How to install a 60-62 windshield in 30 minutes

[Corts60]

I think we have all come across the horror threads were people have snapped their windshield, ruined gaskets, paid professionals who didn't have much luck, etc., etc.

Well, this weekend I installed the windshield in my 1960 Suburban in less than 30 minutes. And with no more help than that of my Girlfriend, using a PRECISION BRAND gasket.

Here are the steps I followed to prep for the install:

1. Thoroughly clean all old gasket material from the windshield and pinch weld area. (I took the opportunity to take the whole windshield area down to bare metal and then Prep, prime, paint. I also, polished my stainless steel trim while it was out.)

2. Lay out your new PRECISION BRAND windshield gasket and inspect it.

3. Bring both the windshield and gasket into a warm area. (For me, the living room floor became the perfect shop.)

4. Using 3M black weatherstrip adhesive and starting at the top or bottom middle of the windshield, lay a moderate bead of sealant into the groove that will hold the windshield and start pressing onto windshield. (NOTE: There is a seam on the new gasket that I placed at the top middle so it would be unnoticeable when installed.)

I did this about a foot at a time. I would lay a 12" bead, press that on to the window and then tape the gasket down. Then lay another 12" bead, press and tape, and on and on until the entire gasket was installed. This will take PATIENCE until you get one half of the gasket installed. Use a good tape that will not unpeel itself. DO NOT USE DUCT TAPE. 3M blue worked fine for me but there cannot be any grease on the window.

Be cautious around the hard curves of the windshield, it is easy to pull the gasket off. Lots and lots of tape!

IGNORE THE TRIM IN THIS PICTURE. This was a later stage, I did not get a picture of just the gasket taped on:


5. And probably the most important part, double check that the gasket is sitting on the windshield properly and taped well then LET IT SIT OVERNIGHT.

6. If you do not have custom trim, skip to STEP 9.

7. Come home from work, choose a beverage, peel off all of the tape and get ready to install the trim (if you have the custom trim package.)

8. You can install the trim top or bottom first, doesn't really matter. I did not use any adhesive to hold the trim in as the factory did not either. As I installed the trim, I again taped it along the way. At this point, I did not have time to install the windshield the same night I put the trim in so the windshield again sat overnight, taped up. I am not sure that sitting the extra night helped or not, but it could never hurt if you can wait.

*Reference above pic and this one:


9. Peel all of the remaining tape off the windshield. Get the truck/suburban in a position that you can easily get in/out/around it with no problems. I had the hood off of mine during the install which helped my girlfriend as she could stand on the engine while pushing the windshield in for me.

The INSTALL

10. So the standard method for installing these windshields is to wrap a suitable rope/cord into the groove where the pinch weld sits on the gasket. I used a thin poly string which I learned later did nothing for me. I think you'll need a cord at least 1/8" in diameter to be of any use.

11. You NEED a lubricant for the install. No question about it. I used this:



12. Spray the lubricant on the pinch weld area of the truck and on the gasket where it will sit on the pinch weld. (Protect surrounding areas as I noticed that the silicone spray spotted a little bit of my dash paint which, when noticed, was followed up with some strong cursing.)

13. Using your helper, position the windshield onto the truck ensuring that the top of the windshield is under the lip of the roof line. DO NOT try to install the bottom lip on first and then push the windshield under the roof lip, I assume this is where people have been snapping things.

14. Lay the windshield as flat as possible and centered as possible on the pinch weld.

15. This is where I found out I was using the wrong cord. As I pulled it out, nothing happened! It was too small to pull the weatherstrip with it. At this point, I looked for an area of opportunity to use a screw driver and start flipping the lip of the gasket over the pinch weld. I would RECOMMEND a nylon or plastic tool for everyone else as I suffered a few scratches during the install. I believe that the first area that wanted to seat onto the pinch weld was the upper corners of the curve. Once I got that area started, I had my helper push LIGHTLY on the outside of the windshield, following me as I slid the screwdriver behind the gasket flipping the lip over the pinch weld. (The silicone spray allowed the screwdriver to slide along like butter.) You will have to make several passes, and every time the gasket will set more and more.

