Removing glass from '35-'36 windshield frame

[JM 35 Sedan]

It has finally become necessary for me to remove and replace the original glass in the windshield of my '35 fordor sedan. This is an EFV8C/A Rouge Class car so I have avoided making any unnecessary changes but the time has definitely come for reasons of safety and appearance. I've gotten pretty good at removing the windshield assembly from the car and know I need to remove the four little screws on each side of the frame, but how do you get that 77 year old glass out of the frame without breaking the glass or bending the frame? I'm thinking I want to keep this glass as a pattern to use for cutting new glass. Is there anything I can do to the original glass bedding to make it easy to separate the old glass from the frame? I would appreciate any thoughts or personal experience anyone may have on how to do this. Thank you!

[37 Coupe]

Soak each side in a bath of Kroil or Gibbs.Good for other than rust sometimes.

[BrianCT]

JM . Have you considered buying a frame with good glass and putting the original
on the shop wall?
Brian

[V12Bill]

For my 1939 pickup, I ordered glass from Vintage in Conn. When the new glass arrived, I laid the new glass on the window frame to check for the proper size and shape. I tried to remove the glass from the frame without breaking it, but that was nearly impossible. When I got the two halves of the frame separated, I had to take a long thin screwdriver and work it between the glass and the frame. This causes chips of glass to fly, so wear safety goggles.

[Dave/Green Bay]

I took a block of wood and qently pounded around and around and around and finally it came loose. Dave/Green Bay

[Tom Morookian]

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Soak one side with transmission fluid. Take single edge razor blade laid flat against the glass. With a block of wood GENTLY tap the blade about 1/8 inch into the gap all the way around the frame. This allows some deeper penetration of the fluid. Wait a day and repeat the tapping. Gently, no more than 1/8 inch. By the third or fourth day taping should get you to the end of the glass.

Turn it over and repeat on the other side. Then try tapping the block of wood directly on the frame, GENTLY all around.

Heck, in just a week or two it might actually work.

[Walt Dupont--Me.]

Originally Posted by JM 35 Sedan

It has finally become necessary for me to remove and replace the original glass in the windshield of my '35 fordor sedan. This is an EFV8C/A Rouge Class car so I have avoided making any unnecessary changes but the time has definitely come for reasons of safety and appearance. I've gotten pretty good at removing the windshield assembly from the car and know I need to remove the four little screws on each side of the frame, but how do you get that 77 year old glass out of the frame without breaking the glass or bending the frame? I'm thinking I want to keep this glass as a pattern to use for cutting new glass. Is there anything I can do to the original glass bedding to make it easy to separate the old glass from the frame? I would appreciate any thoughts or personal experience anyone may have on how to do this. Thank you!

I thought that glass made the car when you was up to my place a few weeks a go. I hate to see it go. Walt

[JM 35 Sedan]

Thanks for your suggestions guys. I'll probably give all of these ideas a try. I can remember taking one apart years ago using too much force which changed the contour enough to prevent the new glass from fitting properly.

Brian, I hadn't thought about making this windshield a wall hanger. It is a very nice frame with no rust or any other damage. I have another equally good windshield also with fogged and cracked glass that I will try getting apart first. If that comes apart ok maybe I will hang the original one on the garage wall.

[JM 35 Sedan]

Originally Posted by Walt Dupont--Me.

I thought that glass made the car when you was up to my place a few weeks a go. I hate to see it go. Walt

Thanks for your comments Walt. I felt the same way when I got this car in 2007 but it's really getting tough to see through it now. It seems like it gets a bit worse every time I drive it. I am planning for a cross country tour next June and it would be nice to have full vision for that much driving.

[TJ]

JM, some of the glass guys I used to know would pour lighter fluid around the edge of the frame to soften the setting tape. Take out the four screws and use kroil or trans fluid ( I have also used Lock-Ease for this) to break the rust that holds the square bars in the frame. I would soak it for a day or two. You can also use a propane torch to apply a small amount of heat to the frame in the area of the screws. Get a block of wood and put it against the frame lip and tap it with a hammer. Rotate the block from side to side and repeat on the top edge of the frame. It will take a while , but it will eventually come apart without breaking the glass. I did this last year with a 37 frame and saved the glass for re-use.

