The past two days I have been installing body parts, which took lots of time for just the windshield. The two wiper studs extend through the windscreen and have a rubber washer to protect from the outside. I wanted to protect the retainers to the w/s mount so I used some black Gorilla tape to seal them before trying to install.
As it turns out the best way to install the windshield is to center the wiper studs through the windshield first then add the rubber washer and retainer nuts, but only hand tighten a few threads just enough to control the position.
Then attach the windshield uprights to the body mount plate with the 8mm bolts and gently tighten in a cross sequence to pull things up smoothly.
Next was test fitting and installing the front body panel. As you recall I thought it was retained to the body by bolts to the mount plate but this was wrong. Those bolt holes are there only on older models (2004). It is interesting to note that 4 retainers are 5mm machine screws and not sheet metal / plastic screws. These are the ones at the inside bottom and about half way up each side.
btw.. there is a difference in Chinese and American sheet screws-- looks like the thread pitch.
I then had to remove the rear body panels to install the top. There are two large chromed pivot that go through the vertical piece with the rear window. These also provide the lateral support through a bar with threaded nuts on each end. The pivots are flanged, with the smaller end going into the chassis.
While I had the rear body panels off, I noticed the left one had a small crack near the top which I plastic welded. During the reinstall of all the body panels, I have noticed that the parts tend to retract, and upon installation it is best to pull them into place by hand and hold them, then install the retainers with enough force to hold them while they reset to the correct positions. This is common to the Roketa scooter as well.
Here is what it is starting to look like:
Was going to reinstall the dash, and noticed that the clear plastic from the factory had never been removed. Removed the instrument cluster, the plastic trim, and the film. Then reinstalled everything.
Pulled the radio wiring harness and you can see from the photo that it has household wiring connectors which is not acceptable for a vehicle, so I will remove them, solder and heat shrink tubing all the joints for a better quality long lasting repair.
The radio in this one appears to be an updated unit as it is capable of playing VCDs and has the RCA jacks for it. There is plenty of room on the dash to add a video screen as well as hanging from the windscreen.
Lastly, here is a picture of the wiring in the trunk and the windshield wash fluid bottle properly mounted.
Have to wait a couple days for the body panels to reset and then I'll install some more.