countach roofline repair

[dhart99]

I have an Armstrong Countach kit and along with every kit I have seen the roofline height is wrong at the windsheild. I remenber someone changing this area by pushing the roof up and the windsheild up also . Do these measurements exist somewhere from a real Countach that shows the proper measurement from the floor to the top edge of the windsheild ?

Thanks

[AcC8braman]

Diff forum but this guy did itView topic - Aluminum Doors (Updated with more pictures dialup beware)!!! :: Kit c e n t r a l :: Lamborghini Diablo And Other Kit Car Builder's Support Group

[dhart99]

Thanks for the link ,I forgot about that site , is there no where that the body dimensions are available for the real Countach to find the correct specs for the body ?My roofline seems the same as the other kits , it's 35 1/2 from the floor to the inside roof skin, I'm thinking it should be 1 1/2 - 2 inches higher .

[Lambolex]

Countach roof measurements

I can help with this a real car is 1070mm from the centre of the roof to the ground, with ground clearance at 145mm behind the front wheel and 155mm in front of the rear measured at the rockers.
I changed my Prova replica to that, and it made a huge difference to it's looks, mine has a roll cage in the A pillar so I had to modify that , and I also cut through next to the roof, above the rear quarter window and re glued it problem solved. I will have to change the tops of the doors though , that's for some time in the future. you just have to be careful that your windscreen is long enough to fill the hole. My roof was nearly 50mm too low so the roof sloped down towards the windscreen. If you need any other measurements just ask as I have measured every inch of a real car , it took 3 days many years ago.

[dhart99]

Thanks for getting back to me Lex , did you take pics of the changes , we were thinking the roof must be shorter also so what is the length of the roof from the trunk to the top front edge of the windshield .The side glass opening measurements would be great also . Dale

[Lambolex]

Countach measurements

Hi Dale, Sorry I only a have one pic of mine after the cut , the blue pic is another of the same kit pre the cut , but if you zoom in you will see where I cut the A pillar ,also attached the oem measurements. Drawings are a little ruff no time in 1987 just had to do it before the show opened, but you should get the measurements ok.
cheers graeme

[gumby69]

One thing to note, these guys raised this roof-line almost two inches, but did the cut behind the glass line so it did not modify the windscreen. That's a really picky dimension that's easy to get wrong. Look at how little the body separated to get the lift they needed. The gap really surprised me considering how much they changed.



They also cut sipes into the rest of the roof line about every 4-6 inches and cut the body where the rear side glass and the body meet to relieve the stresses there from raising the roof. Looked very good when done.

Peace,
Gumby

[dhart99]

Thanks for the measurements and pics, that is amazing , I thought it would be at least an inch to stretch the roof , that looks a lot easier to do than I would have believed . I guess the next task is finding the curved side glass and frames . I have contacted Pilkington Uk in hopes of getting the glass and I have heard Ged is no longer doing the frames.

[Don]

Only place I know of is Pilkington for the side glass. Through several conversations with 76mx, he confirmed that the side glass is from the Marauder which was changed to not get sued by Lamborghini so the fit may not be exactly what you are looking for. 76mx talked at length to the Pilkington guys about this. 76mx also has the channel that makes up the side glass frames.

You can get the door front quarter windows from Sienna Countach (Frederick) website but I haven't found a place other than Pilkington's for the other side pieces. I may well end up going with all the curved I can get and then using Lexan for the two side glass pieces I can't get if the Pilkington glass is too far out...

If you find other options, please share. If you are changing the screen and side door area along with the roofline anyway, Pilkington's would be a good way to go. If you do get Pilkington and are comfortable buying them, maybe a group buy would work to get a few sets brought over to reduce shipping etc.

Cheers
Don

[dhart99]

Hi Don , William "Wbnemo1 " got all the curved glass from somewhere but I have been unable to contact him to find out where he got his from , he was on Pennocks too .

[Don]

Dale;

William got his glass from Pilkington's. He also had Jed do the frames so everything fit and he was going to need to redo his window frame and doors somewhat to get everything to fit in his kit. He has been out of the hobby for a while now with other family stuff going on and just no time to get to anything hobby related.

If you can get Pilkington's to build a full set of side glass for you, the side glass is curved as per the pics on Will's build thread, then you can just fit the glass into some of 76mx's frame material you build around the glass and then fit your doors and screen area around those shapes. Not worry so much about being exact to the oem Countach but making sure it all fits exactly to the glass package you pick.

I contacted a glass place down in the States a while ago and I received a reply several months later saying they could lay up the glass molds for $3500 and then pull runs from that. I believe the cost was for the mold setup and then one set of glass but I am not sure. I have potential access to oem Countach side glass but haven't followed through on anything yet. I think one of the above options will work for me which, in the end run, is a lot easier than starting from scratch for new glass.

I am still also looking at the Lexan side glass pieces using the Sienna Countach front quarter window for the front shape/curvature. I can just make a call on the rear edges and make it all fit....

Cheers and good luck in the search.

Keep us updated on your progress.

Cheers
Don

[dhart99]

Ok , a new wrinkle has come up , appearently William's glass was the Mirage kit glass and is still available . I was looking to get the original glass and raise the roof to the proper profile . So I guess the question is if anyone wants curved tempered side glass is it going to be the original size or the kit car glass . I have asked for dimensions and pricing , the Kit glass is about $1200 for all 6 pieces + shipping . Maybe a couple of orders will ease the shipping cost .

[Don]

Dale;

Mirage not Marauder sorry. I am glad Pilkington got back to you. I am in for a set of glass as well if you are going to be ordering. Maybe we can get a few orders and put a package together with Pilkington and ship to a central location and then finish the shipping to everyone else (including me as I am probably the farthest away from the UK as anyone on here...... )

Where are you located in the states? You can PM me if you don't want it on the forum.

Thanks
Don

[dhart99]

Hi Don , I'm in Ontario , Pilkington UK only makes the Mirage glass , no OEM sizes so I'm not really interested in more kit car glass , I already have that in my car now . If I can find the original sized glass I can give you the sizes of mine to see if you can use it , it's curved tempered . Does anybody have as source for used glass from a real car in the us or uk ?

thanks Dale

[AcC8braman]

Hi,

Just to be sure, mirage being the UK Mirage, now DC Supercars Konig and not the Euroworks Mirage.

Cheers

Steve