[chuck stevens]

Hey John, I hear a screwdriver and a hammer works real good on those 35 windows. I too will miss that w/s, and you moving around to try to see. Seriously the best advice is to take your time, soak it, tap it, sooner or later it will part. Good luck,Chuck S.

[fomocoloco]

Originally Posted by JM 35 Sedan

Thanks for your suggestions guys. I'll probably give all of these ideas a try. I can remember taking one apart years ago using too much force which changed the contour enough to prevent the new glass from fitting properly.

Brian, I hadn't thought about making this windshield a wall hanger. It is a very nice frame with no rust or any other damage. I have another equally good windshield also with fogged and cracked glass that I will try getting apart first. If that comes apart ok maybe I will hang the original one on the garage wall.

I bet you will find some rust when the glass is removed.

[JM 35 Sedan]

The suggestions you folks gave me for removing glass from a '35-'36 windshield frame were brilliant!! I sprayed liberal amounts of PB Blaster where glass meets frame on both sides, where frame halves are joined together with bars and screws, and also around the 77 year old outer sealing gasket. I let that soak for 24 hours and repeated this again with another application of PB and let that soak for another 12 hours. Took a single edge razor blade and ran that between the glass and the frame as deep as it would go into the old setting tape. Removed all the screws with the help of a hand held impact driver. Placed the wooden block on the inside glass surface, against the bottom of the frame where the curve section starts to run straight and began lightly hammered on the block with a rubber hammer. After about 1/16" of separation between those halves, I went to the other side of the frame and did the same thing. After getting some separation on the other side, I kept going back and forth on each side until I got complete separation of the frame from the glass. The glass is intact and looks like it will make a nice pattern for cutting new glass. Next step will be cleaning out the inner and outer channels of the frame and getting it ready for reassembly.

Attached are a few pictures. The first picture shows the fogged condition of the glass that's in the car now. The second and third pictures show the spare frame that I have (also with fogged and cracked glass) after getting it apart.

Thanks again for all the great tips!!

[V8COOPMAN]

That was waaaaaay too easy! DD

[Bruce/CT]

John,
Congrrats. Love that workbench....It is the perfect size for the job. Do you have plans for that?..........lol
Is it a couple of pallets?
Bruce in CT

[JM 35 Sedan]

Brian, It's just an old handmade job site workbench that my neighbor had and wanted to get rid of. It is made from 2x4's and a piece of 3/4" plywood for the top. It's on wheels so I can push it around on the driveway. It just sits outside and gets used for various little projects like this that I can do outside the garage when the weather is nice.

Originally Posted by Bruce/CT

John,
Congrrats. Love that workbench....It is the perfect size for the job. Do you have plans for that?..........lol
Is it a couple of pallets?
Bruce in CT

[TJ]

John, you were definitely due for new glass. To get all the old rubber gasket out of the frame I have used a dental pick. The angled ones allow you to get into all the grooves. To install the new gasket you can use some dish soap or rubber lubricant. I used the Drake gasket and it fit excellent. Hopefully they still have it in stock or one of the vendors have it.

[41ford1]

Nice job John. No broken or mangled pieces. You do realize it will be like driving a different car with the new glass in.

[ken ct]

Originally Posted by JM 35 Sedan

It has finally become necessary for me to remove and replace the original glass in the windshield of my '35 fordor sedan. This is an EFV8C/A Rouge Class car so I have avoided making any unnecessary changes but the time has definitely come for reasons of safety and appearance. I've gotten pretty good at removing the windshield assembly from the car and know I need to remove the four little screws on each side of the frame, but how do you get that 77 year old glass out of the frame without breaking the glass or bending the frame? I'm thinking I want to keep this glass as a pattern to use for cutting new glass. Is there anything I can do to the original glass bedding to make it easy to separate the old glass from the frame? I would appreciate any thoughts or personal experience anyone may have on how to do this. Thank you!

JOHN,check your PM's. ken ct.

