...I removed the silver trim from the T-top area last night, and it went better than I expected... the frame isn't rusted!

Anyways, I can't get the corner pieces off without pulling the windshield, I'm planning to POR-15 the windshield frame, and I got this far, I would like to do it right.

Has anyone here done this?

It seems the best tip I have found for installation is to dry / test fit the windshield before using the adhesive, mark where it goes, and then put the adhesive stuff on...

I also ran across this thread:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...0&page=3&pp=20

That briefly discusses the windshield wiper area. I'm guessing I have factory sealant 'cause it's nasty black stuff that is cracking.

Can anyone recommend a replacement for my old gunk? It looks pretty worn. Also, what if I fabbed some gaskets instead of just coating my wiper area with that stuff? Any chance that it could seal right?

I'm chasing down water leaks that put a hole in the floor pan and who knows what else. The dash is coming out tonight.

Any other water-leak areas to look for?

Thanks!

-Don

 

BTW, I have a 76, so no wiper door issues... just old cracked black stuff everywhere...even if it is factory, it looks really bad...

 

Wow, am I the only guy that has done this?

You guys are killin' me, drop the new guy a hint

 

I wouldn't touch the windshield unless you want to replace it. It is very difficult to handle the windshield without breaking it even with 2 people. With one person it is almost impossible to remove without breaking.

I would go to a glass shop and see what they would charge to reseal it. It might be the best money you spend. Glass ain't cheap.

 

I had a guy come out and do my windshield. It had gotten cracked by fooling with the trim, but need replacing anyway due to a million pits. That is a job best left to a pro. I am a great believer in doing almost everything myself rather than sending it out, but this is one of the very few exceptions.

 

I am watching this thread to see the responses. I have a crack that runs parallel to the drivers door pillar, so I know it needs to be replaced. I am waiting to see the results on this to know if I should try to do this myself, with glass that I found at a salvage yard, or have a company do it for $300 that they quoted me.

kdf

 

i broke mine...the sealer on the bottom stuck and spider cracked it..... i then had a short out and decided to go ape s--t on it.....luckily i had a shop vac and a mask.....i needed a new one anyways

b

 

I had Safelite come out to my house and replace mine while I did the inside this winter, $258,00 and they took all the trim off and replaced,

 

Blue Ace, the quote I have is for $279 so that looks about right.

Don, what type of sealant are you going to use to get this done.

kdf

 

i just had a new windshield installed this past fall and it cost me $350 and that included the windshield labor and reinstalling my back window also. while i had the front and rear window out i cleaned the windshield frame and sprayed it with a rust inhibiter coating and then painted over that with black paint. i also have a 76 and when i had the windshield out i also noticed the the frame was in awsome shape and all the rust that was on it was just surface rust and even that wasnt bad at all. i would recoment that anyone that still has the original windshield still in or any cracks should remove it and then clean and paint the frame and have a new one installed or the original reinstalled if the condition is still good with no cracks or chips.

 

My windshield was cracked, i had all the trim and stuff off for a restore anyway. This isn't a difficult job just tough getting the old adhesive out.
I used a box cutter to cut the sides and top sealant but the wider bottom area was difficult. I tried razor, hand saw etc. and settled on using a sawsall and buzzed right thru it. I've never seen stuff as tough as this sealant.

The steel of the window frame kept the blade in line and I just kept it shallow so not to hit anything in the wiper area. The windshield will break all up, it won't stand a lot of prying.
I cleaned the windshield frame area with a drill and wire wheel then primed it.
I got a new windshield at a local shop for $125. I dry fitted it and shimmed it from the bottom. The adhesive is thick so heat it up first so it comes out of the tube easier. You use a caulking gun to apply it.
My window shop also gave me a small tube of "primer" to apply around the perimeter, it also helps to rough up the glass where the adhesive goes only, with sand paper.

It is extremely sticky and you can only move the window a bit before it adheres. I did do it myself and it was a very easy job with long arms.

Put a good 1/2 thick bead around the sides and top and a 2 rows of adhesive on the wide bottom surfaces. drop the window in, line it up and press it down in place, use duct tape to hold it in place and let it set up.
The Vette windshields are structural so don't skimp on the adhesive, but don't ooze it out all over either.

Getting the old one out is the difficult part, installing the new one was extremely easy and pain free. There are small stops built in the frame at the bottom that help align it.
It was my first and it went very easy.
JZ

 

Well here goes...

I started from the top at one of the upper corners, using a large 1/4" flatblade and a box cutter. Once I had the corner loose, I took my time pulling up from the outside on the rubber with one hand, while pushing the rubber from the inside with my other. At times the rubber would split into two parts, an upper and lower, but just keep going. After getting about 12" done, I started looking at the top edge sitting just above the window frame, so I took some of the old rubber, cut it into 3" strips and inserted it perpendicular to the top edge of the window, between the window and the window frame. If either the lower or upper part of the rubber seal wants to stick, just take the box cutter to it, then if that wasn't enough, carefully use the flatblade to work it loose, make sure you don't chip the glass.

Once you have the top done, the sides came next, they stuck a little more than the top did, but just use the boxcutters and the flatblade and you'll be fine.

I was originally going to wait to take it off, as I had heard it was heavy (and one person couldn't do it alone). Also, I didn't have my dash out yet, so I couldn't get to the bottom from inside (if you look at the bottom of the windshield from the outside, the glass comes way down at certain points below the seal, so you'd have to cut the seal from the inside). Anyways, I took the windshield wipers off, and cleaned that whole area, scraping all the cr@p out. Looks a thousand times better.

Then I got curious. I carefully pushed out on the windshield from the top. Came right out. I didn't have to touch the bottom seal (your milage may vary). Also, I am a very small guy (I weigh about 125-130) and I had zero trouble pulling the whole windshield out in one piece by myself. Make sure you have some styrofoam or something to set it on before you pull it out, as it has one hell of a curve to it, it probably wouldn't take much to break it by mis-handling.

I ended up with a big rust hole on the pass. side and a smaller one on the driver's. My windshield frame didn't look too bad, the rust should clean up pretty good. Word to the wise though, the rust was alot worse under the corner trim pieces.

I am looking forward to ripping the rest of the interior (dash) out and grinding the rust off and putting the "painting wench" (my fiance) to task on it with the POR-15.

As for what I will use to seal it, I'm not sure. I think I would rather use the gummy black stuff that comes in rolls as opposed to the tube goo, but we'll see, they might both be really messy.

I'm really interested at this point to see if I can get away with sealing areas up with some gaskets or something instead of just squeezing a mess onto it. I have never seen the wiper area sans-goo until tonight and I don't ever wanna go back!

-Don

 

I went through the same process not too long ago, My windshield had a crack along the bottom so it needed to be replaced, pulled all trim off , got through the adhesive at one point, then used an old guitar string to cut around the rest, it was pretty easy to do and didn't crack the windshield anymore. once I got it out, I also notice a small amount of rust through right at the passenger bottom corner of the birdcage, I cleaned up that area and had my friend weld a new patch in, and coated with por-15., replacing the windshield was easy, I got a windshield adhesive kit from checkers, it came with the sealant in a rope type so placing it around the edge was easy, it also came with spacers to hold the winshield in place while it cured, I added some windshield sealant around the edge to make sure not to have any leaks...tested with water hose and it is as dry as can be...