replacement front windshield

[Bonnewagon]

Holy cow Jack. I took my first road test on my Dad's 1959 European Bug. The shifter was so sloppy you never knew what gear you were in until you tried to take off. I put it into third instead of first, stalled, and promptly failed. This thing had European semaphore turn signals that flipped out of the pillars and lit up. My electrical whiz Uncle in Boston rigged up an ignition booster for the coil since it was a 6 volt system that failed often. It was so powerful the spark plug wires glowed at night. It got stolen at La Guardia Airport. My Dad, ever the cheap-*ss, parked it on the other side of the GCP in a desolate spot while he left town for a while. I do miss that Bug.

 

[Longroof79]

Holy cow Jack. I took my first road test on my Dad's 1959 European Bug. The shifter was so sloppy you never knew what gear you were in until you tried to take off. I put it into third instead of first, stalled, and promptly failed. This thing had European semaphore turn signals that flipped out of the pillars and lit up. My electrical whiz Uncle in Boston rigged up an ignition booster for the coil since it was a 6 volt system that failed often. It was so powerful the spark plug wires glowed at night. It got stolen at La Guardia Airport. My Dad, ever the cheap-*ss, parked it on the other side of the GCP in a desolate spot while he left town for a while. I do miss that Bug.

Mark,
I know what you mean about the old crash box transaxles. '61 was the first year for the syncromesh 1st gear. I've driven some early bugs ..a '55 and '57 oval windows. They were cool but a bit crude. Still, I wish I had one today. They're commanding stupid money. My car didn't have the semaphores, it had a kilometer speedo, radio delete plate, built in column lock, which I've never seen on another bug. I did install a later 1500 cc engine @53hp. I kept the car 6-volt. Added a Zenith 2-bbl carb, header, 019 distributor. 6-volt systems are finicky, but I find if they're maintained properly they're not too bad.
These cars were stolen on a regular basis. Many ended up as parts, of course.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Many ended up as parts, of course.

Hey Jack do you remember how people used to dump cars on the streets? They would take off the plates and just leave them. It was free parts for anyone with a set of wrenches. My Dad was the king of Bug parts off the street. He had a '73 Super Beetle and he hated the automatic trans. I knew where a burnt out manual trans Bug was and we swiped the entire drivetrain and put it in the '73. In fact I scored my first Pontiac HEI in 1978 in Jackson Heights. I was delivering the mail and I saw a '75 Firebird that had crashed into a Con Ed worksite and was just left there. On my way home I came back and yanked that first year HEI and used it in my '68 Firebird. Those were the days......

 

[Longroof79]

Hey Jack do you remember how people used to dump cars on the streets? They would take off the plates and just leave them. It was free parts for anyone with a set of wrenches. My Dad was the king of Bug parts off the street. He had a '73 Super Beetle and he hated the automatic trans. I knew where a burnt out manual trans Bug was and we swiped the entire drivetrain and put it in the '73. In fact I scored my first Pontiac HEI in 1978 in Jackson Heights. I was delivering the mail and I saw a '75 Firebird that had crashed into a Con Ed worksite and was just left there. On my way home I came back and yanked that first year HEI and used it in my '68 Firebird. Those were the days......

Mark,
Those were the days my friend. Wasn't that a song back then? You still had to be careful not to get caught stripping cars on the street. We were all guilty of picking parts from cars dumped on the street. Once I pulled over on the Belt Pkwy to check out a bug on the side of the road. A cop pulled over and gave me a ticket. He saw that there was nothing wrong with my car. I suppose I could've put on an act, but didn't. I used to go into the back fields where I used to live. It was famous for dumped cars...some stolen, some just discarded. I do recall the cops stopping me while driving back there with my GF's '73 bug. They were getting ready to issue me a ticket and I showed them my government license and they left me alone. Like you, I was a postman at the time.
I owned a '73 Super beetle that I bought from a neighbor. It also was an Auto stick...which I hated, but it was a reliable car and ran like a top. I would've liked to have converted it to stick, but I sold it and bought a '72 VW bus, which took us cross country and up and down the east coast. I regret selling it. However, I bought my Malibu wagon shortly afterward.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Wow Jack we have a lot in common. Me and my Dad were walking along the Cross Island Parkway by a Belmont Park exit. There was a Bug dumped up alongside the railway siding. Just as we were about to dig in, a cop car rolled up on us. Besides the stern lecture, they informed us that due to a change in the law, since we were stripping a car, it was assumed that we stole it. Therefore we were liable for any moneys paid out by the insurance company, as well as the possession of stolen property charge. They let us go but I don't think my Dad ever took anything off a car again. As for me, well, the only crime is getting caught and I generally don't. And when I was stationed in Fort Hamilton, I had a 1965 Bus. It had oversize tires, which it really needed, but no front seats. I managed to adapt a Bug rear seat to fit the Bus front. I also carried my little Yamaha 125cc motorcycle in the back as well as it became the party Bus up at Alley Pond Park. Many beers met their fate in that Bus. I sold it to some Hippies that were going to a commune out West.

