Jump to content
Model Cars Magazine Forum

1968 Shelby Green Hornet-----Update! 8/4/18


MrObsessive

Recommended Posts

I figure while I have the ambition, I need to get started on getting one of the windows working. Since I already got the passenger side door jambs, and the door itself fitting pretty well----may as well start with that side.

As you can see here, I'm using some K&S Special Shapes (not sure of the size, but it's their smallest) H-Channel brass to serve as a window guide for the leading edge of the "glass".

Since the kit's vent window frames were not quite the right shape, and since I wanted something a bit more in scale than what those represent, I went with this H-channel. So that the guide is anchored solidly in the bottom of the door I used a piece square rod, drilled a  hole, and superglued the channel into that. Same went for the front part of the vent window frame. That's about a permanent as it's gonna get as it ain't goin' nowhere! :)

photo42.JPG

Here's the other side of the vent window frame, but I can't leave it just bare brass as that.

photo43.JPG

I roughed up the brass somewhat with some 220 grit sandpaper, and epoxied some plastic strip onto it. Roughing up the surface allows the epoxy to "bite" better into the plastic and it's not as prone to pull away if the brass is too smooth. 

BTW, the same can be done to aluminum.......I've done this years ago on a build where I wanted an aluminum skin over a gas tank of a car I was building.

This does look better and the vent posts say "Mustang" better than the kit molded ones.

photo44.JPG

When the door is closed, you can see the more in scale appearance that the H-channel will have in representing a guide for the window.

photo45.JPG

OK! Let's move on to what's going to make all of this work. I have here next to a penny a pair of watch gears. In fact, I have a WHOLE BUNCH of these types of gears as I got literally a ton of these off eBay many years ago, and doubt I'll ever run out of them at the rate I use them and at the pace I build! 

I filed off the rivet on the other side of  the larger gear which was holding on the small gear that has the pin sticking out of it. This won't be needed for what I want to do.

photo46.JPG

The other small gear was soldered on to a  piece of metal wire which is about .024" diameter in size. This was bent to an approximate shape of what the crank handle will look like, but doesn't necessarily represent how the final appearance will be.

photo47.JPG

I drilled a couple holes onto a plain plastic support sheet for the gears, and wanted to get them to mesh as tight as possible. So far so good................

photo48.JPG

Next, I wanted to solder a brass arm on to the larger watch gear. This is what will allow the window to move up and down on its guides. The long pin sticking up is what will be in a groove on the bottom of the window channel which will enable it to slide back and forth a bit as the window moves up and down in the door.

photo49.JPG

Ok-----checking things again to ensure that the gears are still meshing with no problem.

photo50.JPG

The smaller gear to help keep it in place, has a plastic cover or retainer over it. This holds the gear tightly against the larger gear, and as things get built up on the other side of this support in time, it'll hold together that much better.

photo51.JPG

This pic here is showing a middle support rod or guide which will keep the window steady as it moves up and down. Since this is a hardtop car, naturally there are no frames on the doors to keep the glass straight.

This rod is a must to keep things stable, and it keeps the glass from rocking back and forth sloppily as the crank is being turned.

So that there is no binding of the glass as it's being moved up and down, I've tried to keep the middle guide at the same angle as the front guide. The proof will be in the pudding when it comes to final installing of the glass in the channel, and it comes time for it to work. ;)

photo52.JPG

Finally, here's another video I put together of how the window regulator will move up and down with the turn of the crank. As I mention in the video, because this model is so small, and because of the number of teeth in the gears I have to work with, I don't have the numerous turns that you get when you're rolling up windows as in a 1:1 vehicle. But, what I wanted was the appearance and not the "gimmicky" look of simply turning the window crank, and the window moving in the same direction as in flicking a light switch on and off.

As usual, thanks so much for tuning in, and hopefully by the next update the passenger side window and its workings will be fully done, and then I'll move on to some other aspects of the bodywork.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bill, the roll up windows are pure genius. I have an idea that might help you with making them. What if you replaced you gear collets and made a plate drilled to match the holes in the door for the gear axles. You then space this plate out and two of the spacers could act as stops on your arm.

