Wind Deflector

[mbouse]

yes, Ron's plexiglas design is great, but i did some modification to it. i added a 1x2 between the seat back and the bottom edge of the plexiglas to reduce the "flutter" of the plastic due to wind buffeting. it works great with the modification. although, it does cause the seat to bump on occasion in strong wind conditions. properly done... it is about $200.00 cheaper than the black nylon mesh unit sold to fit our cars.

i also have one of those, sold by IAP. my wife and i love it, it works great without any bumping of the seat back. if you haven't a roll bar and can afford the cost... this unit is great.

[Foster48x]

Mike,
Do you have the IAP one installed in a car? If so, would you be so kind as to snap a quick picture or two of the mounting points and hardware. The one I have is missing the hardware on the ends to mount to the top frame and IAP doesn't stock it. Before I start to fabricate homemade brackets I'd like to see what the originals look like.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Rick

[mbouse]

rick,

i do, but that car is in storage. i won't see the car for a full week, and won't be dropping the vinyl top anytime before May. i won't be able to snap a picture before the top drops. it is too cold here to expect that vinyl to cooperate w/out cracking or tearing.

the brackets ARE extremely simple, and are designed to attach to the shoulder bolt that acts as a pivot for the center section of the convertible top frame. look at the frame mounting location.

the bracket for the deflector will stay in the same position, regardless of the action of the 'vert frame. (top up or top down, the deflector stays in the same position.

wish i could say it better than that, but i am an accountant ... not an engineer. Bright guy you are, you should be able to figure it out. the deflector looks nice installed, and worth the effort to design a proper bracket.

or... you could wait until i get my car out of storage

[Foster48x]

Mike,
I keep forgetting that you guys up north store your cars for the winter. Dont worry about the pic's I think I have a good visual from your description on what I'm going to need to install it. I'll get back to you in MAY if I cant figure it out

Thanks,
Rick

[mbouse]

picture this:
|<--the shoulder bolt goes here per my previous comments.
|
| ___
| | |
|__| |<--the deflector mounts here
a b


the bend at the bottom (a) is deep enough for the folded frame to sit inside the pocket w/out disturbing the wind deflector bracket.

the bend in the middle (b) goes over the inner wall and the rear plastic quarter panel. i think the two mounting holes are approximately 8mm. the brackets (one for each side) are symetrical mirror images of each other. like i said, i am an accountant, and this is from memory. i dunn draw well, but can pour a mean glass of brew!

hey... here's a thought. I am having a garage day on January 30th. stop on up and i will buy you a beer, and you can see the brackets in person.

[sptcoupe]

The spider is in Dallas, and I won't get there until Saturday. I'll snap some pics of the mounting hardware then. I have not noticed any flutter, and it sits farther back from the head rests than it appears in the photo. I have never felt anything on the head rests.

[Foster48x]

Mike thanks for the description. If I ever get up that way I will take you up on that beer! Guiness Draft of course

sptcoupe, I wouln't mind some pics to if you have them.

Rick

[Makita]

My Spider have a wind deflector, bought it in last summer from Germany.
http://www.nic.fi/~makital1/spider/2009_tuulisuoja.jpg

Here is fitting instructions
http://www.chromdesign.de/pdf/ep30062w.pdf

[Makita]

The brackets are simple

[Foster48x]

Makita, Perfect thanks!

[laura79]

I have one home made plexiglass wind deflector and it work well. It's a family's project and it could be changed for some details but, for me, It's works great. I didn't any extra hole and i used attacks of seat belts. If someone want more info, ask me.

[armchairmechanic]

I was reading posts on another board about wind and noise when driving open cars and various posters brought up the importance of wearing hearing protection while driving with the top down. Even simple, disposable foam inserts in your ears can do a lot to help to protect your hearing. Of course, it would also be important to do this when working on a running engine. Just a thought I wanted to share.
George

[azygoustoyou]

I wear ear plugs when I ride my motorcycle also. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to hear your posts. When I get my car running. I definitely will have some in my glove box especially for the kids.

[Warren]

I started investigating an alternative cheaper wind deflector as I have the expensive one from IAP on my Alfa Romeo Spider. I found that Raceland (website http://www.Racelandus.com) has a Windblokker for a Mazda Miata. They emailed me the dimensions and after verifying this will work for a Fiat Spider, I ordered one. I will make the brackets based on Makita from Finland's above picture and let everyone know how it looks and post some pictures. The quality of the screen is about the same as the IAP one but much cheaper at $39. I told the Raceland folks to expect many orders from Fiat Spider owners so they may make the brackets eventually (they now make Windblokkers for MGB's based on many requests from that forum).

[htchevyii]

I bought my Dad one of the MGB ones for $59. Quite a deal, although the sceen is pretty fragile and they don't package them very well, (It took two before I got a good one and from what I saw at the Brittish car forum that's pretty common). They have some pretty cheap roll bars that don't fit our cars too.