I've been trying to install the windshield, after a chop, for almost 10 days. Every day gets more frustrating than the last. Now, it pisses me off just thinking about it. I think I've tried every possible way to do it. I'm using polycarbonate (I KNOW IT'S NOT LEGAL), which is flat, as opposed to the curved glass it takes. I thought about heating it up just to give it a little flexibility, but I think it will warp it and cause so kind obscurity in it. I'm using a new weatherstrip. I know it can be done, I've seen it before, I know it flexes. Is this an, absolutely, two man job? Or WTF? I know some one here has done it before. I'd appreciate any pointers, Thanks. Art Screwing it in is not an option. I paid too much for the weatherstrip to not use it.
post close up pics of what you are working on. did you do the chop? one of the primary things to do before starting to chop is to figure out how you will be able to install the glass back in. do an online search: Motorcycle Fairings and Windshields at motorcycleinfo.com/Fairing.html and proglasswindows.com
Thanks for responding. I DID do the chop. I can't see why putting the windshield back in would be any different than re installing the new one, other than it's flat and 5 1/2 inches lower. I posted a piece of the weatherstrip I cut out to show what I'm working with. The opening on top is for the pinch weld, directly at the bottom is where the glass goes, to the left, is for the molding, and the right is for the locking strip.
Your fighting with the plastic wanting to remain flat.. gonna need atleast one other set of hands to do it
Thanks for your input fellas. I guess I'll have to get some beer to lure couple guys over here. Christmas has limited availability of extra hands. Fighting the flat plastic is part of it. The other part is the weatherstrip came in a full circle. I thought the corners would be rounded for easier fit and determining which side is up and all. As for the stock glass? it's in the trash. I had inch and a half left to cut when it cracked down across the driver's side. I was pissed.
What are you working on? I would think that the flat is going to be a problem. Compared to the curved glass, the flat glass will be coming into the ws gasket at a different angle. I would imagine you will be fighting that. I stock w/s can be installed with 1 or 2 people, you'll need more for what you are trying to do. You might try making a metal pattern, that has the correct shape and try to work it into the gasket, before fighting the flat piece you are thinking about installing. If you can install the pattern into the gasket, without any problems, then use the pattern to shape the polycarbonate. If you know that the polycarbonate is illegal, then why don't you get another windshield and have someone cut it for you?
how thick is your polycarb? 5 or 6mm is too thick if you have to go round a corner but perfect if its just a gentle curve. 4mm goes round a corner perfectly. i do this all day long on farm machinery and plant.
you never mentioned what you chopped but that looks like 50's mopar gasket. it barely allows the stock windshield to fit till the insert is installed and that goes to the inside and is a bitch to install without a 90 degree lacing tool. I'm not much help. I don't work with anything but glass. I don't think 20 people could install a flat pastic into that rubber. either heat and form it to your windshield or use a thinner material and screw it in like a funny car. I did cut the glass on a 53-4 plymouth wagon and it was not a simplle install using glass that fit. I also had to bend glass for the tail gate and quarters.
what are you installing the window into? i know some cars you install from inside. eg, 52 studebaker. never had a good look at the cross section of your seal . how was old window removed? maybe so e other hamers can clarify on this point. especially since i have no expierience with cutdown frames
"If you know that the polycarbonate is illegal, then why don't you get another windshield and have someone cut it for you?" -Glass is $400, plus shipping, plus the cost to cut it. If it breaks, I have to pay for a new one. I figure if anyone's gonna break it, it'll be me. It's out of my budget, I'm gonna wait for a used one to turn up. If the used one breaks, I'm out $40-$60. I'm working on a '54 Dodge Royal, and the lip/pinch welds line up fine. "how thick is your polycarb? 5 or 6mm is too thick if you have to go round a corner but perfect if its just a gentle curve. 4mm goes round a corner perfectly. i do this all day long on farm machinery and plant." Polycarb is 3/16, I got it the same thickness as the original glass.
