Featured Projects ‘59 T’bird custom. It’s still not done…

Rumors of my death are, as Mark Twain said, greatly exaggerated. I’m STILL here, and slowly doing stupid things to my chopped Thunderbird. Last fall I attempted to set the (original )W/S in the new Steele gasket, to find trough I’d made to box in the sunken W/S frame wasn’t quite wide enough to accept the gasket AND the gl***. Trying to set the gasket on the pinchweld, I was pushing on the top of the gl*** at the curve and cracked it. Frustrated, using the now busted gl*** as a pattern, I was going to trim the rubber on the bottom to see if it could be thinned enough to allow the gl*** to fit.
Great idea, but I mixed up the top and bottom of the huge molded rubber gasket and cut the top. ****e.
So I did what any self respecting builder would do and walked away from the car for a year. A couple weeks ago before the Relix Riot here I told my wife I was going to load the car and all the bits onto my trailer, take it to the show and try to sell it, and if not, just give it away to anyone who showed any interest at all.
She told me that she really wants to see it finished, and gave the go ahead to get a new W/S and gasket. So I did. I’ve been pondering the issue, and I THINK I’ve come up with the fix.
What I THINK will work is to set the gasket on the gl***, bonding the bottom only to the gl*** and let it set until the urethane adhesive sets. Then trim most, if not all of the outer lip of just the bottom off, almost to the gl***, leaving just a bit of the rubber. Then the gl*** can be set on the pinchweld in the usual manner and using the soapy rope trick, pull the upper part and vertical sides of the gasket over the pinchweld, and run a bead of urethane around the bottom, so as to keep the gl*** in the abbreviated gasket in that narrow trough.
Viola!
The photos show the new gl*** and gasket, second is the w/s frame and the 2” deep trough made by sinking the whole frame into the body, and third is the ruined Steele gasket base, trimmed to show what I’m thinking of doing (but doing more carefully) to the new gasket.
Wish me luck.

 

Pay the guy at the gl*** shop a 100 bucks to take the risk.

 

Right! Great idea! Please forward the name of a gl*** shop near Kalamazoo MI that’ll come to my shop and spend all day setting the $1,000 windshield and accept responsibility for breaking it in a much modified frame!

 

Don't give up on this cool car.

 

Whenever you do something like you are doing, you always run into problems that you never thought of. I ran into all kind of issues chopping my 49 Buick when I cut the cowl so I could still use stock windshield gl***. Keep at it and you will figure it all out eventually.

 

I think your current process is going to be an ongoing future event. The rubber gasket is designed to protect the gl***. cutting it away alters that gl*** protection.

Someone has to say it. Now that you know a problem exists, fix the problem.

As much of a pain as its going to be, what has to be done to the window frame, so the unmodified gasket can be used? Put your big boy pants on and correct the window channel you messed up. You have an unmodified rubber so you can make sure the gasket fits correctly into the repaired, modified channel now.

Unless of course you like to buy $1,000 windshields and the rubber gaskets.

 

Steele rubber to me is too hard, I've had better luck with soft seal or Metro rubber.

 

The gl*** will still be (sorta) in the rubber. My big boy pants fit just fine, BTW.

 

This one was much easier to dry fit to the gl*** than the first one, so maybe they’re using a different compound?

 

Would there be any benefit fitting the broken windshield and new gasket into a stock unmodified windshield frame? Maybe there is a Hamber nearby with such a car you could try this out. Make a paper template of the new gl*** and of the old broken one to verify the windshields are identical. An aluminum plate could be made from the templates, curved and tested in your modified opening identifying pinch points for modification.

 

I’m thinking I should try to set the cracked one on the modified gasket I have and see if this brainstorm is going work before I ruin another pair.

 

Ok, on to Plan B. This morning I tried setting the original on the (separated) lower part of the rubber which I trimmed the outer lip that traps the gl*** off. With upper part of the gasket on the gl*** I set against the pinchweld and worked the lip over with a hooked pick. It went really easy until I got to the driver’s side corner, when the (already cracked) gl*** cracked further. Since I was using the already broken gl*** and already ruined rubber, I decided to shouldn’t press my luck. I’m going to use some pieces of the cut up lower gl*** rubber as setting blocks and bond the gl*** to the pinchweld with urethane windshield adhesive. I’ll make fillet of adhesive in the bottom against the body, and apply it behind the gl*** on the upper part of the frame from the inside. It’ll be like molding a gasket in place. I’ll trim it on the outside with either some black self adhesive body molding, or, (probably another bad idea) cut the other new rubber apart the same way I did this one and glue it to the gl*** and body with more urethane. Or, for that matter I could repair this one with the same urethane adhesive.
Either way, I think it’s a better option than breaking another expensive windshield. The photos show what I’m talking about…. As for need for future replacement, the next owner can deal with it.

