Front and Rear Glass problems
As you can see, the "lip" for the rubber seal gets kind of corrugated around the corners. These will cause a problem pulling the lip up and slice the edge of the rubber. I just ordered a second glass seal because I wasn't paying attention and this area ruined my first gasket. Not sure what I'll do yet. Filing down may sharpen the edges which may not be good. Will update when I solve this issue.
CORRECTION ! THE FOLLOWING ISN'T THE BEST THING TO DO. FORGET THE YELLOW STRING AND SCROLL DOWN FOR THE CORRECT "PULL CORD" - - - - Yellow string (Dazzle Twine - Home Depot) inserted into the inner groove, soaped up. Cut the string a couple of inches longer than the groove and tie something to the ends to hold the opposite end of the string in place. After the first couple of inches are in place, put a woodworker's clamp on the end to keep it from popping back out, and pull gently, watching very closely if the rubber gets hung up. Use the hook to pull past any difficult locations. As you pull the string, and the lip comes up, keep pressure against the rubber to push it toward the center of the glass so there is less of a lip to pull over the lip of the trim. WORKS LIKE A CHAMP !
Woke up in the middle of the night and thought of this to use as a pull string. The problem is that the yellow string started to come apart when I tried to push it back into place when I got about a third of the way around. Pulled the yellow string out and started over. This also is a good puller because it has very tiny longitudinal grooves that help to give some friction to the edge of the rubber "flap".
The hardest part to get to engage is that lower right corner. Seems like the trim doesn't have the same shape as the glass corner. When the "pulling gets tough" as you go around this corner and a few inches past the corner, be sure to keep things well lubricated with soapy water and tug on the cord in a circular motion and about 45 degrees from the vertical. Take your time to avoid tearing the rubber lip. Unless you have excellent light, use a flashlight so you can see every detail of what that rubber lip is doing. It can tear and you may never know it.
Pull the cord at about a 45 degree angle from the vertical. The rubber will flop straight up and may not engage the slot where it is supposed to rest. Use your hook to follow the string and push the rubber into the groove while at the same time - press down vertically on the trim so the rubber goes into the groove or else it may disengage from the slot. As you approach an area where the tape is, remove that tape and (clean the glass) and add another tape section on the area that you just finished.
Folks, THIS is the most tedious dang two or three days since I started this project. The ends of my fingers are about to fall off, but it's finally done. Tip: Soap and water aren't sufficient for lubrication to get these installed. If you think about it long enough, you will figure out that the BEST lubrication can be bought at the drugstore (at least to make this go easier).
(UPDATE: I have concrete evidence that the Dennis Carpenter glass seal for this application is too thick! After I installed the windshield, and proceeded to install the SS CENTER VERTICAL trim, It would not fit. Problem being that it is too LONG and interferes with the surround trims to the extent that I had to trim the inside bottom of the center piece about 3/16" on each end. The center strip did NOT grow. ) In place, ready to start installing. Used a small nylon rope stuffed into the groove of the seal from the center of the top all the way around both sides to the center of the bottom, thoroughly lubricated with a spray bottle with dishwashing soap and "that lubricant" you can get at the drug store. The bottom and sides and about half of the top went in real easy with hardly any difficulty, but the last two feet of the top on each side was a BEAR !
(UPDATE: I have concrete evidence that the Dennis Carpenter glass seal for this application is too thick! After I installed the windshield, and proceeded to install the SS CENTER VERTICAL trim, It would not fit. Problem being that it is too LONG and interferes with the surround trims to the extent that I had to trim the inside bottom of the center piece about 3/16" on each end.
Top end after grinding down to get it to even come CLOSE to fitting. Really pisses me off that the seals are bigger/thicker than they should be, making it a REAL pain in the butt to install the windshield. Do you think the factory had so much trouble back in 1949? They'd have gone broke if it took an entire day or more to put in the windshields....
If you are installing your windshield by yourself, with no help, here is how you do it ! ! ! You can get these glass suction cups for seven bucks each on Amazon, or Harbor freight. Then tie the suction cups back to a solid support in the floor. I used one of the bolts for the seatbelts. Those red strips are so tight you could play a tune on them. Seriously. The padding is taped to the top of the dash so "just in case" one of the suction cups comes loose, it won't ruin the dash or steering wheel. The pull string/rope is hanging from the area where it starts gettin' reallll tough to make the inner lip flip over the ledge of the frame. You can see that the inner lip on the bottom and outer edges and half way across each window panel is in place, but not in the middle of the top.
Hammer, move, hammer, move, hammer, move. You will be able to see the seal material going in. Picture taken with the other hand, otherwise, hold the shim material firmly while you tap/hammer on the shim, then move it about 1" and do it again and again and again. The edge of the seal will eventually slip into the edge of the roofline.
It seems as if the Dennis Carpenter rear glass seal has had a 3/4" section added where it should just be a single joint. As a result the seal flopped off the glass and was literally impossible to get it to go onto the glass snugly all the way around. As a result, the SS strip would not catch the lip of the seal on either end. I even tried to set the assembly onto the car to help hold the seal at the top and bottom while I tried to get the SS strip to install. Would NOT work. I checked the dimensions of my old ORIGINAL glass with the new one, and although not perfectly the same, it is very very close. So I made a decision.
The first three quarters of "pulling the lip" went real real real easy. But after that, the lip itself pulls the seal very tight against the little ridge, so it seemed reasonable to get out my trusty "residential door shim" material, shave it down a little, and pry the seal away about 2 inches ahead of the "pull" location. WORKED PERFECTLY to finish the install !!!
As it turns out the leak was just at that corner where the cente piece separates the two panes of glass and I did not get enough caulk all the way to that corner. I learned on YouTube the way to test for the leak location is to soap up the outside of the glass and then take a compressed air hose and blow along the seal from the inside and wherever there's a leak bubbles will form on the outside of the glass. So simple
CORRECTION ! A YEAR LATER, IN A DELUGE OF A RAIN, I HAD ANOTHER LEAK. AS IT TURNS OUT THE CENTER OF THE TOP OF THE WINDSHIELD, ABOVE THE CENTER DIVIDER, BETWEEN THE BODY AND THE GASKET, I DISCOVERED THAT THE RUBBER HAD VERY LITTLE PRESSURE AGAINST THE ROOF LINE. EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO "CRACK" BETWEEN THE GASKET AND THE BODY, WHILE RUNNING A LITTLE HOOKED PROBE AROUND THE AREA, IT WAS BARELY TOUCHING THE BODY. ONE MORE APPLICATION LIKE THE ONE IN THIS AND A FEW PREVIOUS PICTURES, AND HOPEFULLY IT'S ALL FIXED NOW.. WHEW !......You have to look really close to tell that there's any sealant between the glass and the rubber. No leaks! !
