the 90% solution, I cut the piece to length and finished it up carefully with a “cheater pipe” for any leverage needed. After the shape was achieved, I TIG welded them (with multiple windscreen fit tests) and ended up epoxying them place with a few bands of wet matting for bonding to the roof panel.

 

[joe]

I was thinking about making a few wood forms to mimic the windshield area, roof, and a-pillars and using heat, leverage, etc get the steel tubing to fit the forms. I seen a couple of guys on a show do this once to bend a roll bar for a 69 Trans Am convertible clone they were making.

 

[joe]

Problem will be the inner A-pillars. The void down the middle is under 1/2”. They will have to modified heavily to get at least 1/2” tubing inside…or maybe just fab up something completely different.

 

[joe]

...or it might be easier to incorporate am adjustable bumper from the corners of the spider to the front corners of the cage if/when I alter it to allow use of the inner a-pillars and inner roof. Since my car was shipped with a roll cage already installed, the inner structures of the spider were left off for clearance.

 

[joe]

Screw it…literally. I got the spacing on the inner and outer lips and front corners as close as I could before I felt like I was chasing my tail. I have a feeling that Chris takes a lot less time placing the panel than what I’m doing!

I’m going to abandon the inner structure idea, because the car will eventually have a tighter fitting roll bar back in it. Wondering if it would be worth filling the the roof with spray foam and shaving it down flat before I glue the inner panel on.

 

[joe]

Time to start making some commitments to where things are going to end up. The rear clam was set a while ago, with the wheel centered in the opening. I pressed the spider up against it to see where it touched, and where there were gaps. The spots on the clam that touched were sanded and shaped so that when the gap was set, I could fill wide areas and not have to worry about making the glass too thin in other areas. The clam will be gapped-fit to the spider, as the spider has a more consistent shape. Once the holes were drilled in the feet of the spider, shims could be used to help set the gap to the clam, as they can alter the angle the spider upright takes.
Doors are next, then the front of the spider will get bolted down.

 

[joe]

I’ve never liked how the doors are hung and adjusted at the chassis, not how the hinges mount to the door. It allows for a lot of flex at the hinge area, which makes adjusting the doors very frustrating. If this was an OEM hinge in my firebird or mustang, it would be rebuilt! So, I’m going to fill the holes that the car came with, and reinforce the hinge area at the chassis, as well as how they are hung.

 

[Devin]

My 2 cents on my door adventure.

Steel plate on upper/lower for bushing to be housed in. Epoxied & bolted in place and has a steel tube between the bushing inside to align bushing & guide the removable stainless hinge pin. Really precise and stable for all my adjustments and bodywork.

 

[joe]

My 2 cents on my door adventure.

Steel plate on upper/lower for bushing to be housed in. Epoxied & bolted in place and has a steel tube between the bushing inside to align bushing & guide the removable stainless hinge pin. Really precise and stable for all my adjustments and bodywork.
View attachment 148871

How are fore/aft, up and down adjustments made? Slots in chassis and hinges?

 

[Devin]

Holes in the chassis are just slightly bigger than the bolt size. The hinge base is slotted (ended up slotting bottom hole later as well) both top and bottom and the rose joint is adjustable in and out. The oversize slots and chassis holes relative to the bolt size I find are plenty of adjustment for the up/down.

 

[joe]

Mounting the body of this thing is like trying to solve all sides of a Rubix Cube. Initially, I set the rear clam so that the wheel was centered in the opening and was relatively close where the clam meets the rocker. The locator pins were places and the latches were installed. Then I built the new tubular rad support to replace the bent aluminum sheeting, keeping the hing location the same as what was shipped from AP. Then I moved on to getting the lower front clam corners to meet the rockers. So far, I have only placed the locator pin on the drivers side. I then removed the clam and placed the windshield in the spider and got the front corners and lower B-pillars bolted down with what I felt were workable gaps between the door-spider-rear clam. I put the front clam back on and this is where things go backwards again. With the spider bolted down, the lower drivers corner is too far forward when I want to pit the clam on the locator pin. It seems like I get one problem solved, only to cause another! When do you say "To Hell with it!" and start cutting?