16. Continue having your helper push along as you flip the gasket over the pinch weld. It is important that your helper pushes along the same area with you as you flip the gasket. Eventually, the windshield and gasket will start settling in and you will have all of the gasket over the pinch weld. You may still have to make a couple more passes with the screwdriver/tool under the gasket until the windshield is fully settled.

17. Once fully seated, go over the inside and outside and make sure everything is set properly including the custom trim if you have it.

18. ADHESIVE: You can do this one of two ways I think. You could've laid a bead of weatherstrip adhesive on the pinch weld before the install, or (what I did), after the install insert the tip of your adhesive tube under the outside lip of the windshield and slide it along the entire windshield laying a bead. You will need to wipe up any excess adhesive pretty quickly or it gets tough to clean.

19. Clean up tools, wipe off any leftover silicone spray (or leave it, it is healthy for weatherstrip) and get your finger prints off the trim and window. You are DONE!





I hope this helps everyone out!

-Cort

[63chevy4x4]

great explination! I tryed this once but ended up going to the body shop,Im planning on putting a winshield in my 61 gmc now and have been looking for info, is the PRECISION BRAND gasket diffrent that what you would get from LMC or Brothers?

[MusicMan70]

A Great write up Corts60 and that new 'shield speaks loads. Kudos to the GF as well.

[aerotruk63]

Definitely Sticky Material

[markeb01]

Nice job! Thanks for taking the time to photograph and document the installation. Your burb looks great with the early wide trim.

Two notes I found worthy when doing the same installation on mine:

I used “personal lubricant” (KY) and the windshield nearly popped in it was so easy, but the clean up was a mess. It took weeks of going back over it to remove all the residue that worked its way out over time. If I ever do it again I’ll use diluted dish soap instead.

I bought a glass stick from Amazon and a set of cheap hook tools from Harbor Freight and basically did the entire job with just the these tools:





In the end I almost didn’t even use (or need) the string/rope. I did virtually the whole job with the hook tool, glass stick, and one helper after the glass was set in place.

And after lengthy analysis I also went with a Precision Brand gasket and it worked perfectly. The guy I bought it from noted they sold 7 different brands, and unquestionably the Precision gasket was far better than any of the others. Which made me wonder why they sold any of the other brands!

[slepysal]

thank you! thank you! thank you! Great write up, oh and did I say thank you?

[61_FL_Apache]

Nice job!

[GWs62]

Awesome write up Corts60! I'd been dreading the day my project gets new glass and had pretty much prepared to pay the "professionals" to do it. Even then I had little faith. Your wealth of info has convinced me that it can be done...by me. Thanks dude.
btw, where can this gasket be found? (retail outlets?)

[markeb01]

I bought mine from American Classic Truck Parts, but you need to make it clear you only want a Precision Brand gasket.

http://www.americanclassic.com/

[Corts60]

Thanks guys! I bought it from American classics. I can't remember if I specified precision brand or not but that is what I got.
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[gulfcoast66]

Great write up, corts60. I'm one of the guys cracked a windshield trying to install it, anyways I will try this when I get my next windshield.... Thanks for the info... Chris..
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[1963c-10]

Great write up. I also have the wide trim to install in my 63 and its a project coming up in a few weeks. Between your article and Markeb01's article, I feel confident that it will go in smoothly. Also...someone asked about LMC & classic parts. Classic parts uses counterparts brand gasket, not sure of LMC. I ordered mine from Steele Rubber and they are vulcanized, but not cheap.

