Technical My Chris Blattie windshield, What a joke

I am down to the last three things to do before I can get my '33 pu on the road.
One of those is install the windshield. So Wednesday evening I was going to do that.
I bought my 4pc glass kit from Chris Blattie about two years ago, unpacked it and stored it
in the back of my closet. I never took the pallet wrap off the windshield till Wednesday night.

This isn't my first disappointment in dealing with him on this glass kit, but will be my last.
The back glass was cut so poorly, I told him I would just get another cut here rather than
use that one. He did cut another and send it, it was only slightly better than the first.
I'll post pictures of that as well.
When you claim boldly that you use factory patterns and templates, You expect better than this.
Never mind he didn't send the setting tape, but asked me via email three times to
"look again" because he was sure he sent it.

This is about the windshield.
Wednesday night I took the pallet wrap off it and immediately noticed a chip middle of the bottom edge. I take a closer look and it is obvious that it happened during the cutting, easy to tell that by the way he has ran the edge sander up onto the face to try and somehow get away with it.
So, In the hope that it will be covered by the frame and setting tape, I slide the windshield into the frame, before the middle even enters into the channel, the bottom corners hit the frame. So bad in fact, I could put a metal paint stir stick in the gap.
It also seemed too narr ow.

So, I grab the windshield that came out of my truck and slide it into the frame, to eliminate any highly unlikely chance the frame has bent.
The old windshield fits perfect. go figure.

So now I put the two windshields together for comparison.
Then I got my camera.
Take a look, make your own judgment as to his quality.

When he dickered me two years ago with the back glass and setting tape, I told him I wasn't the type to start a thread and bash him, but I would contribute my experience
on any glass threads that come up.
This windshield BS has pushed me over that line.
If you choose to deal with Chris Blattie, good luck.
Hopefully I can save someone from grief.

Just waiting for a local glass shop to call so I can go pick up a professionally cut windshield.

 

And just so you can see what his quality was on the first rear glass,
here is a few pictures of that. Yeah I know it's inside a U rubber, but if you claim to use factory patterns and templates,... Judge for yourself.

 

Not trying to ask a dumb question but why not use the local glass shop in the first place? I guess what I'm getting at is why did you use this guy instead? Fellow HAMBER or something?

 

yes, he's on the HAMB

 

Terrible work.

 

My wife did the windows in my '55 F100. We had a local glass shop cut the door windows, and she asked him to install them in the bottom channels.
The passenger side was great.

Wife Joey is very careful, so she 'trial fits' everything first...She says, "I think the window cutter was drunk when he cut this..." and showed me an ill-fitting window in its rolled up position...I looked, and she said, "Oh, wait...I see what's wrong..."
Good, 'cuz I didn't. The guy pressed the window into the channel 'back first'...
That is, the bottom of the glass wasn't on the bottom, the back was.
(picture the window glass laying on its back, and being commanded to fit!)

She used a flat hard board and a mallet, removed the channel, then corrected its position and plastic dead blow hammer-bumped it into the taped channel.
She then measured the length of the glass...compared it to the passenger side.
The drivers side was 1/16" strong... longer front to back than the passenger.
I said, "These things were TRUCKS. Nothing was to strict specs..."
Well? she fitted the driver window, moving the division bar forward as far as she could. Looked like the truck specs were closer than the glass guy...
No rattles from windows, smooth operation, green 'factory' (car) tint...Nice.
Driver's window has to be removed and belt sanded. Just like she said...

 

What a wife!

 

He is on the HAMB. He actually contacted me via pm, saying he wanted to be involved in my project and at the time, it seemed like he was the guy.
Back then our Canadian dollar was strong and a few of my friends and I were regularly buying parts out of the US and having them shipped to the border.
I believed it to be a good decision at the time.
Never again.
I won't even try and install the side glass, I'll throw them away and make templates and get the glass shop local to cut new ones.

 

Bummer man. Hang in there though. You're in the home stretch!!

 

I used Crystal Glass here in Calgary, gave them my pressboard patterns. Came back perfect.

 

might be cutting, shaping, the glass while watching one of those reality car builders TV shows that build a car in one hour.

 

I worked for a glass shop many years ago and that is some really shitty work. Plain and simple.

 

note to self...

 

oops. I might ought to check my stash...

 

I'm kind of surprised, I ordered my glass from him for my '40 coupe a couple years ago and it was pretty nice. It was also tempered which isn't even an option with my local glass guys. There was a mix up though, I got the rears for a sedan rather than a coupe but he did send the correct ones in a timely fashion. and let me keep the sedan glass too. Wonder if hes got someone else helping him now or something?

