Hello Everyone,

Any suggestions on new glass (door and quarter '69) that actually fits and has tint that doesn't look blotchy?

I have been working with my local supplier, but after 3 sets of glass, we finaly found a set that's tint was OK. Then when we tried to install it, the contour of the glass wasn't right. There was no way they would seal - no matter what we did.

We installed the orginal glass and had it alighned in 30 minutes. This is what I want from a new set of glass.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Keith

I know Frank at Prodigy Customs sells a smoked glass kit. From what I have read people are pretty happy with it.

http://www.shop.gpsuperstore.com/product.sc?productId=2&categoryId=3

There is a thread over on Lateral-G with some good pics:
http://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=17488

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u212/ProdigyCustoms/DSC_0107.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u212/ProdigyCustoms/DSC_0089-1.jpg

You might give Frank a call.

I spoke with with Prodigy, and it seems my local dealer probably sells the same smoked glass that Prodigy deals with (only one overseas manufacture makes the glass for everyone). Maybe after going through more sets I might be able to find some pieces that fit better than others, but I'm not willing at this point to go through that exercise anymore. Three sets is enough.

So, I'm back to the original question. Has anyone installed a set of side glass recently that fits like the originals, and has uniform tint like the originals? No blotchy tint. A-pillar and roof rails seal, and the door glass matches the curve of the quarter windows. Is that really too much to expect?

Or do we all just accept the reproduction crap quality, because that's all we can get? sorry for the rant, but this is just my last straw on reproduction parts.

I do not care about original markings and date coding, just fit and finish.



Thanks.

Keith

I have been driving with scratched door glass because the one time I did buy new door glass (for a different car) it fit like crap. I'd rather have scratched glass that fits over new glass that doesn't, LOL!

Yeah, I think we may end up going that route. The original glass fits like it was made for the car - imagine that. We'll just polish it as best we can and finish this car up. The glass is the last thing keeping us from completing a 2 year resto.

If its just the outside edge shape thats a little off a glass shop can shape it with a sander. If its the contour then there is nothing that can be done.

And I will tell everyone what I told you as you were kind enough to sugar coat what I said. All the glass sucks equally, because it all comes from the same manufacturer. It is all a teenie bit thin (just a tennie), curvatures are not exactly the same, and like you I find it frustrationg that 40 years later we can fly people around the earth in the space shuttle, but we cannot make BETTER parts then the originals. Why can't we make a better dash pad then they made in 1969? Ever use a 68 / 69 deluxe door panel! You should try to do this for a living, sell the stuff, or better yet install the stuff and try to explain that is the best your gonna get!

However, with that admission of imperfection said, your problem does seem extreme. You can see the car in the picture, and the glass is adjusted pretty darn good. It seals and matches front to rear. We can get it adjusted, but my guys also install it all the time.

I would say give your supplier one more try and try one more set. Or try having someone else adjust it. We sell at least 50 sets a year of Camaro glass, and the problems are 1 in 50 at best, and never this extreme.

Hey Frank, or anyone!!!

Can original glass that has small scratch's and imperfection be buffed out? What does the out come look like? I heard that if you grind and buff the glass that it will distort the view when you look through it.

Thanks in advance.

All the glass sucks equally, because it all comes from the same manufacturer. It is all a teenie bit thin (just a tennie), curvatures are not exactly the same

We can get it adjusted, but my guys also install it all the time.

The issue I had was the curvature was off (67 ragtop), so that the back of the door window did not have the same curvature as the quarter window. I got everything else adjusted fine (had to modify the regulators to get the adjustment I needed) but how in the heck to you get the back of the door glass to seal against the weather strip on the quarter window when they do not have the same curvature?

I have used glass in stock of various date codes, tinted and clear. I can't bring myself to toss it and it's difficult to find someone willing to buff it themselves. Occasionally I find someone needing correct glass for a concours resto and they take the time to buff it. It can be done but it is tedious.

The issue I had was the curvature was off (67 ragtop), so that the back of the door window did not have the same curvature as the quarter window. I got everything else adjusted fine (had to modify the regulators to get the adjustment I needed) but how in the heck to you get the back of the door glass to seal against the weather strip on the quarter window when they do not have the same curvature?

That is the most common problem and the first thing I asked Keith when he called was it the front to rear glass curvature. His problem is in a different area I think near the top corner of the roof rail. But you can usually split hairs and get it to work. If you cheat each one a little it gets "acceptable".

