I'd like to replace all/most of the glass in my 66 convertible.

Where are some good places to try (quality and price).

I emailed Auto City Classics, but figure there must be some others...
Thanks...

Anybody?

I used Auto City, and I am 100 percent satisfied...I don't know of any others. If you have a problem they fix it..no excuses...... They etched my back window backwards, they replaced, no charge, and told me to keep the old one... Good people! Great product! graemlins/thumbsup.gif

black$redSS:

{quote]They etched my back window backwards [/quote]

does this mean they date code the glass? Was that extra charge?

I emailed them but haven't got a response yet...

I called them the other day about glass for my 66 SS on Mike Crown's advice. They do date code glass. For a windshield they charge about $80 extra for the date coding. I also asked about all glass- factory soft ray tinted. Runs about $700 + about $150 for date coding. Just call them.
Here, I'll copy and past the numbers for you!

Orders: (800) 828-2212 Inquiries: (763) 444-5880
Fax: (763) 444-5985
sales@AutoCityClassic.com

If you get some tell me what you think about it.
graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I would NOT recomend auto city, had my windshield pofessionally installed and less than a week later it is cracked from top to bottom down the center. called them and the answer i got form them was you cracked it and after I told him there were no chips, scratches, etc. on it he said "well, we make sure they arent cracked when we sell it to ya" and that was it. he did offer to sell me one for what I paid for it at vettefest ($100) but told me the shipping would kill me. did I mention the car has never been driven, it is still sitting in my shop! called our local glass guy and got a ppg windshield from him for not much more than the auto city one, and it fits a thousand times better ( and they also will stand behind manufacturing defects). he also said the glass was just poor quality and it was shaped incorrectly, that is why it cracked.

so, I would say give your local glass company a call, you will get a better quality piece and a company that will stand behind what they sell.

Yes, I had my date etched according to to originals on my car.All my glass fit great and had no problems with quality...but it's like anything you buy.....you can get bad stuff...my installer of the rear window had to return 3 times to fix leak..only because he did not seal around the window with butyl sealer after setting in car...he thought it was sealed because it fit so well...seen this happen on all brands of glass in my 22 yrs. in Body Shop business, a LOT has to do with the installer.....just my experience.

Thanks,

yes, I have been there... Had a windshield installed, told it was PPG... It doesn't fit well, and leaked... Went back to the shop and he was gone (out of business)... Had it resealed, but still the trim doesn't fit...

And all the local glass shops wanted to use urethane to seal it, in addition to the Butyl tape...

But I don't think PPG makes the side glass, which is mainly what I am looking for...

I don't really care about the date coding, but I would get it if it wasn't much more $$$

Thanks again...

DO NOT use todays modern urethanes to install glass on the older cars...this stuff is used for todays cars to bond the glass in as it is a intregal part of the structure...our older cars were butyl taped in and the bodies flexed quite a bit when you hammered them.....I have personally seen back windows blow out as a result of someone using urethane on the glass..it does not flex...window breaks,any glass shop SHOULD, MUST know this! The sealers they use after setting the window in are of a flexible urethane/butyl type and they do flex, but the urethane caulk for installing the window doe's not and it hardens very tough...that is why most shops must use a hot knife for removing...talk to a few glass shops in your area and ask their installation procedures before choosing one. Belive me, when that window breaks...it will scare the dickens out of you!!!!!! Hope this helps.... graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Originally posted by black&redss:
DO NOT use todays modern urethanes to install glass on the older cars...this stuff is used for todays cars to bond the glass in as it is a intregal part of the structure...our older cars were butyl taped in and the bodies flexed quite a bit when you hammered them.....I have personally seen back windows blow out as a result of someone using urethane on the glass..it does not flex...window breaks,any glass shop SHOULD, MUST know this! The sealers they use after setting the window in are of a flexible urethane/butyl type and they do flex, but the urethane caulk for installing the window doe's not and it hardens very tough...that is why most shops must use a hot knife for removing...talk to a few glass shops in your area and ask their installation procedures before choosing one. Belive me, when that window breaks...it will scare the dickens out of you!!!!!! Hope this helps.... graemlins/thumbsup.gif Very interesting. I must say that the urethane that you are talking about has a modulus of about 27Mpa. It also has an elongation of over 300%. So, it actually is very flexible. But, yes it is also extremely ductile (tough). As you mention, it is used as a structural part of new vehicles now; that is a good thing (saves money and weight).

My company is the ONLY OEM manufacturer of windshield and backglass urethane in the country; we also control a large part of the aftermarket. One of our requirements is that the car MUST pass crash after 1 hour. This means that the glass CANNOT fly out. Of all the aftermarket competitors, we are the only ones to pass crash. When installed CORRECTLY, the glass will not come out. The paint and e-coat that it bonds to, will fail first.

We also have never had a documented failure where it was "too stiff" and blew out glass, when used with the recommended auto safety glass. If a window "shatters", there is a flaw in the window (and a flaw does not have to be visible to the human eye).

Go to Henderson's and ask for something from the "Essex" line, such as U416. They are one of our trained distributor for our aftermarket products (there are others, I just can't recall their names at this moment). These urethanes exceed all requirements from the Federal government and the OEM's.

The stiffer a car body is, the better the ride quality. This includes noises, such as squeak, rattle, and wind (the car will stay sealed better when it's stiffer).

This will be what is holding my Chevelle's windows in. ;)

Crankshaft

that is what our glass guy told me too, he said it would be a much stronger seal, so that is what he used.

btw, it is essex brand

Maybe its the installers that have previously installed windows in other old cars of mine (Odd though that they were all different companies and even different geographic areas).

But they all wanted to (and did) use the Urethane also after the glass was installed, by squirting it into the channel next to the window...

The cars were not designed for this, and sure enough, everytime it screwed up the proper functioning of the trim clips...

Consequently, the two windshileds I have replaced using ONLY the Butyl strips never had a leak... Of course they were body guys that installed them, and not glass installers...

Originally posted by 1966_L78:

But they all wanted to (and did) use the Urethane also after the glass was installed, by squirting it into the channel next to the window...
That is definitely NOT the way to do it (squirting in the adhesive after the glass is set). As I said before, when done CORRECTLY, there are no issues. ;)

That being said, do what you feel comfortable with; if you feel uncomfortable using something, then that's probably a good enough reason not to use it. Everyone will have their own way of going about something; go with what makes sense to you.

Crankshaft