Markeb01 Build Thread

[markeb01]

My first windshield installation was back in 1966 on my 1954 Chevy high school car. A local wrecking yard was going out of business and a friend of mine had a 430 Lincoln engine that had spent most of its life as a stationary engine. It was traded to the yard owner for anything we wanted. Along with a whole bunch of other stuff I pulled a mint condition blended windshield out of a 54 Chevy Bel Air. With no training, books, or experience I popped out the black gasket stocker and slapped in the new stainless trimmed model with no trouble whatsoever. Here are before and after photos:





Since then I’ve installed more windshields than I can remember, both the type with gaskets and the later models adhered with urethane. I always did them by myself because they were easy enough help just wasn’t needed. Back in 1998 I attempted to reinstall the damaged original windshield in my truck after painting the cab, and for the first time ever I broke the glass. It did crack at an existing good sized star chip, but this failure really shook my confidence. Not so much because I failed, but more because I never did figure out how it needed to be installed. Every windshield I ever installed went in bottom first. Trying the same approach with the wrap around windshield caused the top of the glass to collide with the roof overhang and before it could be worked into position it split.

So for this attempt I spent months reading and watching everything I could find. And after reading every thread and comment I wasn’t remotely convinced I could pay a professional and receive a perfect installation.

After watching every video I could find on the subject, I bookmarked this one and watched it a couple of more times the morning of the install. Even though it is for a newer series truck it’s the most thorough I’ve found, and extensively uses a hook tool, something I’ve never seen demonstrated before. I don’t know how long it will remain available on YouTube, but here’s the link:

1967-1972 Chevy Truck Windshield Install - YouTube

After watching the video I picked up this set at Harbor Freight. The tool marked with the arrow is the only one I used:



http://www.harborfreight.com/7-piece...set-93958.html

For anyone interested, following are the steps we took to actually install the windshield. It took a little over an hour and ended up being one of the easiest I’ve done.

Last minutes steps were removing the steering wheel and rolling down the side windows for maximum access.

I had my helpers watch the above video from 14 minutes to the end, so they’d know what I was going to be doing in the cab. I also ran the last minute instructions checklist:

1. Remove all rings, wrist jewelry, and belt buckles (which they did).
2. After the windshield is located on the cab, only use open hands to press on the glass.
3. Don’t bounce the pressure.
4. Don’t apply any pressure on the sides of the (wrap around) glass. Press only on the flat face of the windshield.
5. Don’t slap the glass. If that is needed I’ll do it.
6. Don’t touch the glass with any tools.
7. Let me know immediately if a piece of trim pops out. If we don’t catch it early enough we’ll have to pull it back out for correction and start over.

With the glass completely assembled with the gasket, trim, and rope as shown again here:



KY personal lubricant was smeared all over the entire windshield cavity and the gasket/rope surface of the windshield. One tube was sufficient to cover everything. This was done immediately prior to placing the glass on the truck so it wouldn’t have a chance to dry out. In retrospect, soapy water would have probably worked just as well. One benefit of the KY is it makes a nice glue once it dries.

Rather than trying to install the glass bottom or top first, I had them almost place the glass flat against the cavity. With the entire gasket within an inch or so of the body, I had them tilt the top in slightly, and I started pulling in the top of the gasket with the hook tool. It pulled over the pinch weld easily. As I was doing this I kept watching the sides, as my biggest concern was the gasket would rub against the body and tend to bend the glass outward causing a stress crack. This turned out to not be a problem. As the glass was seated against the upper pinch weld, the sides slid directly into position in perfect alignment with the A posts. There was no side pressure at all. As more of the gasket seated, I reached down and pulled the lower gasket over the pinch weld again using the hook tool. The mating surfaces were so slimy everything fell right into place. I also had a spray bottle of Dawn dish soap, but didn’t use any.

