Window glass from the Vendors?

Doug in NJ

Doug in NJ

Well-known member
Hello,

Does anybody have any recommendations (pro or con) for buying a set of window glass from the usual Model A parts vendors? Are they all getting it from the same place, or could there be a difference in quality?

I need a full 8-piece set for a S/W sedan, and it's going to cost a lot more than a set for a roadster...

Thanks,
Doug
 
i found you need to send exact measurements . you can have it cut local .
i ordered a standard rear window for my tudor , did not fit ! measured the original & sent measurements & it was correct . good luck ................... steve
 
I used Brattons for several cars 1 piece or complete sets never had a problem, shipping is expensive
 
I have no idea if there are one or more glass suppliers regardless of which vendor you get it from. I am in the process of replacing all the glass in a S/W Townsedan. Bratton's price is $593 plus I imagine expensive shipping due to weight and being fragile. I paid $281 locally and had higher estimates from other local glass shops. Bratton's probably is better quality relative to edges. Mine are slightly wavy on the curved side. Nobody else has noticed but I do. Since this is replacing plate glass on a someone else's restoration(?), it has been a real bear and time-consumer. A friend, after hearing my story, thinks it would cost an additional $500 labor for a restoration shop to install! BTW, Ed on the Fordbarn, was having a problem installing a vendor-supplied S/W door glass and concludes based on my original glass that is oversize. Now he has to deal with either returning and that hassle or having it ground down locally.
 
Yes I am having trouble with the front door glass for my Slant window.
I spoke to Walt Brattonthis morning and he said I could either send it back to him (he would pay for shipping) or I could take it a local glas shop and he would credit me with the cost of repair.
From what I have seen and found out from Barners my glass is about 3/16 too large and will not fit in the channel.
The rear doors and the rear 1/4 windows seem fine.
 
Thanks to everybody for all the replies. Fortunately I have all the original glass intact. (Actually the windshield had once been replaced with place glass, and one side window is laminated.) A previous owner had installed new window channel felts, and all the glass seemed to fit them OK. So I can reliably use my existing glass as patterns. I think I will bring a couple of pieces to a good auto glass place and ask them what they can do for me.

Doug

P.S.: Yes, a previous owner had decided that the one thing my unrestored car most needed was new window channel felts. Go figure! Have you ever seen a mostly-unrestored antique car where the only thing done to it was some cosmetic detail that should have been done LAST? I once saw a early 30's chevy where somebody had installed a new headliner, even though the outer roof fabric was shot...
 
Doug, because of what I ended up with on wavy, curved edges, ask or state you want a continous curved edge on the tops. If they say they can't or won't, I'd look for some other glass shop. What I think happened is that they did the initial cut ok. It was when they were hand grinding the edges that they probably got some flats.
 
Roger V said:
Doug, because of what I ended up with on wavy, curved edges, ask or state you want a continous curved edge on the tops. If they say they can't or won't, I'd look for some other glass shop. What I think happened is that they did the initial cut ok. It was when they were hand grinding the edges that they probably got some flats.
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I guess it really depends on how much experience and skill they have. Maybe I will have a local shop do one window at first, and if it is well-done and accurate, then they get to do the rest.

I suspect that this sort of job may be considered more trouble than it's worth by some shops, especially if they are used to doing a large volume of quick and easy jobs. A specialist may have pre-existing patterns and a CNC cutter, which (if the patters are correct) would give better results than freehand cutting...

Doug
 
I recently had to replace the passanger door glass in my '29 Coupe. I bought the glass from Bert's in Denver and it fit perfectly! They were cheaper than any other vendor and cheaper than having it cut. I know this was only one piece of glass but it was nice to have something fit. I consider myself lucky to have a Model A store like Bert's that I can drive to and twist their ear on occasion (OK all the time).
 
Roger V said:
I have no idea if there are one or more glass suppliers regardless of which vendor you get it from. I am in the process of replacing all the glass in a S/W Townsedan. Bratton's price is $593 plus I imagine expensive shipping due to weight and being fragile. I paid $281 locally and had higher estimates from other local glass shops.
Click to expand...

I went to a fairly large local auto glass shop to get a quote for all 8 pieces of my S/W glass (in laminated), and it was $700! You must live in a lower-cost part of the country. So now I will get in touch with the various vendors and see what they can do for me...

Doug
 
I went to a fairly large local auto glass shop to get a quote for all 8 pieces of my S/W glass (in laminated), and it was $700! You must live in a lower-cost part of the country. So now I will get in touch with the various vendors and see what they can do for me...
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This is in SE Michigan and while somewhat depressed, it's not as cheap as some areas but if glass is like some other expenses on the East coast, then maybe you're right. I didn't call just one place as others were higher. This was a small shop, maybe four or five men. I could see a large shop would charge more as they don't usually care about these type of jobs. I don't think they made much but liked the deviation from normal. They didn't notice a couple of pieces that had an almost unnoticable scratch, redid those and gave me the scratched ones. I'd say try a small shop that's been around forever.
 
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I just got off the phone with Roy Nacewicz, asking him about his bug-etching system, and he give me a bunch of advice on getting glass made. His advice matched yours almost exactly.

Thanks,
Doug

Roger V said:
This is in SE Michigan and while somewhate depressed, it's not as cheap as some areas but if glass is like some other expenses on the East coast, then maybe you're right. I didn't call just one place as others were higher. This was a small shop, maybe four or five men. I could see a large shop would charge more as they don't usually care about these type of jobs. I don't think they made much but liked the deviation from normal. They didn't notice a couple of pieces that had an almost unnoticable scratch, redid those and gave me the scratched ones. I'd say try a small shop that's been around forever.
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Doug, I had glass made up this spring for my 30 Tudor at a local glass shop for $391.00. This included all four side windows pencil polished on three sides and tempered. Tempered glass is not only stronger than laminated safety glass, but the edges can be polished to look like original plate glass and they will not delaminate. If you do go with tempered make sure you specify that you do not want the tempereres logo etched in the lower corner. For the windshield and rear window I went with laminated safety glass, but none of the edges are exposed. I did have original glass to trace for patterns. Lorien
 
Doug: During my restoration of a 155A, I also went the route of tempered glass for the four door windows. The edges were polished to match the shape of the original glass. I had the same local glass shop in Aurora, Illinois cut the remaining windows in 1/4 inch safety glass. They used the original glass as the patterns for all eight pieces. The total bill was under $400 and there was no shipping! Gar Williams
 
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I just got off the phone with Roy Nacewicz, asking him about his bug-etching system, and he give me a bunch of advice on getting glass made. His advice matched yours almost exactly.
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Now we're not reading from the same script but ironically, Roy lives about eight miles from me!
 
Doug in NJ said:
I went to a fairly large local auto glass shop to get a quote for all 8 pieces of my S/W glass (in laminated), and it was $700! You must live in a lower-cost part of the country. So now I will get in touch with the various vendors and see what they can do for me...

Doug
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Whoa! 8 pcs of relatively small hunks of glass for $700$ Some of it would probably be made from larger scraps! That's about $87 apiece. What's a storefront window cost? Yeah, there's some handwork, grinding, Radii etc. However, Try as I might, I don't see $700. I've been wrong before,but...
Terry
 
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