Well it looks like my FD is going to need a new windshield The bulls eye rock chip that I picked up driving down to Deal's Gap this year, which I had repaired by my local Safelite auto glass shop upon my return home from Deals Gap is failing now - initially the repair looked pretty good, and the bulls eye was almost invisible, but it suddenly grew a new 2 inch long crack over this weekend out from the center of the bulls eye repair towards the base of the windshield. Anyway, I doubt Safelite can do anything else to fix the growing crack, and I really don't trust them to replace the windshield - from what I've read, Safelite uses non-OEM glass and generic non-OEM replacements for the trim molding pieces that get consumed in the replacement job. Hopefully they'll give me a refund for the failed bulls eye repair job.

Which brings me on to my questions - I've started searching down the rabbit hole here, but most of the posts concerning glass replacement here are a bit dated now. Is the OEM FD windshield still available from Mazda? Ditto for the OEM windshield trim molding components which are A LOT better than the generic aftermarket stuff you'll get at a place like Safelite. I'll reach out to Ray Crowe to find out for sure tomorrow. As I understand it, there are like 5 different OEM parts needed for the windshield trim molding there; the trim itself that you see around the windshield, plus a long piece that is used along the top edge of the windshield to secure the molding, and small clips at the left & right upper corners of the windshield, and a clip on each side (left & right) of the windshield.

DIY windshield installation is something I'm not going to try, but I'll probably remove my wiper arms and the cowl trim bits myself to ensure whatever shop I have do the job will have one less thing to F-up in the process.

 

pretty sure you can order the OEM windshield too. Good thing too because not too many aftermarket glass will carry the nicely integrated blue band at the top of the windshield. The trim however… no way of saving some of the original stuff before they remove the glass?

 

^The short answer to that is maybe - more often than not, removal of the original trim without any destruction to it is difficult at best. Reason is the adhesive that oozes out when the windshield is installed can end up sticking to the trim in various places. The video in the next to last post in this thread shows how the trim is removed: https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-gen-gene...-trim-1153622/

This guy was able to purchase new trim, and was removing the old trim to prepare for a paint job, so he wasn't concerned with re-using the old trim. But the video shows the removal process and why it would be very difficult removing the trim intact if you had tried.

 

The last time I checked with Ray, front glass was NLA for 93/4 and 95. I ended going aftermarket with a new OEM seal kit and both were readily available.

 

Well that sucks, another OEM part down the *******

 

The front glass has been NLA for some time now.

 

The windshield itself is NLA, but you can still get all of the trim. I picked up a full car's worth throughout the year.

 

Quick update - I talked to Ray this morning, and he's checking on availability on the glass & molding pieces; he thinks OEM windshield glass can still be had, might be new old stock (NOS) sitting in a Mazda dealership someplace. He's going to get back to me on that. Ditto for the molding bits.

And I stopped by Safelite this morning, and they refunded me in full for the bulls eye repair job, so at least there's that. Now I have to find a trustworthy & competent local auto glass shop to do the job for me. The Safelite boss even agreed with me that he wouldn't trust any of his guys to do a windshield R&R job on something like my FD - too much risk of breaking the OEM plastic trim bits.

 

keep us posted

 

where did you get the after market glass?

 

Ray confirmed that there are still a few OEM windshields (NOS) sitting around in Mazda's supply system, and he could get one freighted to NUCAR Mazda dealership in DE. Will take about 3 weeks to get there, but save me a bundle in shipping - glad I live a short drive from NUCAR! And all of the trim molding components for the install are available too. Now my challenge is to find a competent local shop to do the install job for me.

Just about any auto glass shop can get you after market glass for the FD, even Safelite can do that.

 

The lack of OEM glass and competent pullers are why I don't want my glass removed when I get my car painted. Nice to know at least one of those fears can be put to rest, but still hesitant to go through that process.

 

You don't necessarily have to remove the glass when you get it painted. Instead, just have the trim around the window removed & replaced with new parts when the paint job is done. The trim removal process will typically destroy the old trim, but I'm told new OEM trim is still available.

 

Thats just what the paint guys I spoke to recommend as I need to strip the car. I think a blind man with no hands could do a better job than the PO at laying down primer.

