Howdy! I’m turning 41 this year and still find myself constantly learning how to do new things. I love this hobby! Currently I am swapping out the windshield in my 1954 dodge pickup truck. The stock one had that legit delamination patina on the edges that I kinda like but also 66 years of sandblasting from driving it and at some point also got some nice wiper frame grooves dug in that I totally hate. It’s a one year only windshield- the first one piece curved glass windshield for dodge. 53 was split flat glass and 55 it wrapped around way farther. So kinda rare. I found a new windshield for under $300 which is cheap- half what I’ve seen before because it was for a mexican fargo I guess. Looks exactly the same to me and fargo was just export dodges. The one piece gasket (just a loop no molded corners) was $200 from Steele and fit well on the glass. I know that is not big $ for car parts but I really want to take my time and do this once and do it right. The gasket is the lock strip type that holds the glass and the pinch weld in separate channels then gets the strip in a front groove to lock it in solid. It was long past its prime and no matter how much black RTV I smeared into the cracks it still made puddles in the footwells every time it rains. So I have the old glass out and the pinch weld really doesn’t look bad. There are some problem spots on the A pillars mostly that will need patches welded in. I am looking for any advice about doing this that would be helpful. My plan is to strip out any rot, make 16g patches, and put the new glass in using 3m bedding and glazing to seal it up. Here’s a list of my concerns: Best way to protect the inside of the boxed A-pillars patches? Weld thru primer on the back? No access after welding and while the box section can drain a pinch weld seems like exactly the kind of place water likes to hide in a crack. Best way to apply the bedding compound to maximize sealing and minimize mess? I have heard to install the window gasket, glass, and lockstrip along the bottom first so it’ll be a firm hinge then have the gasket on the pinch weld and work the glass into it then finish lockstrip installation. What lube is best for the lockstrip? Straight Dawn out of a bottle rubbed on thin with rubber gloves on? Do I get a bead of 3M all around on the pinch weld, then put the gasket on over that? Then a bead in the window channel before installing the glass? It doesn’t look like rocket science but I don’t want to do some noob mistake that turns into a huge mess and ruined or broken parts. Same with the pinch patch panels. Sorry for being long winded and thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions! Radar
first you gotta find solid metal to weld to...I wonder how far back you'll have to cut it? I would try to use the same thickness metal to replace what's gone, both the inner and outer layers. If you were working on a Chevy from around then, it would probably be somewhere around 20 gauge, the outer piece might be thinner than the inner piece. Does the truck still sit outside? or does it get parked in out of the weather? If it's still outside, then you can probably expect more rust in other areas, over time. If it gets to stay inside most of the time, then it will probably last a long long time without too much rustproofing effort. Maybe I don't know the tricks, but I would install the rubber in the cab first, then put the glass in, starting at the bottom and working the rubber around it. Then once it's all in place, install the lock strip. Hopefully someone knows of some good "goo" to use, I haven't figured that part out yet. The 3M bedding that I tried made a mess after a while.
I would clean it up with a wire wheel. And I would soak it to death with phosphoric acid-based rust remover. Then weld your patches in. I would seal it with a moisture cured aluminum pigmented primer inside and out. You can use an engine cleaning gun from Taiwan through harbor freight to spray rust remover and coatings inside your windshield posts and any hard-to-reach areas .If you like, multiple coats of the primer will level up the pitting and will prevent further rusting, install your gasket and your goop and you should be good to go. I hope this helps
Yup. Wire cup on a grinder is the plan. Then cutting back to good metal. Good idea for long neck sprayer! I’ll have to look up moisture cured aluminum pigment primer. Currently my go to is 2k epoxy primer. Thanks good tips so far
I've always put the rubber on the glass, then used a 3/8" poly rope to pull the lip over the pinchweld. I also painted the pinchweld with the bedding compound, a thin coat is enough most times before I started putting the glass in. I used WD40 on the gasket, might be better alternatives, but it was what I had at hand. One thing, the rope will drag some bedding compound in the cab. You can put down some masking on the dash to help keep it off the interior surfaces. I'm no pro, but this worked for me.
