49 P17 Windshield Question

[Loren]

My windshield gasket leaked badly so I got a new one and now I am in the middle of changing it.

Surprise...while my 52's windshield tipped out the front the 49 goes in from the inside.

Now that I have it out and cleaned up I am not liking the discoloration from the rubber on the edges ( kind of a brown ) and water marks in the lower corners.

There are no cracks or chips that I can see but 74 years of aging can be seen.

A.B. wants $168 for a clear one ( I can't tell if that is one piece or the whole windshield ) and they want 4 weeks to supply it.

That cost is reasonable but the delivery time is too much.

Has anyone got any experience with their windshield?

Should I wait or find a shop to cut one locally?

[DJK]

I would think local is the way to go.

[Sniper]

 would consider a tint on the top of it though

[FarmerJon]

I haven't used them, but I had this place saved for future use.

http://bobsclassicautoglass.com/

 

May be best to see what a local glass shop would charge to cut you new ones.

[Loren]

You know if it were a special deluxe I think I would get the tint.

But a P17 Deluxe is not a car that came that way and the fact that it has no chrome kind of chinches it.

I had thought about getting the windshield chrome and the gasket that goes with it but decided against it.

New they were the cheapest MoPar you could buy. Used they were considered "Transportation Cars" and found on the back row of used car lots.

I don't want to stray too far from that reality.

However, tint at the top was really cool in the day and only found on really nice cars. I would do it without hesitation on a Special Deluxe!

[Los_Control]

Me personally .... I would be tickled pink just to find someone qualified to do the job.

I would hit them up & buy them lunch in exchange for their  stories.

 

Just saying ....   I can not tell you the best rubber supply .... I would go with Steele.

A actual glass installer ..... I dunno.  Dying breed & would take what I could get.

[plymjim]

Just about any local glass company could cut you 

a new windshield. Just take your old one along for 

a pattern. You will probably find it cheaper than

mail order.

[grea235]

I used bobclassicauto for my 52 glass.  It matched the old glass just fine.  It was 400 something for all but the back window.  The local shop wanted 235 just for one door window.  I don't recall how long it took for them to get it to me.

[JerseyHarold]

FWIW, Plymouth didn't have a factory option for tinted glass until mid-year 1952.  Something to consider if you're trying to be authentic.

[Sam Buchanan]

Another vote for Bob's, I got a driver side glass for my P15 and it was perfect.

 

https://www.vendio.com/stores/bobsclassicautoglass/category/plymouth-glass/catId=4144656

[MarcDeSoto]

Bob's sounds like the go to vendor for antique auto glass.  They also sell the rubber gaskets.  I only had one cracked window, the driver door, and I already bought a new window for $45 a few years ago on Ebay.  Now I'm going to have to make that same decision that you made: whether or not to replace just one window, or all the flat glass.  I looked on Ebay and there is a seller who sells antique flat glass that is clear or green.  Why would anyone get green?  Does green glass sheild you from summer heat better?  Looks like you better not crack your rear window glass!  No one makes it because it's curved.  I knew that back in the 80s when I was removing the rear window on my 48 DeSoto business coupe.  The back window comes out inside the cab.  I had cut and chipped away the rubber gasket around the window and was gingerly hammering, with a rubber mallet, the rear window toward the inside of the cab.  Hammering even with a rubber mallet might not be the best method! Then after just a few light hammer blows, it fell inside the cab down to the floor!  I thought Oh NO!  If it's cracked I won't be able to the get another one except from another MoPar business coupe.  Luckily, the glass still had the rubber gasket around it, and I had a blanket on the floor inside.  Close one!  

Edited February 23, 2023 by MarcDeSoto

[Kilgore47]

I got a quote for $100 at the local glass company for new flat windshield glass.  That's with me doing the work.  I'll do the removal and probably have them do the install.

[moparfun]

I would try to stay local

[Loren]

This mornings update:

I called Bob's Classic Auto Glass. (541) 925-3260

For the two windshields in clear $130.

For less than a tank of gas they will ship them UPS and I don't have to spend a day driving to get them when they are done.

When you think about the cost of the gasket I have to change anyway, the glass is CHEAP! They sell the gaskets from Steele as well.

 

For perspective I had to replace the windshield in my MB GLK 250: $525 wholesale!

That was two years ago and it already has two rock chips in it right in the driver's line of sight.

 

Everyday I find more things to like about the KT Keller Plymouths! ( 1949-52 )

My next major improvement is a seat bottom from a Special Deluxe. The P17 version lacks the number of springs I'd like to have and I feel like I am sitting on the floor.

[MarcDeSoto]

There's a good MTSC filmstrip from 1952 just on the subject of glass in these cars.  Worth a look!  

 

https://mymopar.com/mtsc-1952-volume-5-12-windshield-and-rear-window-service/