 

The red would be the plate, the black circles would be the spacers. The two on the left would be positioned as stops for the arm. With your gears sandwiched like this, they would probably be more stable. You could even add a third gear to slow the ratio down.

 

Bill%20Window_zpsdazxr6ky.jpg

Edited by Psychographic
Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks for the step by step procedure on making the post for the door jam ..so now maybe i can get back to my newer mustang build and get the doors hinged ....i have the other areas done.....i just got stumped on the front part   OH EXCELLENT JOB SO FAR....will be watching this build

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Incredible work here Bill. Like Steve G. says, I wouldn't have the patience - but I wouldn't have the skill either. 

It's WIPs like this that liven the forum up.

Thanks Peter! I like that I can spruce up the joint------just a little! :D

Bill, the roll up windows are pure genius. I have an idea that might help you with making them. What if you replaced you gear collets and made a plate drilled to match the holes in the door for the gear axles. You then space this plate out and two of the spacers could act as stops on your arm.

 

The red would be the plate, the black circles would be the spacers. The two on the left would be positioned as stops for the arm. With your gears sandwiched like this, they would probably be more stable. You could even add a third gear to slow the ratio down.

 

Bill%20Window_zpsdazxr6ky.jpg

David, that's an idea I might try-----the only fly in the ointment is I have to work within the limitations of the thickness of the door. Too much crowding, and things will start to bind. Truth be told, as of this morning I've taken everything apart because due to the geometry of the window, and the angle in which is has to move up and down-------what I made is not going to work well. It would work much better if the window were moving at only a very slight angle, or straight up and down, but that's not the case with this setup.

What'll probably end up doing is making a setup similar to what I did for my GTO build (stillborn) years ago as shown here..................

Interior door reg
Window reg #2

This was a scooch complicated but believe it or not after nearly 15 years, this still works in the model. Unfortunately I used the wrong kind of acetate for the windows, and practically all of them have curled up like potato chips including the windshield. :(

 

thanks for the step by step procedure on making the post for the door jam ..so now maybe i can get back to my newer mustang build and get the doors hinged ....i have the other areas done.....i just got stumped on the front part   OH EXCELLENT JOB SO FAR....will be watching this build

Glad I could be of help and thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

obsessive.....to be sure..    but in a good way,  a very good way

Well, just to show how obsessive I can be about details------recently we had a car show that was only a mile away from my house. There was a VERY clean '65 Mustang sitting there, and the owner and I struck up a conversation. He was interested in the model's pics I have on my phone as he knows about the Green Hornet 1:1.

When I told him that I wanted to do working windows he said "No Way!" I showed him the video on my phone of my '57 Corvette and '58 Chevy with working windows and he was tickled pink! :D

I asked him if I could see the movement of the front window in his '65, as I had a feeling looking at a shop manual I have of the car, the trailing edge kinda tucks down in a curve to clear the door structure on its way in the channel. 

As you'll see on this video below, it does appear that way as the glass sort of "pops outward" when it moves back in the up position. No doubt so that it can meet the rear glass so there's no gap. 

He also did the rear window for me, and I'll be studying that video over and over when it comes time to scratchbuild the mechanism for those. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I haven't abandoned this one folks, just some annoying difficulties in getting the windows to cooperate, and it's got me raising the white flag on that detail. Since I've had my eye surgery, one side effect is that I can't focus on one particular thing for an extended period of time like I could in the past. That's even with the magnifier I use-----I guess I'll have to live with the fact that long periods of building will be a thing of the past.

The eyes tire quickly followed by a slight pain in the one that was operated on. So that I don't get bogged down with trying to get that done, I'm focusing more on getting the rest of the bodywork done such as getting the other door hinged and working.

Hopefully tomorrow, I can update the post with more pics (if the hinge gives me no trouble), and I can get that much further along with this one. 

Stay tuned! ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...