again, Post Close Up Pics Of The Car and Windshield Opening. don,t worry so much about the rubber gasket right now. you are not the first person to break a windshield. I know a guy that chopped a '56 Ford PU and cracked 3 before taking it to a shop, and they cracked 2 before done. make up a template out of good cardboard, or sheet metal or something that will flex like you are expecting the Lexan to do. even if you get help and use the gasket there is no guarantee that it will not pop out or crack. besides being illegal, there will be nothing but more problems running it. doing back glass is one thing, but a windshield is another. post a Wanted Ad here and places like craigslist for another stock windshield. depending on how you cut the roof (PICS) you may be able to lower glass into cowl area with some support under it.
Instead of cutting the glass sandblast the piece off. Much less chance of breakage. If you go that route. Or use lots of soapy water and try using the palm of your hand to slam slide the window up into the top gasket, then work the bottom around inch by painful inch. Probably a three man job. And as noname said it often doesn't fit until it is all the way in place. Check the factory manual as to how it is supposed to go in. It can make a big difference if it goes in the gasket at bottom then drops into place or if it goes in the top first and has to go all the way in and worked in the bottom last. Especially with a tapered curved window.
Do you have an old windshield? What we have done for curved side glass and even back glass is to take an old windown and heat the poly carbonate up and let it conform to the curve. On a small window 400 degrees in an oven works but on a large piece that will not fit into the oven a heat gun works. You can rent a heat gun like a plumer uses, its like a mega blow drier. A lot of glass gets glued into a chopped top for the same reason as you are encountering. In answer to one of your questions yes it is indeed a two man job especially of you are using flat poly and expect it to bend to fit. it still may not happen even if you do get it to bend as it will want to straighten back out. One other thing to think about is that poly does not cold bend well and it will no doubt get cracks in it when you finally bend it into shape.
I hate saying that 47 years in the auto glass business, I might have learned a few things. I've cut and installed a couple hundred chopped windshields. most have had isues that mopar gasket doesn't hold the glass in till the locking strip in in place. the lock strip is installed from the inside. from my viewpoint installing a flat plastic would be the same as trying to push a 30 foot chain. I'm trying to help, not knock a hole in your plans.
I'm heating up the poly tonight, to put some what of a curve in it. I will try to install it tomorrow morning with some help. A buddy I came across today, asked what kind of sealer I was using. He said all the Fords he built used some kind of sealer between the pinch weld and the weatherstrip. The one that didn't have it, leaked. I said I have a Dodge. He recommend I make sure before I put all that work in. Noname? Any input? Anybody? Thanks for all the advice I've gathered so far on this subject.
Update....Today I tried again,to get that windshield into the Dodge. I failed, but learned a couple of things. First, 3/8 polycarbonate does not keep a curved shape, even with 3 grown ass men making a full effort to flex and keep it's curve. Second, it also doesn't like to bend, even when heated. After it cooled, it returned to it's close to original position. It was heated on top of an other windshield (as porknbeaner suggested) and even clamped to the other windshield. When it cooled, and the clamps were removed, it returned to almost flat position. Third, a two heat guns were not hot enough to do the job, and fourth, a torch is too hot. I got a lead on two Plymouth wagons, a '53 and a '54, at a salvage yard, it's too late to go today. I'll be there tomorrow.
also try warming up the rubber and wet with mild soap and water. one person iniside to counter push while one or two work the outside. some applications try installing all the molding around the glass - then start one side with a tool installing the whole thing. pieces of masking tape will help hold the rubber to glass. keep a cool head and patience. good luck
whoa, 3/8" thats crazy. I had one made for an 82 chevy truck out of 1/8" . they put the windshield and plexiglass in an oven and heated it til it formed to the glass (the company made helicopter w/s) , then i trimmed it down. i would get a thinner piece even a 1/4" will be tough. try suction handles on the inside to pull (harbor freight).
The Jalopy Journal
