In addition to some needed bodywork the donor 1992 BMW 325i has a cracked windshield (picture DSC02018)
Picture DSC02018 of the cracked windshield of the EV conversion.
Victory Auto Wreckers in Bensenville, Illinois, operates a U-Pick-It salvage yard and they charge $10 for windshields. Labor not included. They recently obtained a BMW identical to the EV donor, with the exception of having an automatic transmission. I spoke with Gary at Auto Glass and Trim and he volunteered to loan me the tools necessary to extract the windshield. He uses a "Pipeknife" (picture DSC02069) which holds a standard blade, but it has a long handle and neck that allows for two handed force (Picture DSC02071) to be applied when cutting the rubber gasket.
Picture DSC052069 of the long knife used for cutting the rubber gasket.
Picture DSC02071 showing how two hands (right hand is holding the green handle) can grip the knife and provide tremendous pressure to the knife blade.
Gary also uses a wire ribbon, called cutting wire, that has a square cross section. It is available from Equalizer Industries (www.equalizerfusion.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProdId=1303). The wire has 4 sharp corners and as it is pulled through the rubber, it twists and presents the corners sharp edges to the rubber surface. Gary indicated that using pliers he first punctures the wire through the rubber (picture DSC02065), and he then ties the ends of the wire to a pair of abandoned seat belts (picture DSC02066).
Picture DSC02065 showing how the square wire was pushed through the rubber gasket.
Picture DSC02066 showing the use of discarded seat belts to grasp the square wire.
It is possible to then use a back and forth sawing action to gradually cut the rubber gasket. The process goes much faster if the shop knife has been used first to cut grooves into the rubber, then the wire follows the groove and cuts efficiently. Although Gary indicated that with two people typically working together, it takes about 15 minutes to do the job. It can be stated that it is actually possible to spend 4 hours removing the windshield if one is working alone and doing the job for the first time!
Picture DSC02078 showing the prize back in the shop. Victory Auto charged $10 for the windshield and $5 for the attached mirror.
Picture DSC02072 after removal of the windshield. There was much more adhesive at the bottom of the windshield. The most difficult areas to cut free were the two bottom corners because the adhesive was both very wide and thick. The metal frame of the windshield was essentially rust free and there was no damage in the windshield wiper mounting areas.
It was hoped to remove a sheet metal skin graft from the center wiper mount area of the salvage yard donor and then weld it into the EV build to repair the existing rust damage (picture DSC02014).
Picture DSC02014 showing the rust damage on the body of the EV project where the center windshield wiper motor mechanism previously was mounted.
It was disappointing to learn that the salvage yard does not allow any gasoline powered tools or gas fired cutting torches. Fortunately, they do allow battery powered tools, so a Lithium battery powered Ryobi 18-Volt ONE+ 4-1/2 in. angle grinder, along with 1/16 inch x 4.5" grinding cut off wheels, were used. It was then possible to excise a section of the chassis (picture DSC02076) and this section will next be grafted into the donor car.
Picture DSC02076 of the Ryobi (model P421 4.5" grinder) along side the excised metal section that was previously located at the base of the windshield.
It was hoped to remove a wider metal section (front to back) from the salvage donor but it was discovered that part of the white painted sheet metal is welded to a hidden and thicker (more difficult to cut layer) that is closer to the cabin. Consequently a narrower section was taken and Picture DSC02076 shows the final cut that was made directly adjacent to the reinforcing sub-layer. The final cut followed the lip that previously cradled the windshield. A larger diameter cutting blade or a Sawzall might have been a different choice for the project. With the one Lithium battery and 1.5 cutting disks it was possible to cut about 58" of sheet metal before the battery gave up. The surgery required about 30 minutes for cutting and planning.