[WhippinSaw]

I tried to install my windshield with a new 20 year old gasket and could not get the windshield close to the pinch weld. I squirted some soap to help put it in and got the soap on the windshield and the soap slide down into the gasket and the windshield slipped right out of the gasket. I learned to only lube on the pinch weld and a little on the gasket where it contacts the pinch weld. So I bought a new precision gasket http://precisionrestorationparts.com...therstrip.html and had no problems putting the windshield in the windshield opening. Thanks mark and corts and all for taking the time to write this. I glued the gasket on but I think I would first put the gasket on for a day to stretch and seeks its position first then glue it on, maybe even sneak the glue tip under the gasket the next day. I followed the tutorials closely and the only other thing I can add is I let the air out of tires for my helper outside. Here is a pic of the window in the opening before I started the install. You can see the top of the gasket is touching the top of the pinch weld. I had to start pulling the gasket over the pinch weld on the top with the hook tool with slight pressure on the outside before I could start pulling the gasket over on the bottom. The hook tool is all you need the rope worked a little but with the lube It slide right in. Took about 30 minutes

[slorio]

Good write-up. One note on the lubricant. Silcone is very difficult to remove and causes fish eyes in paint when you get around to repainting. I would second the dish soap and water mix in a spray bottle instead. A friend of mine with a body shop doesn't allow silicone spray anywhere in the shop because of the difficulty with removing it before paint work.
Regards,
Steve
New Orleans

[bhc41051]

You guys might want to think about going into business... My professional auto glass installer gave up after two hours.. His only recommendation was that I not install the chrome trim.

[hd74]

a new windshield is great to look thru

[oem4me]

Great write-up! As far as lube/sealant goes, on both my survivor trucks I had noticed a heavy (light colored, but dirty) waxy goo that had migrated down and collected at the bottom of the windshield gasket. Later when detailing, this stuff scraped off easily and cleaned up completely with a little mineral spirits. I figured it must've been a factory installation and/or sealing compound.
Not sure if this has any bearing on anything here, but the idea of permanently gluing the windshield into the opening with adhesive sounds iffy. Anybody seen remnants of this same waxy stuff on their trucks?

[creep]

Originally Posted by bhc41051

You guys might want to think about going into business... My professional auto glass installer gave up after two hours.. His only recommendation was that I not install the chrome trim.

Me too except it was 2 installers and each tried for 2 days. I've been running without the trim for 2 years now.

Any of you guys coming to northern Ohio anytime soon?

[slepysal]

I was quoted 300! for installing my windshield

[notsomuch]

Originally Posted by bhc41051

You guys might want to think about going into business... My professional auto glass installer gave up after two hours.. His only recommendation was that I not install the chrome trim.

This is the same advice I got here in NE Oklahoma. Thanks to you guys, I think I can do this. I appreciate all of the advice, you all are great !!!

[markeb01]

Mine had a pretty generous amount of light colored gooey flexible sealer on the lower body cavity and rubber seal when I removed the original windshield and gasket back in 1998. I thought I took a photo of the glass/gasket sitting on the bench which may have shown the color of the sealer but I can’t find it, so I probably shot it on video instead.

It wasn’t adhesive, just sealer. It didn’t permanently bond to anything, it was just sticky and took a while working to get it all off.

[**grumpy**]

Great write up Cort!
Im about to do this with my 63.
It has the trim now and came with new gasket, but I bought a trimless gasket to install because I dont care for the trim around the windshield...weird I know.
So I'll hang onto the trim n gasket or sell at next swapmeet.
I assume the trimless gasket will be even easier to install. I'mgoing to follow your instructions and try myself.

[csermonet47]

Do you know for sure if you need sealant between the pinch weld and gasket?

I had Safelite do a windshield on an old Mercedes I had and they only applied sealant between the glass and the gasket; nothing on the pinch weld. I'm just not sure if that is a universal thing or only with some cars. I don't want to put any hard to remove sealant on there if I don't have to. It didn't leak or anything either. I didn't see any sort of OEM type sealer when I took my old one off. Just some plumbers putty someone smeared in there.

[awbrown]

Of all the operations they did in the factory , I would pay a handsome fee to see this in video...

[hotrodder]

Should have taken a picture of your girlfriend standing on the motor!!!