Here is another car with it. These are not up close pics of ths glass, but you can see it looks ok,

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u212/ProdigyCustoms/DSC_0046.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u212/ProdigyCustoms/DSC_0065.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u212/ProdigyCustoms/DSC_0058.jpg

frank, this i jason from south dakota. any news on my mustang parts?

That is the most common problem and the first thing I asked Keith when he called was it the front to rear glass curvature. His problem is in a different area I think near the top corner of the roof rail. But you can usually split hairs and get it to work. If you cheat each one a little it gets "acceptable".

Now that you mention it...ya I had issues in the corners as well. Like you said I had to cheat (by modifying the regulators and how the glass was mounted in them) to get it to be "acceptable", but just barely.

Guys,

Here were my issues, in detail:

I first tried a repo factory tint "green" glass set. The tint was blotchy, like tiger stipes. Usually you get this effect with polarised glasses, but this was evident with the naked eye. After looking at other 1st gens with 'new" tinted glass and reading more on the tempering processs they are using on the overseas glass, I determined I was never going to find a good set of new "green" glass. Also, when light was behind the glass on the 1/4 windows, you could see a fine outline of finger prints. We were not able to ever get these out - it looked like they were in the glass tint itself. This was glass set No. 1, which unfortunately I did not see the tiger stripes in the rear glass until it was installed. Check out my post on rear glass back in August.

So, I decided to try the smoked glass (which I do think looks great - as far as tinting is concerned). The first set of smoked glass I recieved had some flaws and scratches in some pieces. Set No. 2.

Supplier sent out another set, and between the two I was able to piece together a set without flaws in the tint. When installing this set, here are the problems We had:

First, I am using Metro brand weatherstrip, which looks to be of verry good quality, at least better than the Soft Seal units I've purchased in the past.

Passenger side door: The curvature top to bottom seemed off. The glass, at the top, dived in allittle too far inboard at the roof rail. We ran out of adjustmet at the mechanism, but was able to match it up by moving the roof rail weatherstrip channel and filing down the new wear buttons (the black and blue plastic buttons that ride on the outboard nylon strips). This made the roofrail side seal nicely. However, top to bottom at the a-pillar was now off. Again, at full adjust on the mechanism, there was not enough to get a proper seal. No gap at the top, big gap at the bottom. We again tried moving the roof rail channel around, but there was just not enough adjustment to make the two match. After this, looking at the curvature fore and aft, there was also no way the fuzzies were going to seal the outer glass to the door skin. No way.

Drivers Door: The glass curvature top to bottom was much worse than the pass side. The glass dove inboard past the inside edge of the weatherstrip channel. Even completely to the extreems of the adjustment, inboard and outboard also trying different sized wear buttons and moving the strip channel, there seemed no way to get the top of the glass outboard enough. We did get the door to finaly close, but it was smashing the top roofrail weatherstrip severley. Thats when we could see that the shape at the A-Pillar was completely wrong, with a large gap in the middle and a tight gap top to bottom. Also, this piece would have had the same issue with the window fuzzies, no way would it seal to the outer glass.

Now, after screwing with this set for 2 days without success, I did start questining my skills. So, we had a set of original glass from another car in the shop. I slid the drivers side piece in, and had it adjusted niecely withing an half hour. Perfect seal on the roof rail and a-pilar, and it looked like the window fuzzies would seal nicely. That's when I said screw this repro sh......

Now saying this, I really, really, really like the look of the smoked glass. I just want to be able to wash my car once in awhile without water rushing into my doors. I also want to be able to drive in the spring and fall with the windows up, and not have a wind wistle all the time. Not to mention we spent so much time and money on the body gaps and seems, it is just plain fustrating to compromise on the glass. We never tried installing the "green" door glass, so I do not know if their fit would have been better.

Frank - thanks for your honesty. I really like the work you do from visiting your website. If I didn't already have months of time into just messing with glass, I might be willing to give my vender another shot. But the more I look into this, the more it looks like I am not going to be happy with the current products available. If you see things improve, please let us know. Hell, it will just be one more time pulling the door glass in and out - which we have become pretty efficient at now. Or - if from reading my description, you see an error in my ways, let me know. It just seemed that when the factor glass was a slam dunk, it confirmed I was doing at least something right.

If anyone else out there knows of a glass company that is actually making these things correctly, please please let us know.

You might as well put down an on the crap repro list 69 wheel well mouldings. Man, why do people keep selling/buying those things?

Thanks again,

Keith

Can DA sand marks be polished out of glass. Mine has some DA marks on the bottom of the glass at the top edge of the door.

