Red1990VT

Well, it finally happened. My windshield cracked recently, and when I took it to get it replaced, the glass shop showed and told me why it cracked. It wasn't the rock chip I thought.

I know this has been covered before but I can't find any costs on this forum. The problem is on the passenger side, and there is a white spot on the windshield near the hood line, where the glass had started to delaminate internally due to rust underneath.

What I'm looking for is the following - has anyone here had a similar problem and paid a body shop to fix it? I can't pull the car apart myself to do this. And it may not be economically sensible to repair. I hate to end up parting out a nice 78 SA, but if it costs as much as the car is worth to fix, it doesn't make sense to fix it.

I know the specifics may vary, and the costs may not translate exactly, but if anyone has paid to repair something like this and is willing to share...what did it end up costing?

Thanks

TedH

This is one item I plan to let the pro's (Van Steel, Clearwater, FL) handle when/if the day comes (if they will do it). Depending on your location, find the nearest body shop (OR frame shop) that has a good rep for working on the C2/C3. If you are just having them repair the windshield frame and no glass removal/re-install or trim work, I'd ballpark at $1.5K-2K labor plus materials. It may be worth having the glass shop remove the old glass, have the body shop make the repair and then have the glass shop install new glass.

That is sort of what I did. I did not have to have the frame repaired but I had to grind rust down. Safelite removed the glass one week and came back the next and installed the new (2 appt's). Granted, this was back around 1998-99 but they still sell C3 windshield glass and I am sure they will work with you.

Red 69

Unfortunately, I don't believe anyone can place a repair cost to your car without first at a minimum removing window trim and examining damage more closely. In reality, removing the glass will yield the best damage report. Without doing this first, a shop will give you a high ball estimate to cover themselves in the worst case scenario. You can get an idea yourself by removing the kick panel under the suspected a-pillar. This is the panel below the dash and in front of the door. Once removed, you will see a small cavity that lends access to the #2 body mount. The more flaked rust you see in this area, the more rust damage to your windshield frame. Someone could have been in there before you and vacuumed it out, so you could get a false indication. Hold a mirror below the opening with a flashlight shining on the mirror and lighting up the inside of the windshield frame. This will also help access the rust damage. As you can tell, there is no easy way to get a hard fixed repair cost without disassembling the windshield area.

Rust is made worst when water collects in the t-top frame that connects the windshield and rear glass. Remove the polished stainless section in the middle and under the T-tops and see if water has collected there. I had a C-3 that had this happen to, while leaving it parked outside while waiting for a move to a house with a garage. I was able to catch it in time and just needed to clean it up and paint inside and outside the a-pillar with an epoxy primer. The windshield was removed for this process and no metal replacement was needed. If you are inclined to get it fixed, my advice would be to remove the kick panel and the stainless center section before going to a reputable body shop that works on Corvettes. Get at least three estimates before making a decision. With the cost of removing and replacing the windshield, repairing rusted a-pillar metal, if it is salvageable, then painting prepared metal; the cost will exceed $1K. If the a-pillar/window frame needs to be replaced, the price goes much higher. I am not a professional body man and just giving you an off the cuff estimate and what you can do yourself. Good luck and best wishes on the outcome!

Red1990VT

Thanks to you both for your replies.

I'm going to try the kick panel and other suggestions and once I do I'll post the results. I was thinking of removing the windshield myself and assessing the damage, maybe even taking photos to a local shop that does all my Corvette body work (!).

Here are photos, one of the damage to the 78, and just for reference, the same area on my 82 Collector's Edition (I'll probably do the same rust checks though). The bright area on the 78 photo crack that looks like it might be from a rock is just the way the flash got reflected, it does not stand out like that in reality. The crack is clean with no evidence of any kind of rock strike anywhere. The fuzzy white area, according to the glass folks, it the windshield d-laminating internally because the rust beneath is pushing up on it.

The last two really old cars I will ever acquire, by the way. Love em both, but realizing that I'm not Jay Leno and have other things to spend time and money on...did I mention my 90 needs fuel injectors?

Red 69

Some states have a free windshield replacement by insurance companies as I have been told. Before removing your windshield, you might look into it. If this is law in your state, work with a shop that will remove and replace the glass, with you having the needed metal work done before the new glass is installed. This could save you some coin in the process.

Red1990VT

Thanks all...I finally got the kick panel on the passenger side removed and took a look in side. Although I didn't shoot pictures, it looks good. There is very slight surface rust on the body attaching bolt at the bottom, but overall all the visible metal in that area looks really good. No sign of rust on any of it.

I'm hoping the rust is fairly localized to the area where the windshield is delaminating, but won't know until the windshield is removed. .

7t9l82

Red 69 is correct. But I will add I have seen windshields Crack due only to minor surface rust, so it is necessary to see the damage.hope it's that easy.

7t9l82

Just saw your pictures, a guess is the damage is at the base of the windshield and may not actually be the uprights and may not be a terrible job.that is commonly caused when someone leaves the top down or the hatches off and it rains in. Just a couple times is all. It takes.

AkrHack

You may be able to get a glass shop to remove your windshield for relatively little cost. Last week I removed all my windshield trim before going to a local glass shop. They cut the sealant around the glass and used masking tape to secure the glass well enough so I could drive home. It took them about 10 minutes and they didn't charge me a dime!

Red1990VT

Thanks, I just bought a set of tools on eBay to allow me to remove the windshield in my garage, so I can assess the damage and decide what to do. If it is minor and local I may be able to repair it myself and then get a new windshield professionally installed. If it is more involved, I'll have to get it to a Corvette capable body shop for an estimation of what repairs will cost. My main worry, lessened somewhat by checking the kick panel area, is that any extensive repairs might not be economically sensible. Given the good shape the kick panel area was in, I'm not as worried about that as when this started.

Red1990VT

Finally got the windshield out of the car. What a job. The really good news is the situation is way better than I was expecting. The birdcage is actually in very good shape, with only some surface rust on the windshield frame where water evidently got in and found a path. The passenger side area rust that started the problem is the worst area and even that does not appear to have perforated the birdcage. I'll know more once I start sanding and repairing. Looks like a leak up top somewhere let water trickle down and accumulate where the worst rust spot is. Oddly enough the cracked windshield may turn out to have been an early warning that alerted me to the problem before real damage was done.


I will try to add some pics but for now I'm focused on getting this car repaired and back together so it is drive able by the fourth of July if possible.

7t9l82

I'm glad it worked out. I had a feeling it wouldn't be disastrous.