 

I usually work by myself and it looks like you might be doing this too. I would find setting a windshield by myself to be difficult. I have successfully used these dual suction cup lifters from harbor freight to lift heavy gl*** panels. If you own an engine lift it would be possible to support the weight of the gl*** by these suction lifters and allow controlled installation of your new gl***. At my house we have a deck that overhangs the garage doors (bi-level house) and I have suspended heavy things from the deck framing with a chain hoist. That also moves things slowly and carries the weight.

 

Ha! Just got a set of those from Amazon! Not because I hurt my back or anything lifting the windshield by myself or anything…

 

It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve been able to work a the ‘bird, but I got a chance today. Discovered that I needed to remove some filler in the corners of the trough which wouldn’t let the gl*** set in when it was setting on the spacer blocks. I did that and set drainage tubes in the ends of the gl*** trough in epoxy. Cleaned up the pinchweld and primed it, then set the old gl*** to ensure I’d gotten the fit correct. Looks like this’ll work. The last photo shows the upper part of the new gasket mocked up at the top of the frame, it’ll get bonded in after the gl*** is set in urethane, will finish the job and look like the gl*** set in a gasket as originally done. It’s been a LOOOONG time getting this far, but looks promising.

 

If anyone can figure it out it would be you. Thanks for taking the time to share your progress with us.

 

Looking good, gotta love a custom Square Bird.

 

Well, thanks for the encouragement. I guess my “big-boy” pants still fit… if this was easy everyone would do it…

 

Glad to see you back on the ’Bird! Judging from your other projects, this will be cool.
I learned to drive in my Dad’s ‘59 T-bird. I was constantly egging him on to customize it to some degree but he never did because he didn’t want anything “flashy”. So years later I bought one and did a mild custom to show him what I had envisioned. He loved it. Glad I did it.

 

This, I think, is an unqualified success. The gl*** is IN! The only problem (and it’s not really a problem) is that I underestimated the amount of 3M Windoweld it was going to take to make what amounts to a molded in place gasket. The top and sides are completely bonded, the bottom is about 1/3 bonded, it’ll be easy to finish the job when I get more urethane. Probably two more tubes will do it. I’m super happy with how this looks, I think it’ll make quite an impact. I like things that are subtle, this and the tops shortened B piller (sail panel), the tonneau cover and modified quarter panels will make a tasteful custom car.

 

@flynbrian48 lookin' great,keep 'er up!

 

As I pointed out, you just had to put them on and fix the window channel. You being insulted by the truth does not bother me. I'm happy to see that you have corrected the problem.

 

If you think that comment had anything to with this getting done, you’re giving yourself WAY too much credit.

 

If I may perhaps its an idea to cover the windshield in cardboard now or similar. Just in case.....

 

Not a bad idea! When I was building my (heavily chopped) ‘56 Cadillac convertible, I was standing on the front fenders jiggling the 455 Pontiac into the engine bay. The windshield was freshly cut and in, but had cracked in each corner while being cut by gl*** shop. Somehow I slipped and fell, planting my **** right in the middle of the gl***. Shattered it. Which turned out to be a good thing, otherwise I’d have probably left it alone. that lead me to find another one and learn to cut a curved gl*** myself.

 

a win is a win and you don't have to store the new windshield somewhere you will worry about it getting accidently edge chinged or busted.....

 

Exactly, AND, it looks like car again, which is HUGE inspiration!

 

Next up, finish chopping the vent window frames. This one is started, JB Weld in the seam will turn the trick, as I’m painting them anyway. There’s a pice of flat stock backing up in the inside.

 

It looks like a windshield but is actually a kick starter....
happy to see you back on the square bird and even more so, the finished product in the future....

 

The 2 tubes of w/s adhesive I ordered came today, so I finished the “gasket”. One of them turned out to be enough to finish the job. This technique would work for lots of old cars, given the expense and (I’ve heard) poor fit of many available gaskets, it might be a good option. Thinking back, I believe I did the same thing with my chopped ‘56 Caddy convertible 40 years ago.
if you noticed the rough job of troweling the adhesive, never fear, it’s all hidden. By the chrome trim and dash inside, and the (extended) cowl panels outside.