1956 Chevy Panel Windshield

[JohnHavla]

Hello,

I'm looking for a hopefully qualified answer on replacing a 1956 Panel Truck windshield.

Does anyone know if the '56 windshield glass is the same on a pickup and a Panel Truck?

My dad and I are trying to replace the windshield on his nice '56 Panel. We called a local glass guy and he came over with a new windshield.

It seems the glass that the guy brought over is about 1/4 inch too tall tho fit. He worked it for 6 hours with no success. Not sure if the guy has the wrong glass, or if he does not know how to install it.

Can anyone help?

Thanks much,

John

[_Ogre]

everything is the same on the panels and pickup trucks except for the obvious body parts
most replacement glass is cut wrong, there are a few threads on this forum about bad fitment
and most glass guys do not know how to install classic vehicle glass

we had to repaint a 63 vette because we called in the pros to install the glass, these guys didn't have a clue
installing the windshield or back glass on 55-59 trucks isn't that hard
there's a couple youtube videos you should look at

[JohnHavla]

Thanks very much for the informative answer. We'll hopefully be getting a new installer tomorrow. If anyone knows a good glass installer in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, who can handle this please let me know.

Thanks again,

John

[Coupeguy2001]

I will give you my experience. I have a 57 Chevy truck.
I called a place called performane glass, and they came out and removed my windshield, then tried for abour 5 hours to install their new windshield.
Then they went to the warehouse, and got a windshield of a different brand, and that didn't fit either.
The next day, they came back, and worked for another 3 hours, then ordered another windshield.They brought that over, and tried for another 3 hours, and it didn't fit.
They said maybe another glass company might have an older tech that might know what was wrong, and taped the new windshield in place, with the bottom sticking out about an inch.
I have a friend with a 58, and we jumped in his truck, and looked at everything.

Then we made a startling discovery, those guys tried installing it with the new seal upside down.

We took the seal out, and turned it around, and we had the windshield in in about a half hour.
I installed mine myself with the help of my friend.
We got new rope at the local Ace hardware. The rope was 25 feet of lawnmower engine start pull rope. I think it was 3/16, or 5/32 diameter.
Lube it up with Vaseline, and make it slippery, and put it in the new seal channel, put the winshield with the new seal against the frame, have one person push in, and the other person pull the rope, and the seal lip flips in, and seals it up.

[tmoble]

What he said.

[dwcsr]

We use 3M 08897 Silicone Lubricant it works really well and washes off with no residue.
The first thing we do is make sure the glass fits without the rubber. It needs about 1/8" to3/16" gap all the way around.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by tmoble

What he said.

agreed, except the only lube we used was soapy water
chances of finding an experienced installer is nill
why risk your paint on a noob, when the best noob to protect your truck is you

[JohnHavla]

Our thanks to Coupeguy and DWCSR. We confirmed the glass has plenty of clearance without the seal installed. Tomorrow we"ll get a new installer and a helper.

Thanks again!

[55dude]

dawn dish soap or the stuff at the tire shop they use to mount tires, slippery as hell!