This technique works great for rubber that does not use a lockstrip. But that's a whole different subject.
It would be messy, real messy, but if you had access to a sand blaster, I'd tape it off and blast that rusty surfaces, you will be able to better see the damage and get back to clean metal. You'd spend ten times more time masking than blasting
I was planning to have the gasket on the pinch weld with bedding compound first, then install the glass using plastic tools. Maybe the string trick would make short work of the inside flange on the glass side? Then the bedding compound could get installed on the glass side by sticking the caulk gun nozzle between the rubber and glass while it’s still a little floppy, then the lock strip install?
I have a blast cabinet but no little detail gun or wheeled canister. I love blasting parts and painting them they always come out like new! In this case though I think that any shady thin metal that could be saved by blasting should just get sliced off back to where I can easily weld to good full thickness steel. I don’t have a shrinker stretcher or an english wheel. I do have some angle iron and hammers/dollies to fake a bending brake and work metal. Usually when I have to make complicated shaped I just tig together smaller pieces rather than hammering it out. The curved front face of the A pillars I’m probably going to curve a bigger piece of sheet over my knee or a pipe then slice out the section I want.
I did that in '03 to my '55 Chevy pickup. What started as a weekend project morphed into a ten month adventure. I logged it, with photos on my website, in six parts. There may be useful info for you and amusement as well The first part is here and the link to the next part will be at the bottom of the log entry. http://www.laroke.com/larryk4674/2003/wip29.htm
I wonder if I should blue tape the gasket onto the pinch weld so it doesn’t keep falling off before I can pop the glass in? I think after the pinch weld flange metalwork is finished I will carefully dry fit the gasket and see if it will want to stay put or if it is going to cause problems or need six hands to get it done
I just did my old Power Wagon , glass in the gasket , rope the gasket into the opening, caulk well , then the lock strip . Soapy water is you friend when installing the glass, gasket and lock strip . The sealer I used was a urethane , it never hardens . Steele is the best gasket available , but let me tell you it is a BITCH x 10 to install . I did it once with after market elcheapo , rubber and it fell in butbleaked as if there was no rubber around the glass . New Steele products and no leaks but you will make up potty words getting it installed .
Thanks man Sounds like you did the install with soapy water, then lifted the outside flanges and caulked while the gasket was still floppy, then did the lockstrip last and tightened it all up. I’m interested in roping the gasket in but I’d be afraid to rip it- the pinch weld is surely rougher than the glass edge but either/both can get wet sanded smooth.
Humm, it worked for me, lucky that time I guess? Sounds like the way I did it, but with soap instead of WD40..... They make a flowable bedding compound, too. It's not urethane, but something different I think. I'd want the pinch weld smooth as I could get it. Just one less chance of tearing the rubber. Another point you probably already know, warm rubber works a lot easily than cold rubber.
Go to a glazing supply store or glass shop, buy a tube of Tremco Vulkem to use for bedding. It is a glazing industry standard it comes in about 15 different colors stays pliable and easy clean up..
Put a lot of windows in equipment with lock strip rubber gaskets; always put the gasket on the opening first, then set the glass in the rubber. This was all flat glass; maybe curved acts different.
Nobody mentioned sealing the glass side as well. All I can caution you about that is to keep in at a minimum. As a disclaimer, that may not be on all gasketed glass but some will surely leak without a little bit on the edge. Repro gaskets are notorious for high limit fit tolerances, and maybe with the right technique the flowable sealant can go in before the lock strip, maybe from the inside too. take pics and share the adventure.
straight from the Steele Horses mouth: Note that they recommend seal first and bedding compound. \ I didn't see a mention of compound between seal and glass before the lock strip. But, I would add that step. Glad to see this discussion as I'll be doing this to my '56 Dodge PU in the spring.
I have never installed the glass after the seal was installed . It looks as if I have not been correctly doing the job. I can tell you it’s a must x10 the keep it lubed up with soapy water no matter how you choose, be careful the glass cracks easily .
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