Windshield Crack

[ronzara]

Well Guys,
I parked the car in the garage last night, came out this morning to find the windshield cracked from the top to the bottom on the drivers side. Nobody was near the car and the glass has been in there for a month with no problems.

This is an Everett-Morrison car. There was about 1/2 - 3/4 gap between the cowl tabs and the windshield braces on either side when I installed the glass, I am thinking now, I should've made some spacers to insert in the gaps. ???????

I must've stressed it when I tightened it.
So, this brings me to a question.
I have seen Acrylic replacement windshields ($250+SH).

Anybody use these, or have any comments???
Also where is the Best place to get replacement Glass?

I found Cobraspares.com has tinted glass for $187 + shipping.
Does anyone know if their replacements will fit the USA made frame???

This has been a bad day. Please Help.
Thanks
RZ

[Bob Putnam]

Ron,

Acrylic (Plexiglas) or Lexan (polycarbonate) is not legal for the street (unless someone's making one with an official AS1 mark), so you may find yourself having a Law-Enforcement-Moment in the future. If you do go for plastic, make sure that it's got a hard-coating.

[ronzara]

Bob,

Thanks, I never thought about that. I guess glass is the only way. Any suggentions on where to get it at a CHEAP price.
RZ

[FIAFRED]

Finish Line (Enzo and Paula) stock them. That's where I got my replacement. My insurance company picked up the tap.

Fred

[FIAFRED]

FIND A GOOD CLASSIC/HIGH END (porche, mercedez, ect) INDEPENDENT CAR WINDOW INSTALLER!!! It didn't cost that much and it was SURE worth it!

[Jack21]

Glass for a street driven car.

If the glass you have now says Velas on it it is an OEM Cobra windshield made in England.

Have purchased replacement Velas windshield glass from cobraspares, or europaspares.com. In fact have purchased lots of stuff from them on-line. It's first rate, and gets delivered just like buying parts from Summit.

That being said, you might be better off buying the windshield already installed in the frame for a little more money. One would think that these frames would all be the same, and they're not.

If you have a Velas glass, and you get another Velas glass, have an installer install it for you. It's more of a hassle than it looks, and one slip and you're back to square 1.

[FIAFRED]

Jack21 offered sage advice! Take it to the BANK!

FIAFRED

[Double Venom]

Lets solve the problem before replacement.

If you had to draw the windshield arms in over an 1/8th, (our absolute allowable maximum), chances are, this is what broke it in the first place.


Just my thoughts.
DV

[ronzara]

DV,
yes, I was looking at my EM Parts catalog, their diagram shows 2 spacers (shims) on each side. I should've known to insert some ,.. but I got in a hurry... NEVER A GOOD THING. COSTLY MISTAKE!


Jack21,
I can get replacement glass for $200, the complete unit cost me over $600, ????? Thanks a big difference to me..


MY glass has this on it:

Lamiver
Laminated
Safety Float
ASI DOT 453
M231
8
0

Also the static decal that came on it said:

I.W.
English Style
Windshield

If anyone knows what all this means. please let me know,.. it will help in my search for proper replacement.

Thanks!
RZ

[Turk]

Are you guys talking about the windshield arms that attaches to the body unde the fenders in the driver's compartment? Max 1/8"
Doesn't the body flex at least that much over trhe bumps and at speeds?
Shouldn't the tolerance to cracking better than that?
I have no problem with mine, but I would like to be more careful with the next one.

TURK

[ronzara]

Turk,
I would think the glass should be somewhat flex able, but each side arm was gapped by about 1/4 - 3/8" SO, I guess by torking the arms in tight, it took up 1/2 to 3/4" space,.. this probably did put the pressure on the glass. ????
RZ

[Jack21]

DV is right. The side arms that hold the windshield to the body have to be installed so they exert no inward, or outward stress on the glass frame when shugged up. Shims, washers, or both must be used.

My glass options were 120 English pounds (x 1.4 exchange rate) for glass only plus shop installation here, or 360 English pounds (x 1.4 exchange rate for glass already installed in new frame, and new sidearms, and no additional installation cost. Almost a wash, $$$ wise.

Not complaining about Finishline, they have nice stuff, they're easy to deal with, and you have your parts tomorrow. But in USA, old British car parts are specialty items with specialty prices. In U.K., these pieces are OEM replacements, with OEM replacement prices. (About what the Brits must go through getting parts for their old Mustangs in U.K.)

