[Rick Young]

Cobra Curt

The windshield support frames need to be sealed. To do this the windshield needs to be removed, the four screws on each side in the support frame that hold the windshield in place have to be removed. Have some one help so that the windshield dosen't scratch the paint or fall and break. Then remove the little aluminum escuschion plate. I put some duct tape over the hole from the bottom side, under the dash, over to the windshield supports. Fill the void with silicone, or something similar, and put the escuschion plate and windshield back in place before the silicone sets.

The seam between the windshield frame and the support frame needs to be sealed also. I used clear mailing tape here and aligned the edge of the tape with the windshield frame and trimmed off the excess. This is only necessary when excessive rain is anticipated. Due to the groove that the brass screw strip fits in, the water can enter the seam and flow down the void dripping on your leg.

The windshield glass needs to be sealed to the frame. I trimmed the felt type material, that keeps the glass from contacting the frame, back as far under the frame as I could with a pocket knife. I masked the windshield and the frame and filled the little void with black silicone.

There will always be a small leak where the "t-rubber" seal strip at the bottom of the windshield meets the support frames. When I know I will encounter severe weather I put some electricians tape over it and that keeps out all but the worst of the rain.

When I assembled my car I installed the transmission tunnel and back cockpit pieces with a bead of silicone against the frame.

I fiberglassed the transmission tunnel to the firewall and to the foot boxes, and the foot boxes to the frame. I never removed the foot boxes. After assembly, I filled the void between the foot boxes and the body with arisol can foam.

I built a rubber flashing to keep splash out of the emergency brake mounting cut out and installed it from the bottom. I silicone sealed it to the bottom of the floor.

I have an automatic trans and sealed the shift box to the trans tunnel with silicone. The box itself is weather proof.

I got some 3/8" round foam rubber, from an upholstry supply store, split it in half, for a half round cross section, and glued it to the recess in the body where the door closes. I put this in from the top of the door opening, near the dash, all the way around to the back of the door opening. With my top and side windows, this prevents water from running in the door crack. I tried using stick on foam attached to the door but it didn't work very well.

I made sure the joint between the rear fender inner liner (the back of the cockpit) and the body was sealed with fiberglass. I had to go back over this area after the first rain because pin holes through the fiberglass cloth weren't noticeable at first.

This same seam between the rear fender liners and the trunk area needs to be sealed. I also glassed in the 'bottom of the trunk' pieces, behind the wheels, to the body.

I made a couple of penetrations into the trunk area, behind the cockpit, and sealed them with silicone. At the rear wheel wells I siliconed every seam between the body and frame.

I did nothing for a seal between the gas tank and the frame. I built a sub floor so that the trunk floor is level across, except for the hump over the Mustang fuel gage sending unit area. This area has never showed any sign of leakage.

I sealed the trunk opening with a piece of self adhesive "D" foam that I got form LAE, but have seen available from JCWwitney and other sources. I installed it so that there is a little trough for water to run around and drain off the back side. This area has never leaked either.

There are other considerations depending on what type of top you have, for a seal between the body/top, windshield/top, windshield/sidecurtains, sidecurtains/top and sidecurtains/door.

I hope I have answered your questions.

I wrote the above late last night and when I woke up this morning I had some forgotten aspects on my mind.

When I glassed in the front and rear fender liners, on the vertical joint to the body, I put in some seal pieces from the back side first. In the trunk area for the rear and in front of the foot boxes for the front. Then I went to the 'tire side' and filled the void space, between the fender liner and the body, with light weight bondo. When that cured I covered it with fiberglass cloth for strength. Then on the front, I added some material at the bottom to form a smooth line between the bottom of the fender and the frame. After that I put a layer of 'mat' over the whole thing, tire side only front and rear, to provide a smooth textured surface, it really looks great. Note also that my kit had the front inner fender liners bonded to the body when the kit was delivered. Brian told me later that there was usually a clip bonded to the body so the fender liner could be removed.

I also bonded the joint between the bottom of the trunk and the body behind the gas tank. This was a difficult place to reach.

When I was 'glassing in' I developed a system that worked well for me. I would cut the fiberglass cloth in strips about 4" to 6" wide and 12" long, depending on the joint being sealed. I found that it was difficult to put the small pieces of glass in place without making a big mess.

First I would use some NAPA "Glove Coat" or 'Kleen Hands' to protect my hands from the resin. You have to clean up and re apply several times during the glass in operation.

Protect the surface of the car from resin drips before starting.

Place the small strips of cloth on a piece of waxed paper or news paper slightly larger than the cloth. Wet the cloth with resin. Using the paper, it is easy to handle the resined cloth to get it to the work area and put it in place. It can be moved around a little to insure it is in the proper place. Remove the backing paper before the resin kicks. I did this in two 'coats', lapping joints, to insure full bonding and water seal.

Another thing I found useful was a piece of ordinary corrigated cardboard cut in strips about an inch wide and about six inches long. Cut so the corrigations run long ways. Take some scissors and cut 'fringe' in one end. Make 1/8" to 1/4" cuts about 1/8" apart. This makes a good tool to mix small quantities of resin and work bubbles out of the cloth, they are cheap, easy to make and disposible.

Another thing I did, for looks, was to install a rubber flashing over the suspension cut outs in the front fender inner liners. I actually put a flashing on both sides, engine bay and wheel well, to keep splash out of the engine bay.

If any more things come to mind in the next couple days I will edit this post to include them all in one place.