This process was simple, with very little pressure applied to the glass. I just kept working the sides of the gasket until almost everything was in place and eventually the windshield snugged up against the body. I finally pulled the rope out where it remained, which was almost a nuisance and unnecessary. By the time I did pull the rope the glass was almost completed seated by use of the hook tool.

Final tune up was going over every inch of the gasket again (from the inside) with the hook tool to make sure I had even coverage and the second lip of the gasket flap was clearly inside the pinch flange. I spent a great deal of additional time trying to completely pull the inside gasket flap in place to completely fill the body cavity. On the upper inside corners I never did get this fully accomplished, when it occurred to me this is exactly what the old gasket looked like before I pulled the windshield. I assume this has to do with the size and shape of this particular windshield, rather than having a “bad” gasket. Regardless it is completely seated and sealed.

Here are a few last minute observations:

The hook tool was my best friend. I performed almost the entire installation with it. I recommend adding and using the rope, but it was virtually unneeded on this job.

If the gasket is installed on the bottom edge of the glass first, it must be stretched at least one inch on each side (as shown in post #367 of the build thread photos above) to provide proper fit along the upper edge and corners. If it is not stretched it will pull off the glass taking the trim with it, and no amount of tape will help.

When the trim is installed in the gasket the gap between each end should be nearly the same (about 3/8”-1/2” between each piece). If not, the trim will restrict the movement of the gasket during the windshield installation making it more difficult to fit the corners in the cab correctly.

I bought suction cups but found them unnecessary. I’ve watched videos where others do the job by themselves and use the cups on the inside to pull on the glass. It worked on YouTube, but I wouldn’t attempt that on my windshield.

Sorry there weren’t any photos taken during the process. All three contributors were too busy working and there wasn’t anybody left to operate the camera. That’s about all I can think of for now. If I forgot something obvious please let me know.

[Ta2Don]

Awesome documenting as always, keep up the great work!!!

[markeb01]

Thanks Don. I strive to build on the library of information the forum offers, hopefully making it a little easier for the next person.

[markeb01]

I’ve also listened to everyone’s input and considered adding polished parking light rims, but after several days of study I just can’t bring myself to embrace them. Looking through dozens of examples, I find I don’t care for the amber lenses with silver rims against the dark paint. To me this combination breaks up the symmetry of the frontal line of dull black paint along the front of the hood.



So I considered switching the lenses back to clear to make them look more purposeful, like an upgrade feature.



But again I don’t find this as attractive as the black rims which blend in and radically minimize the park lights unless they’re illuminated.



Unless I can think of something even more creative, I think I’ll just leave them alone for now. I do appreciate everyone’s suggestions as this was something I had previously considered myself. I’m always looking for new ideas on how I can improve the appearance of the truck, but I’m also trying to use caution to know when to quit and leave it alone.

[markeb01]

We’ve owned many different stick shift vehicles with different shift patterns, and my wife drives the truck so infrequently – the smooth metalflake shift knob has been making it time consuming for her to find reverse on the rare occasion she uses it. So today the blue knob became another display item, and the Hurst black knob and chrome handle went back in. I had forgotten how much I missed the feel of the Hurst handle and knob, so it will be staying for a while.

Morning



Afternoon

[CRGRS 66]

Originally Posted by markeb01

We’ve owned many different stick shift vehicles with different shift patterns, and my wife drives the truck so infrequently – the smooth metalflake shift knob has been making it time consuming for her to find reverse on the rare occasion she uses it. So today the blue knob became another display item, and the Hurst black knob and chrome handle went back in. I had forgotten how much I missed the feel of the Hurst handle and knob, so it will be staying for a while.

I like the Hurst shifter, looks more at home in there!

[CRGRS 66]

Hey Mark, what intake manifold are you running? I like the oil filler tube on the intake. I also want to run some vintage valve covers, and put a pcv valve inconspicuously on the side of one of the valve covers. Hope you don't mind me posting this on your thread...

