G/F class lakester in Wichita, Kansas

[tauruck]

There's a lot of work in that canopy.
Must have driven you nuts??.
It looks good. I'm also worried about vision etc.
I may have made my roll hoop too low. Just thinking.

[ggl205]

Far less than building the body, Mike, but it wasn't without problems. Every time I made progress, it changed something else. Canopies need to come off quickly and after securing the poly, I must have introduced enough stress to change mounting locations. Good thing I had not installed two pins up front or they may have changed position as well.

No worries, mate, vision out this canopy is good although somewhat restricted. No corner apex's to look for so all is well.

John

[Elmo Rodge]

John, there are corner apex's to look for on the elusive turn out roads at Bonneville. 
Wayno

[Stan Back]

. . . and you're usually going faster than you think you are, so take the next one.

[ggl205]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9ODMVdoWXM

Just out of interest, watch this.
He's cool and always willing to help with advice etc.

Mike, the more I looked into blow forming polycarbonate, the more it appears the best way to get a distortion-free canopy. I wonder if instead of free forming the bubble, I can get reasonable quality by blow forming against a felt covered buck? If so, I think I can make a high temp box that will work.

John

[tauruck]

I found a local company that manufactures motorcycle screens.
War Eagle. They seem to know their stuff but it all comes down to cost.
I honestly don't have a budget. My build is based on miracles, luck and hard graft.

Gary Lavarack is building a car with his system. Big tooling.
Our needs are way less so the box the pressure vessel sits in will need to be pretty small.
I honestly believe my infra red heater with a small fan can generate the temps required.
It goes past 180*C. I'm going to have a go at it.
My concern with your method is the the polycarbonate might stick to the felt. In fact it will adhere.
Gary gets a water clear finish and uses a small laser to measure the height. As soon as
the material reaches the desired height he puts the air pressure on hold.

[Elmo Rodge]

Mine was drape formed over felt and it was perfect. Again, Aircraft Windshield in Los Alamitos, California. 
Wayno

[tauruck]

Thanks Wayno. I learn something new every day.
Thanks for that.

[ggl205]

OK, so after all my wining, the canopy didn't turn out so bad after all. A good cleaning and polish will improve things further. I still want to make a dark grey one to reduce glare. Possibly a little thicker than the .093" sheet I have now. An .118" sheet will blend better with the fiberglass.

John

[PorkPie]

John,

viewing this picture I think I have to give you an idea.

you got a very mild light, also not a direct light, on this windshield.

make this picture outside (again) with your windshield directly into the sun and if this is not possible get a light (in your workshop) directly from the front into the windshield and with an angle of 20 degrees above the windshield...

you will see a different picture...or maybe you can't see nothing anymore....

better you proof it with light now, before you make this experience when you try to run at the salt.

Hope to see you in September

[ggl205]

Good idea, Pork Pie and thank you.

I can't, at this time, move the car outside but I did take the canopy out in direct sunlight. If I point it at a dark object, like inside my garage, visibility goes to near zero. If I point it to a bright spot, visibility is very good. I reckon once the car is on the salt and pointed down track, all that white should help a great deal. I have a picture of Speed Demon from inside the car (see attached image) and if there was a visibility problem with all that polycarbonate, this car would have had it.

John

[tauruck]

How did you make the canopy John?.
I'm really interested.
BTW, why don't you just use a tinted helmet visor?.

[ggl205]

How did you make the canopy John?.
I'm really interested.
BTW, why don't you just use a tinted helmet visor?.

Mike, I heated the polycarbonate sheet to around 200 degrees F and left it in the oven for two days. This dried out moisture so when I turned up the heat, I would not get blisters. I used the part cut from the fiberglass as a buck, covered it with felt and when the poly was hot and pliable, draped it over the buck and smoothed by hand(s) until cool enough to hold form. There was only three of us (we needed four guys) so on our first attempt, we didn't get the hot sheet over the buck correctly. So, back in the oven and another attempt. Third time was a charm but left some defects behind and form wasn't ideal. Now that we know what not to do, the second sheet should go smoother. I will let you know next week.

All that clear poly makes me think I am in a fish bowl. Everything in the cockpit is open to view from toes to helmet. I will get more than a little self conscious when people see this fat boy crammed into a Lakester.

John

[tauruck]

Thanks for the info John.
Hey, we love you no matter what your body looks like.
I hope you don't cook inside the cockpit.
I'm still not sure what route to use for the screen.
What thickness did you use?.

[ggl205]

I installed a CoolShirt fresh air system to my helmet. That really is a game changer and makes sitting in the car quite comfortable. Without it, I was prone to onset of a panic attack when breathing became labored.

The clear poly is .093" thick. The second tinted sheet is .118". I would go with thicker material for sure.

John