it is my understanding that the Model A was the first car to have safety gl*** in the windshield... I told this to a friend and he said this was not true, that safety gl*** did not come along till much later.. google is my friend but could they be wrong?
my 28 A had regular plate gl*** in the windshield when I got it...dont know if it would have gotten replaced with non safetygl*** for some reason thru its life..
I've had and worked on 5 or so 'A' windshields with what i always ***umed was original gl*** and they were all regular plate Bob
I got my coupe body from a resto guy & it had all of the orig. gl*** in it. Yes, it is all "safety" gl***, BUT.....it is NOT the modern type that crumbles. It is just two sheets of plate gl*** sandwiching a sheet of plastic film. This type of gl*** is not much safer than plain ol plate gl***. Get the modern type that crumbles.
Yes Henry did use safety gl*** in his Model A's. It was marked Ford **X Triplex in one form or another over the years.
Doesn't look that safe in my 31 AA, but I would imagine being almost 80 years old doesn't help the lamination.
Some interesting goodies I found on line: Although Englishman John Crew Wood patented a form of laminated safety gl*** with a layer of tree resin in 1905, the real credit for the discovery belongs to France in 1903. Edouard Benedictus (painter, composer, and chemist; 1878-1930) accidentally knocked over a gl*** flask while working in his lab, and was surprised to discover that it failed to shatter. A brief discussion with his ***istant revealed that the flask had contained a small amount of liquid plastic (celluloid), which had evaporated, leaving a transparent layer of plastic on the inside of the flask. Because it was invisible, the ***istant ***umed the flask was clean and put it away without washing it. When the flask hit the floor, the layer of plastic held the shards together, preventing it from shattering. After numerous experiments, he received a patent for his invention in 1909. As automobiles were relatively new in the early 20th century, Benedictus saw an application for this discovery in windshields. Many injuries from car accidents at the time were compounded by flying gl*** from shattered windshields, and his safety gl*** could save lives. Unfortunately, the developing automobile industry had no incentive to spend the extra money on his invention. If one car was safer but more expensive, the average consumer would probably buy the less safe but cheaper model. It wasn't until 1937 that safety gl*** became mandatory for car windshields, and few manufacturers included the option before then. It is perhaps interesting to note that windshield wipers were also made mandatory in this year. Benedictus also developed the idea of using a gelatin layer to adhere the plastic layer to the gl*** layer in 1910, creating the first three layer safety gl***, called Triplex. This version of safety gl*** was the first to see real widespread use – during World War I. The military quickly saw the advantages of using gl*** that would not shatter in such delicate and high-risk applications as airplane windshields and gas masks. Early types of safety gl*** were made with celluloid, but celluloid becomes brittle and discolored with age. Modern safety gl*** uses vinyl, specifically polyvinyl butyral, or PVB. Today, the Dupont corporation holds the Benedictus awards in honor of his discovery, which recognizes "the innovative and outstanding use of laminated gl*** in architectural projects worldwide".
WOW here is the link where I received my comment about the Model A being the first to have safety gl***.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Model_A_(1927)
Your kidding right? Plexi gl*** as in plastic for a flat model a windshield? Its cheap enuff to put safety gl*** in . Also a real good gl*** shop that knows what they are doing can cut your side window gl*** and rear gl*** and then send it out to be tempered which is basically heat treating the gl*** if i remember right.. so if anything happens it breakes into a million pieces.. I had my old 30 a done that way.. Then its just like a new daily ... Gl*** wise anyway.. Dave
A note here on tempered gl*** - it cannot be cut once it has been tempered. Anyone need new side gl*** for a 33 3W?
Actually, the gl*** that sandwiches plastic film also known as AS-1 is much safer. The crumbling type you refer to , also known as AS-2 is used as a more economical option for windows/back gl***, but shouldn't be used for a windshield.
A's got safety gl*** in windshield only, supposedly the result of a Ford exec getting shredded in an accident. I don't know exact chronology of side gl***, but at one point side and rear gl*** could be ordered at extra cost, and within a few years (1934 or so??) safety gl*** all around became standard. All A windshields should have been laminated type...I'm guessing the plate gl*** seen is later kludge put in when original cracked or the laminate turned brown. My A had broken plate gl*** neatly repaired with a bolt and two blocks of wood through the impact area to keep the bigger bits from falling out... Some model of circa 1926 Stutz (I think) is sometimes claimed as first with safety gl***...apparently it used something like chicken wire as the laminate! English and Euro cars used to have tempered windshields... a rock would blow away the whole thing instantly, usually leaving the driver temporarily blind from sudden blast of wind and flying crud. Not good at all. English parts stores used to sell emergency windshields, essentially just a roll of plastic, as an item to carry in trunk so car could still be driven after that rock! The box advised carrying it on trips to "the Continent", an uncivilized place where you could not find proper spares for your Hilman Wombat.
When my windshield went it didnt fall out just turned into an opaque shield of a gazillion jigsaw pieces. Had to punch a hole in it to see so i could stop safely Bob
My ( 1930 ) windshield is cracked and looks to be pretty sharp if you were to run your finger on the crack, but its still together in the frame. One of side pieces broke and split into really sharp jagged chunks. It looks like the few pieces of gl*** the car had were original.
The side plate gl*** is dangerous as hell, as it tends to break into large, sharp projectiles in an accident. Easiest fix is a roadster body...
Model As that my dad had on the farm in 1940s had plate gl*** all around. The windshield of one pickup got shattered, big slivers of sharp gl***, not laminated. A couple of side windows, over a few years time also got broken. As they went, dad had them replaced with safety gl***. Of couse a lot of the plate gl*** has been replaced but on a windshield it's hard to tell, no edge to see the laminate. Having been involved with building a '31 chivvy, a '29 Model A, a '31 Model A, and both the 29 Nash and 29 Chivvy truck I'm now driving, only the '31 Model A had safety gl***. All the others we stood the windshields up on end, let them fall over to shatter on the concrete floor, toasting their demise with a cold beer. It was not uncommon for do-it-your-self (traditionalists?) to use plate gl*** for replacement because it was cheaper and available at any hardware store in the 1950/60s, so one should check and verify if there is any doubt whatsoever. Will cut you up real bad if in a crash. Anybody with a lick of sense would replace with safety gl***. It would be criminal to carry an unaware p***enger with plate gl*** windows.
ALL Ford windshields from day one of the Model A onward were laminated safety type. Anything else there is a replacement. And after a graphic description of a minor accident causing a fatal slit throat (on Ahooga board), I would not drive a car with the plate side windows still in it.
My windshield is definatly "safety" gl***, two piece so plate gl*** laminated with plastic in the center. The outside plate gl*** is cracked in the corner, inside is not. I also have a crack in the drivers side window, that is the same but doesn't appear, lookig at the top of the gl*** when rolled down, to be laminated.
.........good way to verify a windshield! Hit it with a hammer up in the corner, adds character if it's laminated, proves it to a skeptic. If it's plate it needed to be hit anyhow! .
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