[markeb01]

Not at all, always enjoy the exchange. The intake manifold on my truck is an Edelbrock 7101 Performer RPM:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-7101/?rtype=10

It originally belonged to my son and he ground off all the name and model details on its way to a full polish job. Then he lost interest, so it was sandblasted for a generic look. I also got him to bore out the oil fill blank on the front.

Edelbrock now also offers the 2703 manifold with the oil fill hole open and the tube/cap included:

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Edelbr...ill,51954.html

For the hidden smog valve connection, I created the system shown at the following link. It works perfectly, but my son moved on to other employment so we won't be recreating any duplicates:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=366853

[CRGRS 66]

Thank you Mark. Much appreciated!!

[markeb01]

In order to better play with the look of the 327/flag emblems, I scaled a photo of a real emblem to actual size, printed it out on photo paper and attached it to a chunk of refrigerator magnet so I could move it around.

At first the wife thought it was just too much foo-foo for a truck, but after showing her that GMC did the same thing in almost the same place she agreed it was a nice improvement.

After 2 hours of internet research the new parts were ordered this afternoon. Sorry for the lousy picture but I just washed the truck yesterday and I’m trying to keep it clean so I can get some really nice photos once I can find a good location and have cooperative weather.

Here’s the GMC emblem as purchased:



And the future direction (after some correction on the positioning). This is also the first photo after having removed the Moon Equipped decals last night:

[CRGRS 66]

I like that a lot!!! Can you get a reproduction chrome 327 emblem like that? I have seen ford type 289 emblems on mustangs at shows...

[1Bad62Pro/Street]

Thumbs up on the 327 emblem Mark!
Here is a 1968 Pontiac Beaumont 327 Emblem that kinda has the look of the GMC emblem.

Either one would look awesome and kinda go well with your sweet interior.
Muscle Truck.

[markeb01]

Originally Posted by CRGRS 66

I like that a lot!!! Can you get a reproduction chrome 327 emblem like that? I have seen ford type 289 emblems on mustangs at shows...

Yes the reproductions are available just about everywhere, and some NOS pieces are also to be found on Ebay and sometimes inexpensively. But quality levels vary a lot, so it’s important to buy from someone that provides large format photos of the items they’re selling. I learned my lesson on the gas pedal trim, so this time I did a lot of research. If what gets shipped turns out to be what was advertised, I’ll be a happy camper because some of the other suppliers provide different branded parts that look crappy even in photos.

Surprisingly, some of the NOS parts looked awful. Lot’s of flash and poor castings.

These are the ones I picked from CarPartsDiscount. Several other suppliers sell the same version for even more money. I’ve never dealt with CPD before, so that part is a gamble.





Some of the details of the flag emblem are not completely OEM accurate, but the quality of the casting, chrome, and paint are far superior to many of the cheaper versions.

Originally Posted by 1Bad62Pro/Street

Thumbs up on the 327 emblem Mark!
Here is a 1968 Pontiac Beaumont 327 Emblem that kinda has the look of the GMC emblem. Either one would look awesome and kinda go well with your sweet interior.
Muscle Truck.

I agree that does have somewhat of a GMC look to it and might have been a nice choice had I gone a different direction. I decided on the 67 Chevelle emblems because I always like the crossed flags and engine emblems and didn’t use them on my 67 Chevelle years ago. I went with front and rear 68 Mopar round side marker lights instead. I loved the way they looked and worked, but was always disappointed it prevented me from running the correct badges, which I also liked:

[piratexpress1369a]

is the cross flags from the vette?

[markeb01]

Originally Posted by piratexpress1369a

is the cross flags from the vette?

Everything shown is from the 65-67 Chevelle, although they also fit specific Camaros and perhaps a couple of other models.

[Ta2Don]

I like the 327 emblem idea and placement. Planning on the same set for my 65, found an OEM set on Ebay that are in good shape. I am going to use your print out idea for placement planning.

[markeb01]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

I am going to use your print out idea for placement planning.