I will share this bit of frustration. Replacing the same glass and frame should have been a direct swap out, right? Wrong. Brits made some minor design changes so the glass is the same, but frame and sidearms aren't. Windwings needed new mounts made, and had to have the sidearms redrilled and tapped for the top mounting brackets.

There is a USA made glass and frame that may be functionally and appearance wise identical. What may be involved in installing it remains to be seen.

[Monster]

Ron,
I understand the "legal" reasons for wanting to stay with glass, I had a windshield broken last year and went through the same issue.

Here's my post/ thread from last year on the subject It was a nice morning until.......

There is also a post that I provided with "How To Install" (search windshield)

Basically, here's is what I found

Glass windshield replacements are about $100 - $200
Shipping is about $100

Lexan w/scratch resistent coating is $125 (locally available)
Lexan is 270 times stronger than glass

The best reason that I could find that Lexan is not DOT is that it can scatch ( even the scratch resistent coating) which could inhibit vision in severe cases such as running the wipers on a dirty windshield. Another reason may be that nobody has gone through the DOT filing process which may be required for each windshield version.

I have had my lexan windshield in for a year and have had no problems. I clean it with a spray cleaner by "No Touch" and have no scratches in 5500 miles.

Good Luck,
Mike 'Monster"

[snakebyt]

I had the same problem - 3 times in fact. The glass is very sensitive to stresses. I had the proper amount of shims on the arms, the screws didn't touch the glass, etc. but it still broke. The problem was that the rightside arm was about 1/32" lower than the left. When I snugged up the middle bracket it put enough stress on the window to break it. I ended up getting a Lexan windshield. Installation was easy. The only problems I can see is not having the DOT sticker and preventing the gas station guys from scaping off the old inspection sticker every year. Other than that the coated leaxan windows seem fine.


Good luck

Tom

[jayem]

My windshield cracked this year. I took my old windshield in to taps plastics and
they cut me a new on out of lexan for $35 dollars. They sell a
buffing liquid in case you get scratches. This may not be legal
but has worked well for me. I might switch back to glass this
winter so I won't have to buff any more. Jay

[ronzara]

I still have to find a solution for my broken windshield,.. It's still in one piece just cracked from bottom to top.......

You guys who have taken yours to have lexan put it are EXTREMELY lucky....... I called around to EVERY glass shop here (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) and the people acted like I was from another planet.
They say they can't get scratch resistant lexan,... they have never heard of that, or some other lame (lazy) excuse as to why it is unavailable to me.

I think, to the time being, this may be the perfect "budget" fix for me. We have NO inspections...whatsoever...... in this state. So, there wouldn't be any legal issues. I guess the only real issue would be the sand blasting from the beach..... and the BIG-A** BUGS that BUZZ AROUND .......

If anyone has a spare lexan windshield cut to an I.W. frame, I would be willing to make a deal......
thanks
RZ

[glasssnake]

When I install new wind screens, I cut the holes in the body with nearly no gaps. Our wind screen mounting bracketts on the cowl hoop are adjustable so there is no shimming or any chance to stress the frame of the wind screen when I tighten it down. I havent seen any of them crack.

Has any one watched when you take your cars up to a high speed? My wind screen will push back in the center about 3/4 of an inch from the wind pressure. why dont this crack the glass?

I never use the center braces could this be why? Not to change the subject of the problem but this has been on my mind many times befor. What is the best way to install ? Wind screens are very $$$ so Im always thinking about this when Im installing them. "Any thoughts" Mark

[snakebyt]

Since you have no inspection issues, go get the Lexan windshield.
Call Brad at Racing Shields, (800) 554-7527. It's coated so it's scratch resistant. The good news is that your old one is still in one piece so it can be used as a template to cut the new one. I used a fine tooth blade in my jig saw and it went really smoothly. You'll probably need to get a new gasket. I got one from ERA. The whole process took about an hour or two.

Good luck!

[427 S/O]

Glasssnake, I gave the middle bracket a little consideration but decided not to to install for the very same reason, I run this boy hard and also noticed the flex in the center. I put a 2"x2" plastic piece about .050 thick under the windshield, where the bracket would normally be, during hard acceleration the windshield slides on the plastic and not on the paint.

[coyled]

I broke 3 glass windshields and have now gone to lexan. It does scratch though. What is the best way to get rid of scratches? I have been told to use a heat gun. Comments? scott