Glass Storage Warning and Question

[Guest BJM]

I carefully removed my tinted windshield from my 63 Pontiac Bonneville because it had no cracks and was the original windshield in nice condition (no wiper scratches) I set it on the garage floor, upright as it was on the car, leaning at a small angle against some other parts. Walked by it yesterday to discover a long crack up the middle, inside the glass (if that makes sense) from the bottom to near the top, where it eventually curled to a stop. So now I need a windshield.

I am not sure how to store glass removed from frame off type restorations. I know my windshiled in my 68 Riviera is alos perfect (still in the car) and I am really worried about removing it now. It took me 2 hours to remove my 63 Bonneville windshield because I was being very careful. Slowly cutting the rubber seal, then the gooey light grey filler/sealer with my shop knife. Then I carefully lifted and placed in what I thought would be the best manner possible and crack.

Sooooo, what is the correct method of storage for a windshield? IF I lay it flat- wouldn't that put stresses on the middle? Did it crack because it wasn't "suspended" on the body - in other words - it had to support it's own weight? And could it have been, even though it wasn't cracked, it was still 43 year old glass and was "worn out" anyway so no matter what I did , it may have cracked?

I'd be interested to know what anyone's thoughts are on storage of my 68 Riviera windshield. And maybe some experience from others can help with this issue for everyone.

Thanks

Jake

[Guest imported_Thriller]

I have a NORS windshield for my '56 Special...I picked up on on eBay in 2003, picked it up in Wisconsin on the way to Flint and it made it to Flint and back to Winnipeg in the back of my pickup truck (granted on 2" camping foam type stuff).

Anyway, it is in its original cardboard box. If you take the windshield out of the box, there are two squares of cardboard the dimensions of the height and depth of the box (which is larger than the windshield obviously) that have slits in them that the windshield passes through. So, in the box, it is suspended by these two upright pieces of cardboard.

I hope that made sense...if not, let me know and I can post a couple of photos.

You may want to consider contacting a glass shop - if they are still shipped in a similar fashion, they may have packing materials that they would give to you to protect your windshield.

[NTX5467]

Before we stopped doing glass work at our body shop, I would pickup windshields from a vendor and bring them back to the dealership. For the "less wide" windshields, I'd usually place them on the passenger side seat in the pickup, with some foam between them (if there were two of them). Others were in the shipping boxes they came in. Inside the boxes, as Thriller mentioned, were cardboard separators so that more than one windshield could be shipped in the same box. In some cases, even two different windshields (provided they were of similar or complimentary shapes/lengths). Key thing was to keep them separated. For the more rectangular pieces of glass (i.e., Blazer/Surburban rear t/gate windows), there were wave-shaped cardboard strips that located the glass on the sides and top/bottom too, with in the box.

Glass, while "rigid", is still pretty flexible (at least more than you might suspect) and "soft" (scratch-wise). The only thing I might suspect that could have caused your stress crack might have been that it was placed on a "rigid" surface with no interface to allow it to expand and contract with the ambient temperature variations of the location. In other words, no cushion.

Currently, almost all of the mobile glass service companies carry their glass in the back of their service pickup trucks. The "carrier" is a frame with many "dowels" sticking up from the base, covered with some of the soft rubber pipe insulation tube stock. Probably some foam on the base of the carrier too, I suspect.

When they get to the job site, they usually have a fold-out "tray" (kind of like the restaurant servers bring with them to the table, to place their larger tray with the patrons' meals on them) that usually has some sort of padding on it, upon which they place the windshield (as a workbench of sorts). Sometimes, I think they have some vinyl top material on it too, for padding and ease of clean-up.

You can also build a horizontal rack from normal lumber, with foam padding on the "forks" upon which you slide in the windshield. Kind of like the truck bed carrier I mentioned, just horizontally rather than vertical storage.

To get an idea of these things, you might contact some of the larger automotive glass vendors in your area and ask to see how they store their windshields and such. They might even give you some of their left-over shipping boxes, as once they get the product out of them, they probably go to the dumpster (unless they keep a few for other reasons).

