Howdy!

So I have some good news....on saturday, my dad and I successfully removed my '74's windshield intact! Despite everyone telling me that it will essentially 100% break on removal, it did just fine and came out without issue.

Here's why it even came out. First, I am going over my whole birdcage to rust proof it. Upon removal of the stainless trim surrounding the WS, I pushed on the WS and noticed that the seals, other than on the bottom, were essentially loose and not holding the WS to the birdcage! I could blow from the inside of the car and feel my breath on the outside.

So I took various kinds of wire and knives and cut the seals and pulled it out. It took from 12 Oclock to 8:30 to complete the job, it was crazy, but I we took our time and it came out in good shape. It is my original LOF WS, and it is in good shape apart from a minor wiper blade scratch, but whatever it's going back in once I'm done doing the birdcage.

A few good things I noticed or thought about....

1. The birdcage, apart from a crispy body mount area, is in excellent condition with no upper A pillar or Lower A Pillar rust, apart from minor surface rust. The body mount area's are crispy, but are still workable, especially after I rust proof them. My car seems to, even with it's super abused and not taken care of life, have avoided the dreaded birdcage rot problems.

2. I know that the WS provides a good amount of structural integrity to the WS frame on cars, and since my car is really tight, like there are not very many creaks and sounds when driving, even with no carpet or sound deadening. It also is tight in its body panels and handling (not sure if the birdcage would affect handling). Either way, It can only be better with a treated and properly resealed WS in place.

Here's the WS, proudly sitting in my families fancy living room...the mom loves it lol.



I'll post picture of the birdcage tomorrow, it's pretty good.

Will

P.S. Does anyone have any sets of sill plates for a '74 they'd be willing to give up for cheap? I had to drill my sill plates out to remove them, and they got drilled in the process, so I need new ones.

 

You are one lucky dude

 

Congrats on the removal !

Sully

 

I got my original out in one piece last summer as well. I used a braided brass wire to cut it out. Only took about 1.5hrs.

BTW, is there about a 1/4 inch delamination along the edges of the glass?

Now the trick is to get it back without breakage. I've read to not put any force on the left and right sides as it is being sealed back on or it will break for sure.

Steve L
73 coupe since new

 

You can probably weld up the sill plate holes with one of those aluminum weld rods.
I have the same problem since the original screw didn't want to come out.

Steve L
73 coupe since new

 

Hi Will,
WELL DONE!
It looks great leaning against the chair.
The shaded area across the top of the glass shows up very well in your picture and shows how gradually the shading ended. The reproduction shading, while not a straight line, has a much more distinct transition.
Regards,
Alan

 

, the surest way to not break the windshield putting it back in is to have a new one sitting there ready.

While you have the windshield out, have a good look at the upper chrome corner pieces (with the eye for the T-top), now's the time to change them if they are needing it.

Also check your dash-pad's condition.
Mooser

 

There are glass polishing kits which would be good to use before you put it back in the car. Just make certain that the area you are applying pressure to has some support on the other side of the glass. If you think it needs it, you may want to put a bead of butyl sealing caulk at the edge of the glass...all the way around. That should prevent any further delamination, as no air/moisture will be able to get in between the glass layers. I know you are putting new seal material around the glass; but I don't think that will be totally air-tight to prevent and further delamination.

Congrats on the great job.

Now, you just need to be as careful as you were taking it out, to get it back in undamaged. But, I bet you and Dad can get that job done just fine.

 

Haha thanks everyone, It's great that it is finally out. There are only little bubbles of delamination with the WS, not a constant "line" around it. I will put a bead of caulk around it to hopefully stop it. I do have all new screws and corner blocks ready to go in, I just have to prep the WS and Birdcage first. I'll look into the glass polishing kit, but would it be better to do it when it's in the car because it is secured on all sides?

The shading on the WS does look good, and I'm happy that I can (most likely) reuse the original glass.

Now, should I attempt to reinstall it myself, or should I have a pro do it? I know someone who could come out and do it, and I know he has experience on old cars and at least C2 Corvettes (I'm sure he has done some C3's through).

Are there any products I should use/not use when cleaning the WS? I was planning on using lestoil to cut the grease and petroleum on it, and a razor blade for the remaining gasket/seal material.