Thats also why I bought a whole car's worth of replacement trim as everything on it currently is beyond saving.

 

^I should've been more specific--- the bronze-tint '93 front glass has been NLA for some time now.

the '94-95 blue/green-tint is still available for around $700. Aftermarket options are quite a bit cheaper. I think if you really want OEM the winning play is to see if your local dealer will price match Ray on them, so at least they'll arrive to your local spot and you can verify it didn't get damaged in shipping. Ray told me that's what he recommends...... he did just bring in one of these to NuCar for a customer who is local enough to go and pick it up.

 

I have a 94 with bronze glass, I wonder if it was once replaced or some 94's came with bronze

 

^That was me! After doing some research & hearing from some personal friends who had work done at NuCar's collision shop and meeting with them for an estimate, I decided to trust them with my FD's windshield replacement job. But since Ray's parts pricing beat theirs, I ordered all my OEM parts from Ray, and had them shipped direct to NuCar. My windshield should arrive there in another week or two. The OEM windshield and the OEM trim & OEM installation bits are all still available. I prefer the OEM glass to the cheaper aftermarket glass because I suspect the aftermarket glass is just not as good. I've had aftermarket glass replacements on previous daily drivers, and I noticed they just don't hold up as well to wear & tear as OEM glass. It tends to show more little nicks & scratches over time, and seem to break easier against minor rock chip impacts than OEM.

 

I'm following this as well, as I have an annoying star right in front of the driver on my car.

What color tint was standard for each year, 93-95? Did it depend on the trim level?

 

As far as I know, the FD’s that came to Canada in 94, all had the bluish tint band as OEM windshields.

 

So my FD windshield replacement job is now DONE! As I mentioned before, I had Nucar Mazda in New Castle DE do the job for me, with the OEM glass & molding trim bits ordered from Ray, which delivers straight to Nucar anyway. Total tab for the job was about $1350, OEM windshield was $713.xx + about $150 in associated OEM trim bits from Ray. Insurance paid it in full via American Collectors.

It's nice having an absolutely new & clear windshield with zero pits or scratches on it, makes driving the car even more fun! The OEM Mazda molding also looks a lot better and appears to be more durable than the aftermarket stuff that was on there before too. Funny thing is before the tech installed the molding, they called me to get my approval because the Mazda molding is not quite as wide as the aftermarket molding, and they were concerned it might not cover the gap as well - they sent me photos of both types of molding, and actually suggested swapping the OEM molding for an aftermarket one, but I nixed that idea and told them to go ahead & use the OEM one Ray shipped. Glad I did!

 

congratulations

i agree a new windshield is exciting

 

Wow, you guys are nuts spending over 1k for a windshield just to get "factory glass". I just purchased a brand new Fuyao FW715 ("rare" gray tint band) from a local glass shop for $191.82 with tax, pick up 1 day later. Then yesterday I paid a local mobile installer ive previously used to install it in my shop for $180. Got the windshield molding through Atkins for $112. The glass is blemish free and has the tint color I was seeking. Some things I just cant justify going factory just to go factory. I get that insurance will reimburse in either case, but I just don't see the value in spending the extra time and effort to get a product that is absolutely identical.

 

I've got American Collectors too, did they give you any trouble on getting a replacement or try to push aftermarket? Mine has a small ching and I'm going to keep it as long as I can but it would be nice to know they will cover a factory replacement if requested.

 

They were super easy to deal with - when you call them to start a claim, they hand you off to a claims processor/adjuster who handles everything from there. The claims adjuster was assigned & reached out to me the same day to start the process. They just asked me to email them a few photos - my VIN # on the car, an odometer reading, and pictures of the damage. A few hours later they emailed back saying I'm covered for full reimbursement for the windshield replacement job, and they asked me to send them an estimate. No pressure to use aftermarket stuff or any particular shop. They actually paid me (EFT to my Paypal account so it was fast) the next day based on the estimate, and said if there's any difference when the job is done, to send final invoices/receipts and they would settle any difference at that point. The total came out around $29 more than the estimate, so I sent them the final invoices yesterday and they already paid that too.

 

Wow good to hear. I've had them for years and luckily have never had to make a claim. I've heard horror stories with some of the other "collector" car insurances.