Road tripping home from Dallas a baseball sized rock thrown up by a 18 wheeler cratered my windshield. I called a local shop who said they could do it , appointment set, seems simple enough. When it came time to do it they called and canceled citing unavailable trim pieces. I call another shop and set a time. They call back and tell me it can’t be done unless I can find the no longer available pieces. Which will add 500$ or so to the cost of the job. So I call Binswanger , they quite close to 900$ and at least 2-3 weeks . I call safelight, they say no prob , under 500 and they’ll do it the next day. I drop my car off and they call me 4 hours later and say they can’t do it. So..., small shop in Pasadena TX is recommended so I call. He tells me he can do it and it takes a glass professional not a parts changer. I take the car in . Someone in its past did a really poor, glue heavy Replacement . They eased the trim off being careful and patient . Cleaned all the old adhesive off everything set the new gasket and windshield and I walked out for 425 . Took a lot of looking but it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Find a shop that’s more than an assembly line for glass replacement. Good luck, just thought I’d share. And yes, all my trim pieces were reusable and suffered no harm. They said the key was to be patient and not rush removing them

 

He was right though ...... it does take someone who actually knows what they are doing. I've had the windshield replaced twice on my 95. Both times by the same specialist who removed it all from inside the car. No impact to any of the trim pieces.

My suggestion to people is to always call the nearest Corvette Club in your area and ask if they have anyone that they recommend or if there is a custom car builder within a 100 miles of you call and ask who they might recommend.

 

I wouldn't recommend Safelite to anyone these days. Back in the early 80's they installed 2 windshields in my 77 T/A. They did okay. Today though not so much. Last time I used them it was around 2011 on my wife's Nissan Maxima. When they were done most of the factory paint on the roof molding strips were gone and they were no longer sitting flat in several places. Horrible job.

 

Had the same problem with my 87, they couldn't get the trim pieces, found a local guy who knew what he was doing and had done a few in his past. he did a good job. Since then I was able to buy those pieces off of Ebay and will keep them as spares.

 

I used Safelite and had no problem.

 

Assuming this was part of the r2 of the windshield as I see no mention of the windshield trim seal...
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...placement.html
Had windshield replaced about 2 weeks ago and was asked to source the seal while the glass was on order. I've read people having issues bolting down the targa top after replacing this seal which in my case it was the hardtop. Couldn't get the front bolts to start with all my weight on it and all other bolts loose. Ended up using a cargo strap wrapped under the car and over the roof. I didn't have to smoke the strap down, just a few clicks after the strap started to tension up and the bolts were able to start. Hope this is a one time affair!

 

When I bought my 84 there was a nice chip in the center of the windshield. PO had a new windshield installed and a week later, you guessed it. I've put up with it for 4 years and decided it was time to do something. Drove to my local Safelite where the girl said yes they could try filling it but couldn't guarantee it, quoted me $134.00, coming to my house . Guy came the next day, did what he did. A lot less visible on the outside. When I went to pay he said he had spoke with his office and because the filler wouldn't spread completely out there was no charge. Gave him $20 for lunch. I'm happy. Safelite did alright by me...

 

Mine still needs a pull down to get the bolts started. This is years after replacing the A pillar weatherstrip