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Rebending windshield channel
Dale - 3/11/11 at 01:13 AM

I don`t know if this the right spot to ask but here goes.
I have left over from a donor the mgb windshield frame (as well as the 1/4 window vents). The side posts look like I can use them with either a vee or straight windscreen.
The upper and lower sections I would have to straighten out for both vee and straight sections. Effectively they are 1 inch alloy channel open on one side and roughly 1/8 inch thick. I should be able to cut off the ends which curve in quite tightly but the center sections which would be wide enough for my chassis have about 1.5 inches curve over each 9 inches of length. Any ideas on best way of straightening these. I do have a 12 ton hydraulic press to work with.
Dale


snapper - 3/11/11 at 06:41 AM

Very gently and slowly plus a little heat to soften up the metal.
I thought they were cast therefore even more difficult to bend without cracking.


britishtrident - 3/11/11 at 07:36 AM

To get it workable you would need to anneal the metal --- heat it up to about 250c to 300c and allow it to cool. Note Annealing temperature varies with the composition of the alloy.

Old work shop trick was to smear some soap on it (eg a bar of soap) and heat until the soap turns black then remove the heat, be aware it is very easy to over heat the alloy and melt it.


r1_pete - 3/11/11 at 01:52 PM

I wish you luck, but I tried to straighten one of the ends of the top rail on the MGB I rebuilt a couple of years ago.

I got it sooty with acetylene, then hot enough to burn the soot off, let it cool, repeated, went to straighten it and it broke off before I had much more then gripped it with the pliers.

The acetylene soot is a similar guide as the soap method above.