Ok, So here are some pics of the red car glass up close. Excuse the camera phone pictures. I just wanted to get some detail shots so everyone would be clear on fitment. While not perfect, I do think it is better then scratched original glass. It seals just fine.

And to answer the questions on buffing glass. my experiance with buffed glass is no matter who does it (at least the experts I have contracted too), it is always foggy.

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u212/ProdigyCustoms/SSPX0076.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u212/ProdigyCustoms/SSPX0075.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u212/ProdigyCustoms/SSPX0071.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u212/ProdigyCustoms/SSPX0070.jpg

Well, Frank, I just bought the glass from Anthony Rose that he had for sale on Lat-g, so we'll see how it fits. The windshield and passenger side door pieces were broken in shipment, so Jennifer is working on the UPS claims dept. right now. Hopefully, it fits decent.

And to answer the questions on buffing glass. my experiance with buffed glass is no matter who does it (at least the experts I have contracted too), it is always foggy.

I understand that tempered glass cannot be buffed like the windshield, as it is too hard.

Hey Frank,

It looks like you're using some kind of custom weatherstrip roofrail channel on that red car? Did you french-in the channel and eliminate the stainless "lip" that holds the stock weatherstrip?

With the stock roof rail channel at the a-pillar, you cannot force the glass forward into the a-pilar weatherstrip. I could have done that, to seal the glass at the front edge. But if you do that with the factory stainless channel peice, if you open the door with the glass up, the glass will catch on the stainless trim and corner re-inforcement. Same if you close the door with the glass up. The factory glass actually seals more on the inside edge at the a-pilar, not the front edge.

With that said, you are very much dependant on the glass matching the curve of the a-pillar trim. On the red car, you can see how much more weatherstrip is exposed at the top corner at the a-pillar than at the bottom. I just did not have that kind of leway.

Do you have pics of the fitment with the stock roof rail/a-pillar trim?

That red car looks great, I really do wish the smoked glass fit my car better. I desperately wanted it to work.

Regards,

Keith

That is factory weatherstrip retainer molding painted black. Nothing special.

Wow, they just seem to disappear in those pics.

I will be in Orlando the week of Jan. 19th. Will that car still be around, or another car with that glass that I might be able to look at?

Keith

I can add that the correct dated windshield is almost too short to install!

Wow, they just seem to disappear in those pics.

I will be in Orlando the week of Jan. 19th. Will that car still be around, or another car with that glass that I might be able to look at?

Keith

That car is on hold while the customer gathers more cash to finish. So it should be here.

i was just putting a straight edge on some old door glass and the new (repo) pilkington glass and the old glass has a arc from front to back that leaves a 1/4" gap under the straight edge in the middle of the glass.....the repo galss didn't have it...it was straight front to back. that's why everybody is having the the problems with the fuzzies in the middle of the door. i'm not sure if the repo doors add to the problem or of the problem is just with the glass......needless to say i'm a little pissed that i went to pilkington and spent some good money for this door glass that isn't even close to what it needs to be.
i have a solex door glass and it matches the old glass to a "t" so i guess that i'm just going to have to put that in and wait to see if i can find a dated original.

Has anybody used Auto City glass out of Isanti, Minnesota? Or is this where everybodys getting there less then perfect glass? Thanks

It all comes from one manufacturer no matter whos name is on the box.

i used auto city glass on a 57 vert, what a pain, never again. i install ppg glass in my 68z fits perfect. the date coded glass is a joke, crummy import glass, not original so whats the point.

pilkington....ppg.....it's all the same stuff. nice to hear that your 68 glass fit well........the 69 stuff sure doesn't.

It looks good and lines up fine....my only problem is a good seal in the top window channel. Wind noise....has to be curvature. That being said, I'd rather have it than scratched originals.

Some troubles could be attributed to not adjusting glass correctly. I purchased almost all new glass for my 69. Body shop complained glass wasn't quite right so the gaps weren't very good at the quarter window to door window glass area. A few hours of adjustment and many curse words later I had everything looking and sealing up a lot better. However I will say one of my door windows is a little off in curvature compared to the quarter window. But this is the side where I kept the original quarter window. On the other side is a new quarter and door glass and those match up well. So maybe if you replace both you have a better chance of things fitting properly. -Just my experience, your mileage may very ; ).

Is the 68 repo stuff better than the 69?

Where could I get just the two front passenger/driver windows? I wanted to get my windows tinted, but where I live, the cops love busting people for tinted windows. So i will just tint the rear windows with the film and get the smoked front windows so they cant do anything about that.