Have you heard the rumor that 1st gen glass is NLA?
 

Don't believe it.

Here's one you can buy on ebay right now for only $350 shipped:

1979-1985 Mazda RX-7 Windshield, OEM, Brand New | eBay

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/N9kAA...3I/s-l1600.jpg

And here's one I picked up locally this morning, a total take home cost of $132.50 ($125 +$7.50 GA sales tax).

https://i259.photobucket.com/albums/...pseoy5ph2a.jpg

Are all 1st gen glass the same? What years is yours for Ray?

i'd bet that all the glass in s1-s3 will all interchange.

that price is comparable to the prices in Socal. new windshield will phase out soon since there is not really any demand for it so stack up boys. there are approx 20 junkyards in LA,there are hardly any RX-7s (78-91). i have 2 used windshields that im saving for future use. 79-85 are the same

Isn't the SA glass different? I thought it didn't have the frit around the edges and the sunshade was a different color? The one on my SA is original and the sunshade appears to be blueish and there doesn't appear to be frit on it either.

I remember a thread about this earlier. I'll see if I can dig it up.

All 1st gen glass dimensionally identical. Sa clear with blue tint i believe. Fb has black frit band all around and green tint. Good price on that glass Ray,thought i got a good deal on one i purchased. FW00462 was # yours same? Only couple companies that make windsield glass for our cars,thought hard about buying two,to keep one as a spare. Have seen some cheaper ones,the glass that safelite installs is of less quality than # above-unless you stipulate you want the better quality shield installed,then price for job more than doubles. They won't warrant one i purchased if they break it on install,though it's the same exact one they sell. Still looking for a reputable glass installer...

Thats SAs for you, always different. I have some scratches and a chip that seems to be stable.

I wouldn't trust safelite to install a new one since you have to remove the trim and replace the clips when
its done. I've read too many horror stories about how t hat goes down.

Mike yes the unit I bought locally unit is an FW00462 sold by Mygrant Glass and manufactured in China by XYG Xinji Automobile Glass company. The sun tint band is green and it appears to be identical in all respects to the one for sale on ebay, include the part number. Purchased from an Atlanta company called Low Price Auto Glass:

Windshield Replacement | Norcross, GA - Low Price Auto Glass

Interesting that you point out different aftermarket units are of "different quality". From what I know about aftermarket parts, that is almost certainly a political statement. Kind of like how the big US pharmaceutical companies claim generic drugs from India are laced with cyanide. But I beg to be proven wrong on this.

The tinting in the sun band seems to be somewhat random. I have three FBs out in the yard that all appear to have original OEM windshields since they have the Mazda logo etched in the glass.

One is a white 83 GSL with brown sun band tint, the second a silver 84 GSL with brown sun band tint and the third a chateau silver 83 LE with blue sun band tint. And as you can see from the photos the aftermarket XYG unit has green sun band tint (and yes, all SA's and FB's use the same windshield size).

All of the units on my cars and the aftermarket one I bought have light green tint throughout the glass and a black band around the frame, so I'm guessing that part is standard.

So maybe the sun band matched the model type (GSL had brown for example, LE had blue) or maybe the sun band was matched to the paint color? Or maybe it's just random, who knows.

Tim,i removed all trim & windshield myself. With w/shield out,area beneath was cleaned to bare metal,primed,sealed and color coat applied before laying w/shield back in place and taping in to minimize any chance of overspray getting into interior of car. Found a local glass guy to come to where the car is and install new shield using proper bead thickness of urethane sealer. I'll refit all trim pieces. Went back and forth with myself whether to repaint w/shield trim or not as was in near perfect condition,finally decided to repaint.

Ray,don't have a college degree,not certain i'm deciphering your response correctly about my statement of differing quality of replacement glass. I ran the automotive repair section of a large production body shop for a lot of years and have seen my share of optically inferior,distorted glass installed. Some with poor dimensional fit,lots of glass installer comebacks. Some of defects not apparent til vehicle getting final cleanup before delivery. Found a few while test driving after major drivetrain R&R for frame repairs that could only be seen from inside out while driving. Realize not specifically RX related,though had a shield installed in a GSL i owned for a bit that had a wavy section of glass right in line of sight that was annoying.

"From what I know about aftermarket parts, that is almost certainly a political statement"

This is called "fishing" Mike, an attempt to solicit a response from an expert (like yourself) who can offer reliable and useful information. Or, more often, to just piss someone off so they say or do something stupid, like that Greg Gianforte guy did out in Montana last night.

So thanks for the info, that's what I wanted to hear! I'll closely inspect my XYG unit for apparent flaws. It was made in China, a problem for some, although in my recent experience Chinese stuff has been pretty good, even superior to domestic.

Of course all this is "academic" if we can no longer obtain new windshields for our 1st gens or if there is only one option, such as the currently available XYG unit.