About welding the sill plates, would I just use an ARC welder with an aluminum welding rod?

Thanks,
Will

I'll post pictures of the delamination and the birdcage tomorrow.

 

Use the Search feature and You will find a lot about installing a Winsheild. The exsperts are far a few between these days for Windshield Shops when it comes to C3's. I had one come to my Shop and the two of Use became the exsperts.If You do it yourself You will probably use 3M tape. If You have someone else do it they will use a Caulk.The Caulk is probably better but You got 35 years out of the tape the first time. I do a lot of Welding, (not Automotive) and I have no idea what Ark Welding with Aluminum Rod on a Rusty Sheetmetal Birdcage could possibly do to improve anything.

 

Not arc welding... more like brazing.

Go to Muggyweld on the internet. They have aluminum welding rods with a flux that is also a temperature indicator.

I use these at work to repair aluminum electronic chassis all the time.

Clean up the hole area with emery cloth. In a thin piece like the sill, counter sink the hole a bit from the top side so that the new material being added isn't just held by the edges.
With the sill horizontal, clamp on a stainless steel strip of some sort on the backside of the hole to keep the new molten material from falling through while it is hot. Put a liberal amount of flux on. Heat up the area with MAPP gas.
Propane doesn't work that well, Use acetylene if you have it. In either case do not overheat or you'll melt a bigger hole.
Watch the color of the flux- when it turns a dark brown, your ready to full the hole completely with the rod including the countersink. Let it cool, then redrill the hole.

This sounds more complicated than it really is.

Steve L.
73 coupe since new

http://www.muggyweld.com/?view=aluminum

 

So I'm not one with delamination on the edges. Good idea about sealing the edges with caulking.

Steve L
73 coupe since new

 

Sorry for the long time since my last post. I have cleaned the WS up a little since then, it's almost ready for the edge sealing and install. Now I'm working on getting the birdcage done and ready for the WS install. I installed my new fuel pump and radiator hoses today, and will take pictures to show the birdcage either tomorrow or saturday.

Will

 

Sorry it has been a while (again). I got some pictures of the birdcage to show its surprising goodness.

It still has the WS stuff and various other old petroleum based products on it, but I'll have it stripped and coated soon.





The other sides of each picture are pretty much the same.

I installed my new fuel pump and fuel hoses, along with flushing and installing new radiator hoses. The next job is the WS frame....

Will

 

Alright, so I have been taking more stuff out. To clean the 'cage, I plan on using wire brushes in my drill and angle grinder. One thing I thought about is to use a needle scaler, specifically the H-Freight model. Would that be ok to use on the birdcage without causing further damage? Is a scaler ok to use on thin metal like in the birdcage? And if there is some rust (which there is, just no holes), could it punch through if there was a thin spot?

Let me know, if I can use one, I'll get one, as in some videos I've seen they look money.

Will

 

Problem with wire brushes is that the bristles really don't get into the pits where rust lurks. So when you paint over it, your are still painting over rust.

Although I've used a wire brush on a drill, I found it doesn't clean properly.

I'd also like to know what is wrong with one of those descalers. I haven't seen anyone mention these on the forums so I suspect that they aren't very good.

Another alternative, although I haven't tried it yet, is one of those mini-sandblasters used for spot work.

Steve L
73 coupe since new

 

I just cleaned my window frame to bare metal. I used an old 1/2 inch wood chisel to remove the soft stuff and then switched to a 3 inch disk sander on my drill to take off most of the hard stuff and paint. Then I used my dremel with a chain saw sharping bit (they had it at WalMart) to get into the corners and the rust pits. Last I painted it with POR 15 and top coated it so the calk and seals will stick. If you follow the directions of POR 15 (use Marine Clean and Metal Ready) you should have no problems with it. I also use POR 15 patch for all the seams like where the metal and fiberglass meet in the wiper tray/cowl area. It looks really nice now.

 

Yeah I have been using wood chisels a ton on this WS frame project. So it seems either way, I just need to go at it with whatever I can to get it to bare metal (sanders, brushes, grinders), then use the Metal ready/Marine Clean and then POR it. For your top coat, did you do it when the POR was wet or after it dried?

Will

 

Wet, about an hour after applying your last coat of POR.

 

Awesome, thanks for the advice. How many coats of POR did you do?

Will