Thread: A new car!
View Single Post
Unread 11-03-2013, 06:12 PM   #72
GlenL
Workin' on it
 
GlenL's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 941
Thanks: 91
Thanked 85 Times in 77 Posts
GlenL will become famous soon enoughGlenL will become famous soon enough
Garage
Default

A few weeks on and more progress. Still working through wiring issues. The connectors on the rear of the pod are super touchy. I've got pod lights, OK "light," so the ground is good. Still no engine temp and no speedo. I'll get back to that.

Meanwhile...

As you can see I've replaced the windshield. I was looking for some parts on RockAuto.com and wandered into a "closeout" on 928 windshields. The price was $146 plus $83 shipping and I couldn't resist. I need one on each of my 928s but The Zombie had a long crack and seemed a good candidate for a test run.

The first windshield came and had a small crack at the bottom. Just a light tap, I suppose, but made the layers delaminate. They agreed to a return and I opted for a replacement hoping they'd let me keep the bad one. Nope. So back it went. They pre-paid the return. Not sure it helps but I'm a frequent customer of theirs.

The second windshield was fine. It's the Chinese-made windshield. The catalog listed it a "various manufacturers" so I was hoping name-brand glass. Looked good enough and it'll be a huge improvement.

The weekend plan was to replace it. The results are looking pretty good. The removal was a mess, however.

I purchased a tool to cut the glue with a "L" shaped blade off eBay. $7 so what can go wrong? The box said "Harbor Freight" and, sure enough, the blade broke almost immediately. Plan B was to get a long Sawzall blade and cut the glue from the inside but that proved unwieldy. I also found that my attempts cut into the metal frame.

Plan C was a smashing success. (Sorry) I got to use my two favorite tools, at least. With a small sledge I busted a hole in the windshield. Then used the Sawzall to cut out most of the windshield making a giant hole as near to the frame as I could. The outside ring was easy to pull off along with most of the adhesive. Glass bits? Everywhere. Along with glass dust. It took an hour to vacuum up the garage, the exterior and the interior of the car. I could have laid plastic sheet across the inside, I suppose, but it needed a good, motivated vacuuming. No one should go barefoot in the garage or car, anyways.

The next step was to clean the mounting surfaces. The old sealant scraped off fairly well. It looked like maybe that was a replacement windshield. The goop along the bottom was a mess. I used some lacquer thinner to clean the metal as well.

Oh yeah. The button for the mirror was glued on very solidly. There was no mirror when I got the car and perhaps over-did it. I tried tapping it off and ended up getting it free with a chisel, vice grips and a hammer. When it came free I jerked and somehow slice myself on the chin. Didn't hurt but a nice, thin cut. Extra points for me!

With the windshield out I stripped the bad leather from the dash to reveal a bad dash. Someone had tried to fix it and there was a row of sheetmetal screws along the bottom edge. I tried to get the adhesive residue off but that didn't go well, either. Not sure what to do about that. I need a dash for PCA stock "letter" classes. May be a vinyl dash in my future.

Installing the windshield was fairly easy but nerve wracking. You get one shot and the thing could be dropped. I went to Menards to get some suction cups and all they had were $2 cups that looked like toys. I got four so my helper (daughter) and I could each use two hands. We didn't drop it but they came loose when not being used. Re-mounted them right before each use.

The sealant I used (also off eBay) was Titan P2G. I got two tubes but used only one. The tubes came with some pads soaked in "special" cleaner but it smelled like citrus degreaser. The windshield has to be really clean for the glue/sealant to hold. The frame as well.

The new glass had a black circle to mark where the mirror should attach. That was easy.

The sealant comes in tubes that fit an regular caulking gun. Easy enough? Nope. It's super thick and I needed two hands to squeeze it out. The applicator tip is kind of cool in that it has a "V" notch at the tip and guide finger to make a perfect triangle of sealant as you draw it right along the edge.

One problem was not finding the guide blocks. Or maybe finding one. These hold the windshield up a faction of an inch from along the bottom. I couldn't find a picture on-line but found on likely chunk in the garbage. Just a piece of rubber. I cut some small bits (1"x3/16") from some 1/4" neoprene sheet I had. Worked fine in the trial fit. Makes sense to hold it up a bit using some rubber so the glass doesn't touch the metal.

With the sealant drawn around the edge of the glass it was time. The glass went on with no issues. The rest of the tube of sealant was just enough to fill the gap along the bottom of the windshield. Gloobed some extra into the bottom corners as well. The extruded "V" of sealant stands 1/4" or more tall and takes up the space between the glass and frame well. Or we'll see when the car is in the rain the first time.

Done! For now...
__________________
1980 928S Euro x2
1987 944 N/A

Last edited by GlenL; 11-04-2013 at 12:35 AM. Reason: Proofread
GlenL is offline   Reply With Quote