View Finder Windshield Frame from WH

[bknbronco]

Checked the forum and this hasnt been addresed in a while. Anybody get this sweet frame mounted besides the guys at bronco driver magazine, or that red bronco that has been linked to in previous posts? Nobody has the nads to be the guiene pig or what?

I know its a thousand bucks but i have to buy a new frame anyway and there 400 bucks plus 100 for new motor plus 40 bucks for new arms plus some more stuff, so its almost 600 bucks for the original stuff. Whats another 400 bucks for a windshield frame that solves the problems with the original frame design.

The only drawback i can see is they say you cant fold down the viewfinder frame, but im sure you could modify the hood to make this work just fine!

Lets here some feedback

 

[KennyB]

You Forgot the Link
http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/View_Finder_Stainless_Steel_Windshield_Frame_Complete/bronco_Windshield_Parts

Stainless View Finder Windshield Frame Complete

The all new View Finder Stainless Steel Windshield Frame is a work of art. It solves a number of issues. First the glass will be about 1.5" higher in the frame. Now you will have more visibility. The wiper kit is installed at the bottom of the frame. This improves the ability to remove heavy rain and snow. Dash modifications are required. We advise you to check out the installation instructions below before ordering. Glass and weather stripping not included.

Wiper motor, arms and blades are included in this kit.

And Link To Bronco Driver Writeup

http://cdn.wildhorses4x4.com/downloads/windshield.pdf

You have seen some previews of Gary
Yorston’s new design for an Early Bronco
windshield frame in prior editions of Horsing
Around. In this issue we are going to describe
the full installation and result – and let me say
right up front – it is great! Let me quickly recap
the top ten key points of this frame. (1) It is high
grade stainless steel and won’t rust. (2) It is an
exactly dimensional replacement for the original
frame. (3) It uses the existing windshield glass
and all the same rubber molding. (4) It raises the
glass in the frame by 1.5 inches, greatly improving
visibility for tall EB owners. (5) It moves the
windshield wipers to the bottom of the windshield
from the top, improving the ability to
remove heavy rain and snow. (6) It includes a
new stainless steel hinge. (7) It can include a
wiper motor or you can go scrounge your own –
your choice. (8) It looks great. (9) It makes you
the envy of your EB world. (10) You can learn
all about it and how to install it here.
When you unwrap and inspect one of these
frames for the first time, you quickly understand
that it is complex to construct. It's far from a
"just stamp it out" challenge. Each one is welded
from many sub-pieces that need to be dimensionally
controlled and cosmetically finished.
The engineering challenge, cost of quality materials
and the assembly time involved are all
clearly evident. Gary has been refining the frame
design and cost effective manufacturing
approaches for well over a year now. Our articleused one of his final prototypes and it fit perfectly. He is
now in production for limited quantities. Summarized
bluntly - Constructing this great frame ain't easy to do, and
don't try it at home! Pricing is starts at $675 for the windshield
frame and all custom linkage. Optional parts are the
wiper motor, wiper arms and blades, these parts are available
at your local auto parts store and are not in the basic
kit to save cost. If you want to find your own motor to save
cost, look for a 92 Suzuki Sidekick or Chevy Tracker.
There are more years than just the 92, but at this time all
the models and years have not been researched. The wiper
blades and arms are are available at the local auto parts
store. Trico makes arms that are adjustable and will fit
right on. Other options are the linkage cover and electro
polishing the whole frame, which gives it a near chrome
look. For more information or to purchase a frame, contact
Gary at 604-941-5911. It is best to call between 7 PM and
9 PM Pacific time, or email Gary at
broncoxs@telus.net.

 

[bknbronco]

I just sent a email to Gary. Well see what he has to say.
Anybody on here have that frame?

 

[DirtDonk]

You sure it's the hood that keeps it from folding down? I'd bet it's the new location of the wiper linkage more than anything else.
I'll be interested to hear what others say too.

For me though, the not folding part would be of minimal issue if I was to look at myself honestly. I've only driven one with the windshield down. And that was in town, and for only about five minutes before we'd had enough "fun" for the moment.
So not a deal-breaker for me.

But I think the price is what is going to keep your potential answering members to a minimum. There are those that will do it of course, but a lot of people don't have that in the budget yet.
I'm curious to hear what those that have used them have to say too, but I'm guessing there are only a few so far. Great product. Just a little down on most lists.

Paul

 

[bknbronco]

DirtDonk i guess your not a motorcycle guy? Ive ridden a thousand miles in a few days on my buell with no windshield. "You gata be tough when your dumb". You know how you can tell a happy motorcyclest?

From the pictures i have looked at i believe all the linkage and moter is attached to the frame. as long as the motor would clear the dash and dash pad while folding it down i think it would work. I think its the wiper arms and the studs they attach to that hit the hood. Id like to have contact with someone who has this frame to make sure.

 

[Broncitis]

The wiper kit is installed at the bottom of the frame. This improves the ability to remove heavy rain and snow.

Looks cool, but I'm not clear on the above statement from the ad?

Seems like gravity would work in our favor with the stock setup to push heavy snow. Wet heavy snow being pushed up a windshield can put a pretty good load on a wiper motor.