When and if you get the repro glass for the Pontiac, make sure that what you get is the same thickness as what came out of the car. You might also ask them about date coding it for you, if you care about that.

Key thing about glass storage is to make sure that it's in a safe and secure place where nothing will be stacked upon it or around it (whether on the "forks" or in a cardboard shipping box). It might also be advantageous to leave it in the car throughout the whole restoration process, as much as possible, rather than pulling it out and storing it.

Just some thoughts,

NTX5467

[Guest John Chapman]

Jake,

Another thought...

A 'spontaneous' crack like the one you describe is a stress crack. There is a good chance that it originated from a small chip at the edge of the windshield on the side of the glass that cracked. This chip forms a point of stress focus, usually at a peak point in the chip pattern. The stess induced by either positioning, unequal heating/cooling of the windshield, or flexing will cause the crack from the weak spot. If you examine a glass after removal and find a small chip from handling, you can relieve the stress point by carefully smoothing the edges with a grinding stone or emery paper.

Good luck!

JMC

[Guest BJM]

I keep learning as I go. Thanks for the input from all of you. The windshield was on my concrete garage floor. It's hot and humid here in Iowa now. Maybe there is a stress chip or point down at the bottom where this started.

I was quoted $250 installed for a new windshield which I though was pretty good. From Iowa Glass Depot - which is a long time Hemmings advertiser. They have 44 in stock -probably shared with Chevrolet's. I am going to get it sooner rather then later and store it, along with the Riviera windshield.

I like the idea of a wooden rack, heavily padded, up out of the way.

The reason i took it out is primarily for ease of getting the upper dash out, which is a pain and because all 3 of the cars are body off restorations anyway. Thanks again.

[NTX5467]

Rather than just pulling the "upper dash" out, you might consider unbolting the complete instrument panel assembly and removing it as such--if possible. It's installed at the factory as an assembly (assembled "off line") and it makes getting to the backside of the instrument panel much easier, plus the HVAC items on the firewall, than doing it the "normal" way of laying in the front floor board. With the complete assembly out, you can then have it on a workbench area for much easier and higher quality work.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, but after we did it with a Superbird, it made everything look easy (no sore necks either!). With the front seat out, you and a helper just "walk" the finished assembly through the door opennings, put the bolts to the body in, and tighten them up. This is after all of the firewall-mounted items have been refreshed/refurbished. Basically, you are putting it back together like it was first assembled at the assembly plant. Key thing is to have a big enough place to do that in!

Just some thoughts,

NTX467

[Guest John Chapman]

NTX,

With respect to removing the dash as a unit, where would I find the attachment bolts on a '65 Skylark? This seems to be a real solution to the headaches (literally) associated with dash/instrument/airconditioning restoration.

Thanks,

JMC

[Guest BJM]

I only have experience with modern dashes but you are absolutely correct. You try to remove as little as possible and bring the whole thing out as a unit. OK, I'll try it on the Riviera.

[NTX5467]

You might need to do some looking in the service manual and/or parts manual exploded view, but generally I believe the attaching bolts should be on each side (bolting the structure to the cowl panel) and also some along the front edge (bolting it to the firewall area of the cowl). Using that for a general guide might help with most any vehicle, but some might be different. Key thing is to consider how the vehicle was assembled at the factory and replicate that activity in the restoration/refurbishment processes.

In the case of the mid-1960s GM intermediate vehicles, I'm not that familiar with how those instrument panels "built", so looking in the parts book exploded view would be necessary to see where the bolts might be and if certain parts of the total structure were also stamped to include other body parts. Every platform architecture might be a little different in some aspects, but the general rule I mentioned above might be a start.

The other key thing is to have sufficient garage space to support these "removing sub-assembly" items and then working on them in a safe and productive location. In other words, a "space" that you can lock and walk away from and return when the urge to "work" strikes again, that will not be compromised by a fully/partially disassembled vehicle.

Just some thoughts,

NTX5467