How many out there reused the glass in their model A's weather cut down or stock ? If you had good glass would you reuse it if you could or save and get safety glass ?
Make up some templates and have a local glass shop cut some laminated safety glass for you; it's really not that expensive......Bob
Laminate is good, and you won't ever find the "popcorn" of broken tempered glass all through the interior.
Model A's were built with laminated safety glass. The biggest problem with the old glass is it de-laminates when old and discolors.
The windshield glass should be "A-1" lam glass and the side glass is "A-2" which breaks into the popcorn.
Get the safety glass! The front windsheild in my buddies 28 A was only thirty bucks, and thats custom cut to fit in a frame that was chopped 5". We dropped the frame of and picked it up 3 hours later. The safety factor at such a cheap cost make it a must.
Nuh uh! It was plate glass. And I third (fourth, fifth?) the need for safety glass. Just don't tell anybody that I left the original plate glass in the rear window of a hotrod 32 just because of the old sticker Tulsa Nationals.
Model A windshields were the early safety glass, because Henry had seen a friend die from injuries received when he went through a windshield. I'm not sure about the side and back glass, though.
Well, the remains of old glass in the pieces of crap I have floating around, are plate glass. I stepped on what had been a good sedan quarter window and it broke into two big pieces. My AA truck seems to have that same glass for the windshield, too. Given new glass is $45 or less a shot at a glass shop, I'd go there and have new windows cut.
Tempered is much stronger than laminated, many places it's required.....Jim Never seen or heard of a model A with factory Safety Glass, Henry did come out early and federal Law came in to effect in 1939....Jim All windshields are required to be AS-1 (American Standard-1) which has .030 lamination AS-2 has .015 lamination or Tempered. Neither are legal (in the USA) for windshields. AS-3 (or M-3) is the colored or privacy glass in trucks, Vans or SUV's. Not legal from the Drivers shoulder forward or anywhere in passenger vehicles (I know that a stupid one) Good story but didn't happen in 31 or 32. you have me on the actual date Henry started all 35's were laminated. I've seen 34's but don't know if they were factory. Where's Squirrel when you need him dammit!
The Model A Ford was the first Ford to have a laminated safety glass windshield. All other glass was plate as all previous Fords used. Windshields were laminated safety glass in all Fords starting in 1929, side and back glasses could be special ordered in laminated safety glass if desired beginning in 1932. 1935 Production was equipped with laminated safety glass in all windows and all following as well until the advent of tempered glass for side and back glasses. Windshields remain laminated safety plate up to this date.
Just went and reread the section of the book "The Model A Ford as Henry Built It" and it states that an engineer at Ford was driving a preproduction Model A around Detroit and was in an accident and badly hurt going through the windshield, not killed as I earlier stated. Henry was saddened by the incident and decreed that the Model A would have a safety glass windshield. As pasadenahotrod states, the side and back windows were still plate glass. Probably back in the day many windshields were replaced with plate glass, especially in the depression and WWII, people used whatever they could get their hands on. I have several original old Model A windshields and they DO delaminate so I know for a fact that they are laminated.
The Jalopy Journal
