windshield grief
 

I have my 81 rx7 in the paint shop and decided to have the cracked windshield replaced at the same time. The shop is having difficulty sourcing a windshild. First he tells me the replacement windshield is two inches too narrow and is sourcing the right one. Now he tells me the narrow one is correct and he just need to figure out how to fit it. Does not add up. I am going to the shop tomorrow to check it out myself. Just curious if anyone else has had problems sourcing windhshields?
Thanks!

Wow Alberta guys just keep on popping up.

Have you tried a couple of different places (windshield surgeons comes to mind)? I dunno I cracked a mint windshield in my widebody putting the roll bar in so I am going to be in the market for a new one at some point here as well. Let me know what you end up doing.

Certain color combinations are nearly impossible to find. Call Ira at Glass Seekers http://www.glass-seekers.com/

More sources listed here
http://www.glasslinks.com/avobsol.htm

i sourced an 83 windshield through safetylite auto glass in my home town not sure if you guys have them where you are but they quoted me 200 bucks installed im not sure where the get their glass but ill find out when i can get a chance cause they were way cheap

Here in ontario, everyone that I went to could get it in. I think your windshield guy doesn't know what he's talking about.

Depends on which colour he is looking for.

I was able to get any color ... I think there are 3, green, blue, and yellow

Also a sure place is Black Dragon .. probably not the cheapest but they do have them

what do u mean what color he was looking for. Isnt glass clear? or are you talking about the line of tint at the top?

You cannot get a full clear first gen glass, there will always be a tint of some color ontop

oh, that i did not know

Thanks for the input. I went by the bodyshop today and he managed to source a windshield which fits. Maybe I can post some pics when it's painted I am going 05 Mini Gold. It is close to the original gold but a little lighter. I did not like the original gold was too brown for me.

Wow must be nice to have options...
 

You guys are truly lucky to have that many options. I had to buy an entire car to get a front windshield, over here nobody produces the windshield anymore, even mazda could not help me. I ended up buying a junk body that had a good windscreen and paying to tow it to my shop.

nobody from the states was willing to risk trying to ship one here to japan :(

kenn

ahh i need to source one too. hopefully it wont be too hard. mine is cracked from a rock chip on the passenger side many many years ago and now is crossing into the drivers line of sight...

I've gotta replace mine in the spring. When i got qutoe in the summer it ranged from 350-400+ to replace. Damn, when I replaced one about 5 years ago it was an in stock item and was only about $225.

dude. not to sound harsh but i paid $125 for mine this past summer....brand new, installed and everything. blue tint at the top- not my favorite but i can live with it, i hardly notice it anymore....teds auto glass in atlanta.

That is one of the difficult to find.

Maybe you are searching the wrong Continent. The replacement Windscreens sold in the US were made in Australia.

For those who don't know, the word "tint" is used to describe the color of the entire glass, and "shade" is used to describe the darker band at the top of some windshields. Windshields can be tinted, shaded, or both. They can be shaded and not tinted, and can be tinted and not shaded.

They can also be completely clear, neither tinted nor shaded. I don't know if there were clear windshields on new RX-7s from the factory, but at one time--if not now--you could buy replacement clear windshields.

Most people don't want to mix and match different colors of glass. A blue tinted windshield doesn't look right if your windows and hatch are bronze tint. A good glass shop should ask what color your windshield is rather than replace it with the wrong color. Certain tint/shade color combinations can be expensive, about $400 plus installation. Local shops often can't locate rare colors and you will need to source it yourself and make arrangements. Ira Turner (glass seekers) is pretty good at finding glass, at least in the US.

The common colors of tint and shade were blue, green, and bronze. Over time, the tint color can change so that it can look ambiguous. To find out what you have, place a piece of white paper behind the glass and examine in bright natural sunlight.

Hope this clears up some confusion/misinformation.

Pretty sure all rx-7 came "shaded" in stock form I just paid for mine a not even a month ago 250$Canadian installed. The most common place it seemed to me that the glass either came from Toronto or Montreal in this part of the world.

I called my local auto glass shop the other day, for $235 he would come to my house and R&R it. I have a parts car with a good windshield but a few people said not to try removing it, it will crack.

Hey guys I am scraping my 83 LE in the next week or so,and it is stripped down to just a rolling chassis. Should I remove the windshield as well to sell,or hang onto for my 79 GS? How hard is it to remove a windshield? The windshield was replaced about 7 years ago,and I am not sure the tint,or shading,but it looks the same as the one that came out of it I guess.

Windshields can be tricky to remove, I broke my 1st 3 that I tried. got it right on the 4th one. Even my glass guy will not garuntee safe removeal, but it's worth a try.

Fwiw, not all 7s are shaded, my 2nd gen has no band at the top, it's very bad driving in the sun.

^^^ Very true. I found out that ANY little prying to get the metal surround off the windshield equals a cracked windshield.

It is good to see another Alberta guy, welcome Colin and post up some pics of your nice new paint job.

I got an all clear windshield installed in the SE last year. Maybe it was old stock, though.

I never saw a clear windshield on a new RX-7. The "clear" aftermarket replacement glass was and still is available, verified. The Shade (band at top) was optional and not all original windshields were shaded. Do not mix colours of bronze, blue, or green tint windshields and door/hatch glass.