 

[Longroof79]

Wow Jack we have a lot in common. Me and my Dad were walking along the Cross Island Parkway by a Belmont Park exit. There was a Bug dumped up alongside the railway siding. Just as we were about to dig in, a cop car rolled up on us. Besides the stern lecture, they informed us that due to a change in the law, since we were stripping a car, it was assumed that we stole it. Therefore we were liable for any moneys paid out by the insurance company, as well as the possession of stolen property charge. They let us go but I don't think my Dad ever took anything off a car again. As for me, well, the only crime is getting caught and I generally don't. And when I was stationed in Fort Hamilton, I had a 1965 Bus. It had oversize tires, which it really needed, but no front seats. I managed to adapt a Bug rear seat to fit the Bus front. I also carried my little Yamaha 125cc motorcycle in the back as well as it became the party Bus up at Alley Pond Park. Many beers met their fate in that Bus. I sold it to some Hippies that were going to a commune out West.

Mark,
I think growing up in NY gives us a lot in common. The same crummy environment and being close in age....plus working for the post office. I never heard of the change in law that you described, but I'm not surprised. Btw, I also owned a Yamaha 250cc enduro. There was no place to really ride it except for the streets and the back weeds, as we called it. The cops did patrol it on a regular basis. Once I had to make a B-line out of there, I sold it shortly after. Nowadays, they ride 4-wheelers, dirt bikes, etc. back there. I'm sure it keeps the cops busy. I think in most cases, they couldn't care less.
I also owned a '67 sunroof bus that I recovered off the street. It had a bad engine, and of course I did not have the title for it, so I gave it to a friend that abandoned it on the street. My plan was to contact the owner and work something out with him. Oh well, water under the bridge as they say.

 

[Bonnewagon]

so I gave it to a friend that abandoned it on the street

That was a bad move. A guy we called Crazy Pete gave a Bug to someone and they just abandoned it. Well, now they charge whoever it was last registered to so Pete had his license suspended. He kept driving, kept getting caught, and eventually had to pay around $7000 in fines and penalties. I know, we used to do that a lot. As well as swap plates around. I got stopped by the MPs on my Harley Sprint and the guy was going nuts because my plate was supposed to be on my BSA 650. Both were registered to me and no interwebs then so he gave up and told me to get lost.

 

[Bonnewagon]

WOW did we hijack this post or what?!? Sorry, Scarborough. Anyway we just had a windshield replaced. My buddy has a 1980 Trans Am that I think someone ineptly replaced the glass all around. Both the front and rear glass was loose about 3/4 of the way around and leaked like crazy. Both were too nice to be 42 years old. So he takes it to a glass shop by his house to get it removed and re-bedded. The glass guy feels it should be easy to get it out intact since it is almost all the way loose anyway. But the kid he assigned it to tried to pry the glass and it cracked. The boss was furious. And he had to make it good by replacing the windshield at cost. That turned out to be only $100. He sourced that glass EZPZ. So I went onto the Safelite site and fed in your info. It seems our "classic" cars need extra time to locate the part. But the part IS available.

 

[scarborough]

WOW did we hijack this post or what?!? Sorry, Scarborough. Anyway we just had a windshield replaced. My buddy has a 1980 Trans Am that I think someone ineptly replaced the glass all around. Both the front and rear glass was loose about 3/4 of the way around and leaked like crazy. Both were too nice to be 42 years old. So he takes it to a glass shop by his house to get it removed and re-bedded. The glass guy feels it should be easy to get it out intact since it is almost all the way loose anyway. But the kid he assigned it to tried to pry the glass and it cracked. The boss was furious. And he had to make it good by replacing the windshield at cost. That turned out to be only $100. He sourced that glass EZPZ. So I went onto the Safelite site and fed in your info. It seems our "classic" cars need extra time to locate the part. But the part IS available.

its all good. i guest that the way it is when we start talking about our projects. I'm still trying, i did contact my local Safelite shop no luck. the windshield has a cracker along the top drive side, it does leak some when it rain. the trim is removed. so i caulk the channel around the top edge and it seem to help a lot. so until i find a replacement ill make sure i don't get caught in the rain.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Well if it comes down to taking a windshield out of a junkyard or parts car there are some things to consider. The glass MUST be totally released from the frame. Otherwise any spot still attached is where it will break. The only way to get it free is with the proper tools. A shop would use a hot knife that melted the sealer as it cut. But even with that the sealer cools and re-sticks. I have used all kinds of ways and some don't work at all. Like the handle with a blade at the bottom and a cable to pull it along. Junk. A piano wire with wood handles at each end works well but needs two people to do it right. As the wire gets hot from friction it breaks so you need a lot. The best tool I found is the oscillating tool. The real one is $400 but Harbor Break sells a knock-off for $20. It works! Just get the long angled blade with teeth. It eats through that old hard sealer like butter. Best part is even if you touch the glass- it won't break it.