Had new gl*** installed. Had pitting that would show up at night. Bell Gl*** in Phoenix did the work. I took the windshield to them. Great work at a fair price.
It just makes me a bit happy that a guy actually goes to a local gl*** shop, has the work done and tells us rather than asking who he can order a piece of gl*** from off the net being totally oblivious to the fact that local shops have cut and fit flat gl*** since cars had windshields.
Nice ,, & that you found a local shop still willing to do, Mr 48 here where I'm @(NVA Area) can not find a shop to custom cut gl*** & finish , ( shops that been around 50 plus years) Nor willing to get flat gl*** , ( cut my own been awhile ) Called 5 places , the runaround , Most have been p***ed on to kids /family, So I ordered from N West Cost .
Usually the oldest gl*** shop in town is the one that will go out of their way to help you. My gl*** guy does a lot of work out of a Chevy camper van, but took my vent and window ***emblies back to his shop to work on them. He came to my house to do the windshield. It will be a bad day when he retires.
Local gl*** shop did my front and rear gl***. I brought them cardboard templates. $90 each and I installed.
These posts make me realize how lucky I truly am. The fact that somebody taught me how to cut gl***, build an engine, do bodywork and paint.... priceless. I have an old school manual machine shop at the top of the hill from me, 15 minutes east of me is a driveline shop that makes all of my driveshafts, and across the county line is Terry that rebuilds my alternators and starters. I really have it good...
One of the few things I did not attempt, had it done by a pro...anyone that ever did (or tried) to put a windshield in a C1 Corvette will understand.
The local guy said he could cut me a gl***, but when he started talking about gluing it in with urethane on a rubber gasket, I decided he hadn't installed much old gl***. Figure I'll just do the install myself. I did my VW Bug and my Maverick, didn't have any problems.
...But you didn't mention, or put in a good word for that "nearby" upholstery shop...you're gonna get yourself in deep **** buddy
When I started playing with these things, back in the last century, I broke in the "new guy" at the local gl*** company. Over the last 25 years, that guy has done nearly all my gl***. He own's the gl*** shop now, but his kid is doing most of the gl*** installation these days. The last gl*** he installed was a mess. The new gl*** had a scratch on it, and there were leaks he wouldn't fix. I have a new guy now. My experience with gl*** mounted in rubber gaskets over the past few years has not been good, gluing the front and rear gl*** in with urethane is a big improvement over using leaking rubber gaskets these days. I don't believe todays rubber is nearly as good as it was 10 years ago.
I agree with you Gene. I think there's something different in the formula that makes it rot quicker. The rubber window gaskets on my 47 are hard as a rock on the sun baked outside, but still a bit flexible inside. On the other hand, I see two and three year old rubber hoses already cracking and brittle.
According to my new gl*** guy, the current rubber gaskets for gl*** no longer seals to the gl***, like it did a couple years ago. On my last truck, the new rubber gaskets around the two piece windshield are both leaking in the bottom corners, between the rubber and the gl***. Both pieces of gl*** are fully seated in the rubber, and the rubber was dated as being made in early in 2021, so it wasn't old stock. The "fix" is to pull the gl***, weld extra material around the windshield pinch weld and bond the gl*** to the new pinch weld. good thing the truck hasn't been painted yet. I asked about putting urethane between the gasket and the gl***, and he got the deer in the headlight look on his face. I concluded that might not have been a good idea, I suspect if that every had to be replaced it would not have been fun.
Young gl*** guys have no idea that they need to use "bedding" caulk or compound to seal gl*** to the rubber and rubber to the metal. By young gl*** guys I mean most 50 and younger. Silicon does not stick well to gl*** and urethane sticks too well to everything.
Urethane is relatively new with auto gl***. It seals but also serves to keep the windshield IN the frame in case of human contact in an accident.
The Jalopy Journal