[chuck stevens]

While shopping for glass, maybe you should take that door glass along. You're car will like new, and on the tours you'll see so much more. Great job John, Chuck S.

[oldbugger]

John, Looks good, hope you were able to save the original screws, it is hard to find good replacments. good luck

[JM 35 Sedan]

Originally Posted by chuck stevens

While shopping for glass, maybe you should take that door glass along. You're car will like new, and on the tours you'll see so much more. Great job John, Chuck S.

Chuck, I would have rather been down in Dawsonville shopping for moonshine but staying home and getting things done here took priority. That door glass is next and the rear window after that . Need to get 'Olivia' in tip top condition for a big tour next June.

[JM 35 Sedan]

Originally Posted by oldbugger

John, Looks good, hope you were able to save the original screws, it is hard to find good replacments. good luck

The original screws are all in good condition. The PB Blaster saturation and the impact driver did a good job of getting them out. Now comes the fun of installing new glass and getting everything back together.

[jerry grayson]

John, you are very lucky or very good, I have never been able to take a frame apart and save the screws!!

[TonyM]

Originally Posted by jerry grayson

John, you are very lucky or very good, I have never been able to take a frame apart and save the screws!!

I must be lucky because I am not as good as JM35; I was able to remove all nine windshield frame screws with very little problem from my 1937 Ford DeLuxe windshield frame. Every screw is still usable--Not one destroyed.


QUOTE = JM35: "Now comes the fun of installing new glass and getting everything back together."

Yes, I hope putting it all together goes as well as getting it apart.


TM

[JM 35 Sedan]

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Way to go Tony. I suspect your 37 was well kept over the years like my 35 fordor sedan. The windshield frame on mine is in very good condition. The only rust on the entire frame was a little surface rust down in the glass channel of the lower half of the frame. All screws removed are in perfect condition. That frame is still waiting to go back together once I get the correct glass setting tape thickness.

[TagMan]

You guys are giving me the courage to try and take the glass out of my windshield on the '36. I've been dreading to do it and have been putting it off, but maybe I'll give it a go this week.

[flat-v8]

Good job! You took your time and it turned out great congrats! I had to drill out and put helicoils in the 2 holes for the regulator arm, that was not fun.

[Talkwrench]

Wish this thread was out a month ago when I did mine..christ what a job! and was as hot as hell over here too, couldn't see most of the time for sweat in my eyes !
I just went at it with a block of wood, rubber hammer and blade , glass came loose but seperating the two halfs of the frame was the hardest ..aaarghh!! My new glass came from Bobs auto glass. Put it back together with the setting tape but just didnt quite get there so had to do the ol' black silicone around the edges too.. Came up ok.

[TonyM]

Finally got my windshield together. It took three tries before I got it right. Lucky for me I did not break anything. Thanks Chris Blattie for the great advice; a tremendous help. I had to go with 3/64ths tape. Pie cut around the bends. Worked out great.

[JM 35 Sedan]

I was going back to check some info in a previous post and found this old post where I was seeking info on replacing windshield/windscreen glass in in my 35 fordor sedan. Thought I would bring this back to the top incase someone is considering doing this soon on their own car.
One thing I never came back and mentioned on this thread was the fact that I successfully replaced this glass prior to leaving on a cross-country trip, on or around the first of June, 2013, and after traveling about 200 miles from my home in Maryland, heading towards Western Pa on the Lincoln Highway, a truck kicked a stone up which hit my windshield on the driver's side and put a bullseye in the new glass. Talk about being upset!! But 8 years later that bullseye is still in the glass, and it never progressed into a cracking condition. So I'll let the next owner decide if they want to replace this glass

[JayChicago]

Modern glass shops have a clear epoxy or something they use on bulls eyes. If done right, supposed to be near impossible to see the flaw. But this is just what I have heard; no personal experience with this.

[TJ]

Originally Posted by JayChicago

Modern glass shops have a clear epoxy or something they use on bulls eyes. If done right, supposed to be near impossible to see the flaw. But this is just what I have heard; no personal experience with this.

It depends on the size of the bullseye if they can or will fix it.