"Tim,i removed all trim & windshield myself. With w/shield out,area beneath was cleaned to bare metal,primed,sealed and color coat applied before laying w/shield back in place and taping in to minimize any chance of overspray getting into interior of car. Found a local glass guy to come to where the car is and install new shield using proper bead thickness of urethane sealer. I'll refit all trim pieces. Went back and forth with myself whether to repaint w/shield trim or not as was in near perfect condition,finally decided to repaint."

Good deal, thanks Mike, that's what I'll do when the time comes.

Certain rare colors are NLA or very difficult to find in DOT approved US spec. IIRC I replaced a bronze tint with shade and it took Ira the glass guy a couple days to find one, which turned out to be cracked in the warehouse. Luckily he found another one eventually.

It would be possible to have a batch of windshields made up from a quality manufacturer, if a few people get together for a group buy.

I had a chance to look more closely at the XYG unit I bought, it looks fine as far as I can tell.

No chips, cracks or distortions that I can see.

Here's a picture of the certifications stamped on the lower driver's side of the windshield, it's got some DOT numbers so I suppose it's DOT certified.

Attachment 603341

Of course like Mike says, sometimes you only see problems after the unit has been installed and you're out for a test drive, so you can never be sure.

But as long as you're OK with the green sun band tint this unit seems to be a bargain at $132.50.

I wonder if the XYG unit is available in other parts of the country at the same price?

Safelite did mine while I watched (and helped- the guy was a car guy and really cool). We did just glue the side trim on, which I was fine with (I thought the clips were NLA).

$350 or so installed in my car with a no leak guarantee. And it doesn't leak. And it's NEW glass, not pitted or scratched junkyard glass. Smooth as butter.

Of course, YMMV, but overall I had a good experience.

Ray,the shield is DOT approved,paid $20 more for it than you did for yours(good deal) & research i have done they appear to be very consistent quality wise,unlike two others,one of which is the standard windshield installed by safelight. Have a procedure you can use to check for flaws in glass but need a patient assistant if interested.

Yes Mike I'd be interested in the glass inspection procedure.

Please post here, I'm sure others are dying to know how to do a windshield inspection, sounds like a Must Know kind of thing.

When you say you paid about the same price as I did (good deal, $20 more) was that for the same XYG unit or a similar one that is also DOT approved?

If the latter can you tell us who made it and where?

I wouldn't be surprised if Safelite is using inferior glass, they need to do something to cut their margins to pay for all those TV ads.

Although James sounds like he's satisfied with his Safelite unit.

James can you get a picture of the certifications stamped on your Safelite unit?

I'd be interested in the manufacture details, who and where it was made.

This thread is turning out to be a Gold Mine of information about still available 1st gen windshields.

Recently replaced mine. 150 in "Canadian" dollars and 15 for clip kit. No problem in getting them.
The old one also had a distortion in the line of sight plus it was badly pitted.

I'd be curious to know where your clip kit came from, $15 Canadian is a good price.

Atkins sells the clips for about $4 each and I think you need about a dozen or so, it gets expensive.

Ray,one i have is same as yours.

Thanks Mike, good to know. Sounds like this XYG unit has a lock on the 1st windshield market. Makes me glad I didn't waste more time shopping.

I did some research on the mounting clips, thanks to boyee who answered this question back in 2010 in a thread on this forum:

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...-clips-930617/

"for the top and bottom trim clips PN: 1243-50-609 and you need 14 of these for a complete set (3 for each side on the top and 8 on the bottom)

for the side trims the PN for the fasteners is: 8871-50-608 and you need 6 of these (3 for each side)"

The clips are still readily available on ebay, atkins and places like that but they don't give them away. Do ebay and google searches for the part numbers to locate vendors.

Note: I just counted the mounting studs for the top and bottom clips (1243-50-609) on my 84 GSL and came up with a total of 18 (8 across the top and 10 across the bottom), not sure why boyee and atkins rotary report 14, but maybe you don't need to use all the mounting studs.

Ray,i bought my mounting clip set from an ebay vendor about a year ago,pretty reasonable. Haven't gotten to the point of using it yet. When i get a minute i'll look in my "bible" for the receipt/vendor info.

Thanks Mike.

OK, i put in my orders on the clips.

Top and bottom clips, need 18 got 25 from ebay for $18:

25 Mazda Windshield Moulding Clips 1243-50-609 | eBay

Side clips (need 6, about $24 delivered):

https://www.realmazdaparts.com/oem-p...clip-124350609

A total rip off at $42 for 31 little pieces of plastic, but it's only going to get worse.

Looks like something that could be made using a 3D printer much cheaper.

Good info here. I'll be using this when I redo my own windshield at some point. Maybe I should get
clips now before they are NLA. Same goes for a windshield.

Yup, that's what I said. Pricey, but worse when Trump cuts off the China Connection.

I like KC's idea, 3D print the suckers. Screw the Capitalists.

Anybody got a 3D printer and time on their hands?

I'll be getting my new clips in soon, we can make a deal.