Best brand of windshield?

[BrianG]

Here is a link to OER's catalog. The glass for our trucks is on page 235.

http://www.oerparts.com/Catalog/OER2016_Cat_Web.pdf

They offer the windshield four ways.

I ordered part number CT6772T for the windshield and BT67724T for the back window. I ordered these through Summit, not directly through OER. I don't have a calipers, but I can try to measure thickness the best I can with a scale.

[serge]

Shaky,
Great timing for this post because I will soon be purchasing a new tinted windshield for my 70 C-20.
Not to hi-jack your post but hoping replies could include where these windshields are made. In the U.S. or Canada or ???
Thanks

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by serge

Not to hi-jack your post but hoping replies could include where these windshields are made. In the U.S. or Canada or ???
Thanks

No worries - that information is interesting too...

[Already Gone]

Anyone ever try this place. Seems to have the original type glass.

http://www.vendio.com/stores/bobscla...r/lid=33729133

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by Already Gone

Anyone ever try this place. Seems to have the original type glass.

http://www.vendio.com/stores/bobscla...r/lid=33729133

I didn't see anything on thickness there. Just a statement that it's safety glass.

http://www.vendio.com/stores/bobscla...-/lid=43675759

I went to my local glass shop. They have Pilkington, but only tint-and-shade. I might have to suck it up and use that, because shipping glass from the other side of the country just doesn't appeal to me. Too much risk and cost.

[Already Gone]

Originally Posted by Shaky

I didn't see anything on thickness there. Just a statement that it's safety glass.

http://www.vendio.com/stores/bobscla...-/lid=43675759

I went to my local glass shop. They have Pilkington, but only tint-and-shade. I might have to suck it up and use that, because shipping glass from the other side of the country just doesn't appeal to me. Too much risk and cost.

Well to answer your first question, I'm sure if you called them they would tell anything you wanted know about the windshield. I can appreciate you not wanting to pay shipping from the West Coast to the East Coast but again I'm sure the company is shipping all the time and they should have provisions in place for breakage. Again you can learn a lot with a phone call.

[davepl]

Looks like CT6772T is the one I want as well, so eager to hear what it looks like when it arrives!

[turp mcspray]

Original thickness was 5/16". EVERY new windshield that I have purchased and installed on classic vehicles, for at least the last 15 years, has been 1/4". On the Pilkington website, they say the newer manufacturing process, is what makes them thinner than glass of old.

[BrianG]

Partial update: The windshield came yesterday. It looks great. It came very well packed and is the light green tint without the top shade. It is 1/4" instead of 5/16". But it also looks like maybe it is a three ply laminate where the original looked like it was a two ply laminate. As long as being thinner doesn't effect installation or it sealing, I am fine with it being thinner. As "turp_mcspray" just said, new manufacturing processes allow it to be thinner. If it truely is a 3ply instead of 2ply, its probably stronger that the 5/16 glass.

I could not find anything to indicate where either the windshield or back window were made. The back window was also a little thinner than original.

I got the seals and outer trim installed on both the front and back glass last night. I learned a valuable lessen.... When you open the box on the new windwhield trim... take the parts out of the box and set them aside, throw them away, ship them back... just don't bother trying to use them. Then go get your factory trim pieces, polish them up and use them. I couldn't get the aftermarket stuff to work. It wasn't the right shape I think. The original stuff went right in. I bought good stuff too, but oh well. I got the new trim to work for the back window, but had to make some slight modifications in the corners. It woulnd't set down into the seal quite right.

Going to try to put the back window in some time this week and then the windshiel in on Sunday. I'll keep you posted.

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by BrianG

Going to try to put the back window in some time this week and then the windshiel in on Sunday. I'll keep you posted.

Good luck! Looking forward to your after-action-report.

[davepl]

DaHos being nowhere near me, I ordered the CT6772T from Summit yesterday with the rest of my Summit order (didn't save me anything, still $100 for shipping).

Should I start a new thread for seal or is there an accepted-best seal? I thought a vendor sold a secret unbranded one and wouldn't tell who made it, but its the best one. Such is the lore that accumulates over time, but... which one do I want?

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by davepl

DaHos being nowhere near me, I ordered the CT6772T from Summit yesterday with the rest of my Summit order (didn't save me anything, still $100 for shipping).

Should I start a new thread for seal or is there an accepted-best seal? I thought a vendor sold a secret unbranded one and wouldn't tell who made it, but its the best one. Such is the lore that accumulates over time, but... which one do I want?

I can't tell you if it is the 'best' seal to use, but I used a Precision brand seal. I though it was a decent seal, but I also have no prior experience with them, so take that for what it is. When I used the factory (69-70) deep groove trim, it fit in the trim groove pretty well. It takes some time to get it just right, but I think I got it there.

[davepl]

Mine's a 70 with the stainless in the seal. I still haven't decided if I'm going to do it myself, but I've got a feeling I might...

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by davepl

Mine's a 70 with the stainless in the seal. I still haven't decided if I'm going to do it myself, but I've got a feeling I might...

Maybe you've seen the video also, but to save the trim and get the window out easily, I've seen a youtube video where they just take a razor blade and cut the seal outward towards the trim piece. That releases the trim and frees the window supposedly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2Xg30Q39Cw

Starting at about the one minute mark.

[John H.]

Originally Posted by davepl

Mine's a 70 with the stainless in the seal. I still haven't decided if I'm going to do it myself, but I've got a feeling I might...

Dave, we can do it . Quit messing around!

[davepl]

Originally Posted by John H.

Dave, we can do it . Quit messing around!

OK, I'll order the seal, that'll make it one step closer yet to inevitable :-)

Do any board vendors carry the seal?