 

Maybe someone cross eyed as a blind person could feel the difference.

 

When I was like 12 I helped out around my grand fathers auto glass shop who was a master glazer for 30+ years. He did a lot of 50's and 60's cars back then and as a kid it was amazing to watch him cut and polish the glass. I can tell you first hand that is some amateur crap work right there. My chopped 31 came with the glass already cut and the door glass was even worse yours. My car has turned into major F'n re-build project.

I can't stand people who take your hard earned money and pretend they know how to do something or the vendors who pedal this junk. They need to be outed! Its so hard to find quality craftmanship these days. Rant over.....

 

I did my own template, had a local auto glass firm cut it - perfect.
Then had no end of problems with the chroming of the windsheild surround, which I had to throw out in the end, - $1200 down the drain. There will always be someone out there that is incompetent.

 

I had similar issues getting glass cut for my 38 here in Ireland.the local shop cut glass with similar results.after two shit attempts by hand they told me they could do better if they used the cnc cutting/polisher.id need to cut a template though..cut a template using MDF.Probed it in the cnc and out came a beautifull cut/polished edge side glass.why couldn't they have done this the first time around.finished job was worth the effort

 

maybe he was drunk when he did it

 

I recently had a bad experience to0 and finally gave up. Once he gets your credit card number his correspondence is horrible. Apparently if he is out of the shop his employees are incapable of anything except cutting glass....cant get a tracking number......cant make a phone call....cant send an e-mail.....

Anyway the first pieces of glass I received for my '36 Chevy 5 window where not even close......



To Chris's credit here, he shipped out another set two days later. However I noticed a small chip on an edge of one of the panes but I installed it anyway as at this point I was done with Chris........sure as shit, it turned into a crack about 2 days after I installed it

......there was no way I was going to waste anymore of my time with Chris so I'm having a local shop make me a replacement when I tear into it over the winter. The second set of glass did fit perfectly and his packaging is awesome. So I'm thinking that the glass was shipped with a chip in it.

 

I guess i'm glad to see i'm not the only one that has had issues dealing with
his products and service.
Yes, his packaging of the glass was great, maybe crate building is
more his thing.

 

You can use the side glass to mix bondo on. Lippy

 

There is no way that glass pictured in OP's post was done by the same guy that did mine. I'm not sure what the deal is cause I'd be pissed too, but my glass was really nice and it was tempered also.

 

I've had two sets from him, one for my '40 Ford p/u, and one for a '41 I used to have..both sets were nice, and packaged real well.
Maybe he has an apprentice.

 

I had similar results with my model a roadster windshield. Way off the mark for such a simple flat piece. To his credit he took it back and shipped me a new one at his expense and the quality was good when it was returned.

 

Uh oh.....
Me too. I have some still in the shipping crate.

Chris, are you out there, son?

 

Several years ago I bought a windshield frame from Speedway for my 32 Ford 5 window. 1977 to be exact.They came with and without glass. The lady who took my order advised me against getting it with the glass installed. She said that there was no real standard. I would be much better off fitting the frame to the car and having glass cut afterwards. Seemed like a good customer service suggestion.

 

I hate to do it, but I am bringing this thread back up for others who may be unaware of Chris Blattie's work. I do like some people on here and buy my parts and stash them back until I get a chance to use them. Well, I bought a set of glass from Chris a couple of years back and just now got to where I am ready to put it in.
To my astonishment, the glass set I received was just like the abortion that Flowmeister received. I also have a 34 truck and evidently, Chris has some pretty bad patterns for them because my windshield is just like the one pictured in Flowmeister's post. And the back window is curved instead of rectangle. The side glass seems to be right....surprised.


I have tried to contact Chris but no response.


If you bought glass from Chris Blattie and have not yet taken it out and trial fitted it, then you need to do so. There are several people I have found out that has received inferior glass.
Looks like I will end up paying nearly three hundred bucks for two side windows..
You would think that someone with a good reputation (so far) would double check his work, or the work of his subordinates.
Lesson learned.......buy glass local. Just because someone pretends to be a hot rodder, that doesn't mean he cares about his quality of work.

 

Hey you guys...I understand the feelings about the quality. Is there a chance that you could contact this fellow for a reissue personally done by himself as it seems he is capable of good work and perhaps 2 years ago he did have a shoddy worker . I know if it was my business I'd do the honorable thing.
It is totally understandable having things shelved for a time while we tend to our projects.
You both have good coin in your glass.

Sorry I see you have tried to contact him...Perhaps he will respond PM or otherwise and make it right.