 

[bknbronco]

Exactly!!!!! You ant thinken right%). The stock setup is crap! When your driving, the wind is pushing rain, sleet, and snow up over the top of the truck, the stock setup is fighting it down. With the wipers on the bottom there working with the wind and helping it up and over! With the stock setup when you push light snow down the windshield it just blows back up in your face. Would you rather shovel snow downhill or uphill?%)

Nobody is gona tell me there bronco does a way better job of removing rain than there wifes car or truck!

 

[bknbronco]

Anybody know someone who has this View Finder frame so i can ask them questions?

 

[DirtDonk]

DirtDonk i guess your not a motorcycle guy? Ive ridden a thousand miles in a few days on my buell with no windshield. "You gata be tough when your dumb". You know how you can tell a happy motorcyclest?

Hey, motorcycling is in my name even! Dirt Donk is an old term for a neophyte off-road motorcycle rider, coined by the good folks at Cycle magazine (R.I.P.) around '68-'70 or so.
But I did grow tired of picking bugs out of my teeth, so started wearing full-face helmets or goggles a long time ago. Just not as chic or cool looking while riding in a Bronco I think. Although I do carry a couple of pairs of goggles in my kit bag when cruising fast dirt trails in the desert with the top off. Hey, the heck with convention, I'm saving my eyes for later!
Really the whole helmet thing for me was for my eyes anyway. I tear up at the drop of a hat, so two seconds into a screen-down drive in an EB, with the wind focused over the hood and the usual high-pressure area of the cowl missing, and I can't see anything for the mist. Same thing on bikes. Tried the sunglasses thing and no dice. Wind just rushes around the edges in full turbo-swirl mode and leaves me blind. Oh well. Adapt and overcome.
That or just leave the windshield up...

From the pictures i have looked at i believe all the linkage and moter is attached to the frame. as long as the motor would clear the dash and dash pad while folding it down i think it would work. I think its the wiper arms and the studs they attach to that hit the hood. Id like to have contact with someone who has this frame to make sure.

Good point. I'll have to look at the pics again too, but from memory I was thinking more of the linkage interfering as the frame folded down. Long before anything hit the hood. Not sure though. Gotta read up on it again.

Paul

 

[englewoodcowboy]

Well, looking at the design of this windshield, I can see a simple mod that would make it able to fold and save the huge hole cut into the dash. Having experience in the boat building world and using their product for many years, a company called morse makes control cables. You can get them in just about any length, stroke and you can specify the type of connector, I think a little fabbing of a bracket for the motor well under the dash and the use of a morse cable would allow the windshield to fold... Now as far as the look of the window being high centered like that,that will take some time to grow on me.... We used their cables to run throttles over 30' from the engines and gears. Never had a failure unless that cable was damaged due to improper install but if they could handle the force they did for our boats, they could certainly handle the force of the wipers over a few feet.

 

[toddz69]

Anybody know someone who has this View Finder frame so i can ask them questions?

I have one but it's been sitting in the shed for the past, oh, five years or so...it's one of my goals this year to finally get it installed. My dad did the wiper swap to the bottom of the windshield on my Bronco back in the '80s so I haven't been in a big hurry to change it out yet. I'm pretty certain you can't fold the windshield down with the Viewfinder.

Todd Z.

 

[marjama]

I've been eyeballing the Viewfinder frame ever since the original article came out in Bronco Driver. Wish I had bought one back then when they were "cheap"! Ha! Like most of you I just have a hard time swallowing the $1k price tag...I've been hoping WH would eventually put 'em on sale. I've mostly just been driving the Bronco lately, but it's almost time to go back into project mode. Wonder if WH would do a mass buy?

~M

 

[canadian broco]

Seems like gravity would work in our favor with the stock setup to push heavy snow. Wet heavy snow being pushed up a windshield can put a pretty good load on a wiper motor.

The problem is more buildup than anything else. Being tall I look out of the top of the windshield when driving. The stock setup as snow builds up, the 'top of the pyramid' that you look through gets smaller and smaller!

 

[Dan's73]

That's another one of those products that I love the idea but just doesn't have the priority on my list to justify the cost....especially living in sunny AZ.

 

[bknbronco]

Just ordered it yesterday!

 

[custom-cruiser]

Dan from our club has one and I got a chance to look at in great detail at a picnic we had a couple weeks ago. It is super top quality and looks factory (to a passerby)
Dan's whole ride is sweet tho.

 

[69for5]

From the little that Ive seen of them they sure look nice. Seems to me that if you had to replace your beat up stock frame this would be the way to go for just a little more money. The stock ford design really isnt that great to an average height person. Especilly at night on those two lane roads with no streetlights. (about 40 miles of that a day for me) Stainless, better viz, very adapable, etc seems worth a few hundred bucks extra. Guess all and all its just circumstantial based on budget/usage

 

[Heus33]

Just ordered it yesterday!

Does this use the stock seal? Have you seen the mod that some do to use the newer type of windshield sealant? DonsBolt recently did this.

 

[firehawk]

Another option is to lower the seats, I built a rollcage for bronco and wish the seat were about 3-4 inches lower, might do that in the future. Cut out the riser for the seat and notch the floor under them like the passenger side but go back a little further. It would be some major surgery but would solve the problem in a different way, not necessarily a better way though.