[Shaky]

Bumpity bump-bump. Hey Brian - any updates?

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by Shaky

Bumpity bump-bump. Hey Brian - any updates?

Sorry, everyone. I have not been on here a lot lately. The windshield came very nicely packed. It was the correct fully lightly tinted model that I was looking for. It was slightly thinner than the original one that I had, but when looking at the side it seemed to be three ply where the original looked like two. That could just be the way things looked though. I have no way to confirm how many ply's either were. I had a glass installer do the actual install. I helped him do it. Before he got there, he wanted me to have the gasket and trim on it. I had brand new trim. I fought with the new trim for a while before deciding to try the original trim. The original trim fit like a glove. So, I spent the time to polish it and remove a few small dings. I also bought a new back window. I had the same issue. The brand new back trim fit like garbage in the corners. And I bought them both from a well known vender that advertises here quite often. My wife and I put the back window in ourselves with no issues (other than the trim not staying tight in the upper corners). The only issue that I have with the windshield is that on the top driver's side, on the inside the seal is a little rippled. That seems to be a common issue. I guess starting the install from the top helps to avoid this. The guy that did mine wanted to start on the bottom. He said that the seal would start to settle in after a while. It may be doing that a little, its hard to tell. I doesn't really look that bad. It looks great from the outside.

So... I would say that I would recommend the windshield and back window from Summit. They are OER branded, and other retailer's carry them as well. Summit is really good to work usually if you have an issue, so I went with them.

[davepl]

Originally Posted by BrianG

So... I would say that I would recommend the windshield and back window from Summit. They are OER branded, and other retailer's carry them as well. Summit is really good to work usually if you have an issue, so I went with them.

Maybe they got a new batch, but mine was incorrectly tinted. It did come in an OER box but the glass inside did not, I do not think, say OER in the corner. Does yours?

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by davepl

Maybe they got a new batch, but mine was incorrectly tinted. It did come in an OER box but the glass inside did not, I do not think, say OER in the corner. Does yours?

No, Mine did not say OER on it anywhere. Neither did the back window. No indication on Country of origin either. I think there were some DOT markings in one corner of both windows. I can try to take a pic of them tonight.

What was wrong with your tint Dave. I heard that you had a lamination issue also, isn't that correct?

[davepl]

Originally Posted by BrianG

What was wrong with your tint Dave. I heard that you had a lamination issue also, isn't that correct?

It was pretty much untinted at all. The guy at the glass shop demonstrated by holding a white cloth up behind it. The Summit one looked no different, maybe just a tad darker than clear. The Chinese one they had brought in was greenish like the side glass.

It was also missing the lamination in the corner for about 1.5". The seal itself covered the outside 1" of it, so you only saw a little corner once it was installed, but I'm glad I had it replaced anyway.

If I had it to do over again (and they offered to do it for free!) I'd make sure I had new stainless. I and a friend tried to install it 5-7 times and that took a bit of a toll. Plus one of my pieces is repro and you can tell it's not as tight a fit. So I will collect a set of OEM stainless, get it polished, and then redo it I think.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by BrianG

No, Mine did not say OER on it anywhere. Neither did the back window. No indication on Country of origin either. I think there were some DOT markings in one corner of both windows. I can try to take a pic of them tonight.

What was wrong with your tint Dave. I heard that you had a lamination issue also, isn't that correct?

Here is what my windshield and back window both have printed on them in the lower left corner. The only difference is the windshield is black print and the back window is white print, and the DOT number for the windshield is 686 AS1 compared to the back being 686 AS2

[davepl]

The one I received from Summit had two issues:

- It was delaminated in the corner, about 2 inches of it
- It did not have the correct greenish overall tint

They cost as much to ship as they're worth, so I just ate that one.

I just had it redone at a local glass shop. They used a Chinese brand of glass, saying it's currently the best one they know of. They recommended against Pilkington and PPG; while those "used to be good", for some reason they said the domestic glass has gotten worse and the Chinese stuff better.

All second hand, take it for what it's worth. But the Chinese stuff has the right green tint for an AC truck, which was important to me.

[truckster]

All windshield glass sold in the US is laminated AS1 glass consisting of two layers of glass with a plastic laminate sandwiched between. The thinner glass really doesn't have anything to do with better manufacturing processes; it's part of the overall weight savings on newer vehicles.

As an interesting side note, in the 80s there was available, for a short time, a type of windshield with four layers. The fourth layer was a plastic layer on the inside of the windshield. The idea was that it would reduce injuries during an accident. It was expensive and prone to damage from improper cleaning, and it didn't significantly reduce injuries, so it only lasted a few years.

[davepl]

I had an old BMW 750iL V12 "Protection" model with the 1/2" thick windshield and multiple-layered side windows... heavy, but quiet like a tomb inside! I always felt very secure in there too, even though it was only "resistant" and not bullet-proof.

Took a long time to fight with insurance when the windshield had to be replaced, as they don't pay for OEM glass and the OEM was the only company that made the thick glass, which was the only glass that would fit that car. But they don't pay for OEM glass, repeat, goto 10.

I have 3 windshields for my truck now and none of them are the same thickness, it doesn't seem. The new Summit one was actually the thickest, I think. The Chinese one seemed about the same. Two others, both US I believe, were thinner. You'd think for the same vehicle they'd all be same!

The idea was that it would reduce injuries during an accident. It was expensive and prone to damage from improper cleaning, and it didn't significantly reduce injuries, so it only lasted a few years.

I had a Corvette Z06 with the HUD, and it appeared to have exposed laminate on the inside, which I scuffed with my watch when it was basically still new. I don't know if that was related to the hud, but boy it sure scratched easily!