Cracked Windsheild on SPF 2238

[dmoscoso]

On this car the instructions on the SCOF web site for replacing the windshield don't quite seem to match my car. On 2238, I have no center bow holding the rearview mirror, it's glued to the glass itself. Also, the instructions refer to a center bow, I imagine they're referring to the bar holding the mirror, which I don't have.

Is there a way of replacing just the glass, or do I have to replace the entire windshield assembly? Either way, I'd also like to know if I must buy from my SPF dealer or may I go to recommended third party vendors?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

David
SPF 2238

[Danr55]

David, YOu can replace just the glass. YOU can also take the mirror mount off of your windsheild with a heat gun. The windshield assembly with the seals and the mount ring comes out by removing a couple of screws on each side of the car. Once you get the windshield out, you have to remove the bezels and the seals. You use new seals that are held in place by the bezels. Once the assembly is back together, you can trim about the bezel to clean it up. Replace it in the opposite manner. It looks and sounds a lot more difficult than it actually is. I know. I paid someone to do while I watched. The biggest thing to be careful of is putting a bind on the glass.

[dmoscoso]

Well, after looking at the instructions it does look do-able for a shade tree mechanic such as myself. So I guess I'll go shopping for new glass then....

Where did you get your glass from? Did you have any other option other than the dealer in terms of quality or fit? I'm also wondering if the new seals came with the glass or were those ordered seperately?

Thanks for the help...

- Dave

[Tony Aprile]

Dave

There are threads on this site about SPF windshield replacements, but the short of it is that you will have to go to your local SPF dealer for a replacement, the SPF glass is not the same shape as the other manufactures. After car # 1300 or so the body cowl was changed a bit, so the windshield frame and glass followed that shape. The newer glass is 1 inch shorter in the middle from top to bottom then the older version. Your is about 13 inches. Also the support rod was discontinued after about car number 2000, at that point the glass was bonded to the frame only in the middle on the top and bottom. The older glass pre 1300 was bonded all around. The glass with the support rod was not bonded at all. If you change your own windshield...seek proper advice from a dealer as to the correct way to rebond the the glass/gasket and frame. Sorry I can't help you with that as I have the support rod and never changed the newer glass.

Tony

[eschaider]

Dave,

You might want to look around on both SCOF and Club Cobra re: the broken windshield thing. This appears to be a fairly frequent occurrence on the newer SPFs. Someone (I don't recall who) thought of using GE Lexan after replacing two or so windshields.

Not a bad idea all things considered. It's no more expensive (maybe cheaper), it won't shatter from stone impacts but it will crater. Washing requires the same sort of care you would give to glasses with plastic lenses although in fairness the Lexan is noticeably tougher.

Most important it never cracks the way glass does.

Ed

[dmoscoso]

Thanks for your help guys,

I called up Olthoff's dealership and Dennis himself answered the phone. He was very helpful and, he too, agrees that I should be able to change the glass myself. He even offered to walk me through the process after I get my glass.

He also agreed with you guys that I must go with the dealer glass and it's pretty much my only course of action. They've changed several of these windshields and even went as far as asking me where/how it's cracked because that may indicate why it broke. In my case the crack runs top to bottom right in the center of the glass. This kind of crack is probably cause by a manufacturing defect.

I read some of the threads on this site about windshield repair and one fellow said he gound his own windshield from Lexan - I know I ain't that good - so I'll go the dealer glass route.

Thanks for all your help fellas - its awful nice to have all these resources at your disposal!

- Dave

[ROMM]

Good luck finding a windshield. I waited nearly 7 months for a new one. Had a dealer out of Humble, Tx finally get one from South Africa where they say the glass has to come from. Trailered my car for 3 hours to have the windshield changed out only to have the guys at the dealer say the windshields they had would not fit and that they were for the "new" cars. This was already after I gave the number of my car and when it was built. I have SPF1988. So they told me I would have to wait until another shipment came from South Africa. This was totally unacceptable. During this whole plight I spoke with several dealers and even Barry himself (SPF parts guru). I even sent him pics of the cracked windshield. He was a great guy, but bottom line is that I still don't have a new winshield and it has been almost a year. I gave my info out to several dealers and Barry himself, but no one has contacted me. No one. I admit I am really dissapointed in how SPF treats its customers. It is absolutely unaccepted to not be able to get a freakin' windshield for your car in what has been close to a year now.
Anyway, it got to the point where the windshield was so bad that I literally could not drive the car. I could not drive my immaculate (other than busted windshield) $60K car because of a dammed windshield. So what I ended up doing is putting in a Lexan one. Costs about the same as glass. Now I can drive my car. Its not as good as a glass windshield, but it is getting the job done, and now my windshield does not rattle like it always had, even when the glass was not cracked. Also, when the windshield guy pulled the glass out of my windshield, he said that the glass was installed improperly and that the windshield frame seemed to be slightly bent. The glass had been changed out a week before I bought the car 13 months ago. But that is another story. I am still waiting on a call for my new windshield...

[Tony Aprile]

Originally Posted by ROMM

Trailered my car for 3 hours to have the windshield changed out only to have the guys at the dealer say the windshields they had would not fit and that they were for the "new" cars. This was already after I gave the number of my car and when it was built. I have SPF1988. So they told me I would have to wait until another shipment came from South Africa. This was totally unacceptable. During this whole plight I spoke with several dealers and even Barry himself (SPF parts guru). I even sent him pics of the cracked windshield. He was a great guy, but bottom line is that I still don't have a new winshield and it has been almost a year. I gave my info out to several dealers and Barry himself, but no one has contacted me. No one. I admit I am really dissapointed in how SPF treats its customers. It is absolutely unaccepted to not be able to get a freakin' windshield for your car in what has been close to a year now.
...