It sure makes it easier to visualize having what basically amounts to a refrigerator magnet of the actual emblem. I thought it looked perfect where I stuck it on the first time, but studying the photos I realized it could be better. Once I finally dial it and have the real pieces in hand I'll make a template including the mounting holes so both sides come out the same and in exactly the right place.

[markeb01]

Okay here’s a weird one I’ve never experienced before. The truck has been driven several times since the new windshield gasket and trim were installed and everything seemed tip top.

Yesterday I took a short trip and was greeted with a high pitched shrieking vibration rattle. It was very loud and distracting. It sounded somewhat like a bad throw out bearing or perhaps a bad pilot bushing. As engine speed increased, the shrieking got louder, but I soon realized it was worse on right hand turns. Regardless of engine rpm or clutch position, the noise went away on left turns. So apparently the issue was being caused by body torque. The sudden onset was surprising because everything in the driveline is like new and no changes have been made in a long time.

It seemed ridiculous to consider, but the only recent change was the windshield trim addition, so I reached up and grabbed the windshield gasket above the mirror and gave it a strong pull. To my amazement the pitch of the rattle changed and diminished, leaving me to speculate the vibration noise was caused by the ends of the upper windshield trim scraping together on each other.

Since the windshield was installed without sealant, I surmised the lack of adhesive was allowing the trim to move around inside the gasket, and since the ends of the upper trim pieces were nearly touching after the glass was installed, vehicle movement apparently caused the gap to close completely causing the noise.

I picked up a tube of 3M Windo-Weld urethane windshield adhesive and studied the options. Eventually I decided to apply a quantity under the bottom edge of the trim near the center of the windshield. This doesn’t show, and glues the trim to the gasket preventing movement.

Next I went inside and applied a nice thick ¼” bead at the bottom of the pinch weld groove in the gasket across the entire top of the windshield. The gasket was pulled tight to the full height of the body indentation and taped in place overnight to dry. This adhesive also cannot be seen.

The result – the squeak/rattle is completely gone. I think the primary cause goes back to when I installed the trim in the gasket on the bench. I should have insured there was at least a ¼” gap between the two upper pieces of trim. Having never done this before I had no way of knowing this could be a problem, but by the time the glass was installed in the truck the two pieces were nearly touching.

I wanted to share this information in case it might help the next person avoid this problem.

[1Bad62Pro/Street]

Hmmmmmmm....


http://www.truckerzparadise.com/cata...alvecover.html

http://www.jegs.com/i/Edelbrock/350/41443K/10002/-1

[markeb01]

I’m afraid I’m too old school:



But if my engine was orange and I were ever to switch back to tin covers I could certainly be happy with these:

[markeb01]

The new fender emblems arrived today and are nothing short of spectacular. The castings, chrome, and paint are perfect. They are much higher quality than NOS OEM parts. As expected, the dimensions I found on the internet weren’t very accurate, so I had to make another correct scale refrigerator magnet to determine positioning on the fenders. I’ll start experimenting and photographing later this afternoon, and should have them mounted some time over the weekend.

I cancelled my first order with Car Parts Discount because their committed ship date was over 10 days out. CPD was very prompt and polite, issuing a refund immediately (on a Sunday night) so I’ll likely try them again on some future purchase. I ended up buying the identical parts from Original Parts Group, Inc. (OPGI). They were very responsive and delivered well packaged parts within 3 days. This is the first time I’ve dealt with OPGI, and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy from them again.

Here’s a shot of the new emblems. They look much nicer than this is real life:



And this shows the emblems and the photo magnet I'll be using to optimize the location on the fenders:

[1Bad62Pro/Street]

They do look nice!
Thanks for letting us know the supplier.

[Ta2Don]

Looking forward to seeing them installed...

[piratexpress1369a]

will they be strong enough that they will not fall off

[markeb01]

They’re pretty strong. There are two mounting posts cast into the back of each emblem, which are held to the fender by flanged speed nuts. The only time I’ve seen them come off a factory fender is after it had scraped into something else, shearing off the pins.