I agree with your frustration....I have owned my SPF for 5+ years and have replaced several SPF windshields while working part time for a SPF assembly shop, I don't understand the windshield problem...there are only two glass shapes..the original style and after car #1300 or so the new high cowl style.

The newer style came in two forms...non bonded glass..with the center support rod, then the later partically bonded glass to frame with no support rod.

Im curious...what was Barry's answer to you ???

[carmine]

I wonder if passengers are grabing the top left corner of the windshield with there hand in order to assist them in pulling themselves off the seat and out of the car. This could i would think could stress the glass to breaking point.

[mpanten]

Man I hope I never need a windshield. I hear nothing but horror stories about getting replacements. I have had to buy other parts and have had mixed results, usually having to call several dealers and getting several different answers. Someone could make some money if they figured this out.

[Silverback51]

After reading this I think I will just order a spare windshield and have it in my spare parts room.

[madmaxx]

Do the windsheilds break because they are not installed correctly or due to rocks hitting them? If not installed correctly I would think warranty should cover it.

[ROMM]

Originally Posted by Tony Aprile

I agree with your frustration....I have owned my SPF for 5+ years and have replaced several SPF windshields while working part time for a SPF assembly shop, I don't understand the windshield problem...there are only two glass shapes..the original style and after car #1300 or so the new high cowl style.

The newer style came in two forms...non bonded glass..with the center support rod, then the later partically bonded glass to frame with no support rod.

Im curious...what was Barry's answer to you ???

Well I had sent some pics to Barry of my cracked windshield because I wasn't sure if it was a defective glass or maybe installed incorrectly. When I received the car, the windshield had a bad rattle to it and there were no cracks. You have to remember that the glass had just been changed out at a Phoenix Superformance dealer because the previous windshield had a crack in it too. Well after about a week of owning the car, a huge crack appeared on the passenger's side. Barry looked at the pics and told me that it was probably from passengers grabbing the windshield to get in and out of the car (as carmine brought up in his post). He said the windshields were on back order and it would be awhile before any would come in. I gave him my contact info and email and such, and he got me in contact with the dealer in Humble, Tx I had mentioned earlier. I talked to them and they said they had some glass coming in and they would call me. They never did, they told me they lost my contact info, but I called them several times to check and it was not until 6 months later that the glass was in. Nothing was really ever mentioned about two different windshield glass' to me until the day I trailered mine for 6 hours round trip to get my glass changed out, only to find the glass would not fit.
Also for what it is worth, the glass that was in mine when I bought the car (the new replacement glass) was a Shelby windshield.

I can upload a few photos if needed.

[JCoop]

Originally Posted by carmine

I wonder if passengers are grabing the top left corner of the windshield with there hand in order to assist them in plulling themselves off the seat and out of the car. This could i would think could stress the glass to to breaking point.

Could be...which is why I have affixed a sticker to both corners and center that says "NO HOLD". The other disturbing thing is leaning down on an open door.

[mpanten]

Originally Posted by JCoop

Could be...which is why I have affixed a sticker to both corners and center that says "NO HOLD". The other disturbing thing is leaning down on an open door.

Add to that when someone throws their seatbelt over their shoulder on your nice paint job

[carmine]

Thats why i tell all my passengers to not do anything until i come around to assist them because it tricky to get out. They may feel stupid but you have lots of time to tell them why afterwards. Your car gets spared damage and they don,t get burned from sidepipe. Win Win For Everyone!

[SP01715]

I replaced the entire winshield assembly on my car when it broke. After talking to Barry and a few others it was decided that replacing the entire thing was easier than trying to replace just the glass. I ended up taking the car to Hillbank (I am lucky that I live close) after the windshield assembly did not fit the car correctly. Both Lance and Barry were baffled because like was said above, there are supposed to only be two types.

Lance had his in house mechanic work on it and he got it to fit. They ended up having to widen the slots where the window frame goes through the body to get it to fit (the new window was not as wide as the original by about 1/8 inch). According to the guy that did the work they are all a little different because they are hand made. They are not just a simple "plug and play" type part. They also did not replace the bolts in the center support because it allows the frame to move if the body flexes and so far the windshield has been fine. I would leave the bolts out.

Lance and Barry were great to work with.

[mpanten]

I have had good luck with the people at Hillbank. Some of the others not so much.

[NHVANA]

I recommend a full replacement c/w new frame. The glass is bonded to the hand made frame at the factory; I assume that this is all made on a jig of some sorts so would be surprised if it did not fit. I replaced my windshield c/w new frame, it took approximatley 1 hour to remove the old unit and replace with new. The whole component was in stock at the Australasian agent (CTC Victoria, Australia) and took 2 weeks to arrive at my front door way down under.

Cheers
Bruce

[Tony Aprile]

Madmaxx....windshields crack because there under stress...I have noticed while swapping out the glass...the shape or roundness of the glass is not exactly the same as the frame. Because of the slightly two different shapes, once the new glass is installed into the frame it's already under tention, then you affix the frame to the side supports and re-attach the lower center support, another stress point

Romm...Maybe someone down the line before you, could not get the correct glass so the changed the entire frame ??? SPF glass for the newer cars is specific to that body shape. Pictures would be good !!. There was a similar thread on CC with a SPF months ago, wrong frame, glass would not fit...

SP01715...I have changed my own glass 4 time in 5 years, it's not that bad and alot less expensive to swap out the glass. With a new frame, then the matching side supports have to be installed....then the rake of the new frame has to be at the correct angle to match the soft top. Just as much of a pain in the A$$.

I have had cracks across the lower pass corner, and no one was in the passenger seat, then after a nice summer ride, put the cobra in the garage, the next morning a crack right down the middle..(no rock dings) that happened twice...keep a spare glass stored away, ya never know !!!