1967 windshield & rear glass molding reveal clips - original? Can they be re-used?

[Scott S.]

I had kind of an amazing find on Monday, a couple of boxes with NOS parts and some original (used) parts that were saved in the NOS replacement part boxes. My cousin and I found them up in the rafters of the garage. I finally found the original ignition top-shield after searching for it for two years, it was up there too.

There are a few items I have questions about, but I'll start with this. Are these original windshield and rear glass molding clips?

The windshield clips all have "AWT" stamped into them, the same stamping mark that is on the back-inside of the glove-box lock retainer clip. The rear-glass molding clips all have a "G" stamped into them. They all seem to have a pliable sort of rubber or tar gasket. I'm guessing these are used, but to the best of my knowledge, none of the glass had ever been out of this car before, except the driver door glass, which was broken early in the car's history. I don't have the clips that came out when we removed the glass here with me, but I will get them next week for comparison.

These look like they're in good shape, better than the ones that came off the car. Are these correct for a '67, and if so, can they be re-used without any problem?

Thanks,

Scott

windshield molding clips:

[Scott S.]

Re: 1967 windshield & rear glass molding reveal clips - original? Can they be re-used

Here are the rear-glass molding clips:

[Scott S.]

Re: 1967 windshield & rear glass molding reveal clips - original? Can they be re-used

I looked at the windshield 'reveal clips' that came off the car, and they appear to be identical to ones I found (pictured in previous posts), with "AWT" stamped into every clip. It's hard to see in the pictures, but it's located in the bottom left-hand corner of the clip in each photo. The stamping is lighter on the clips that were on the car compared to the bag of clips that I found, but the letter style/font is identical. I checked about five of the rear clips, but I didn't see a "G" stamped into any of them.

If the original clips are not bent or corroded, is there any reason why they couldn't (or shouldn't) be cleaned and re-used?

What kind of solvent would safely remove the junk stuck to the clips, without stripping whatever protective coating (black phosphate?) is on these clips?

[Stephen L.]

Re: 1967 windshield & rear glass molding reveal clips - original? Can they be re-used

Reusing these clips may result in the trim pieces not snapping in place correctly, if the clips are bent,weak etc. You won't discover this until you are doing the final trim installation, and then its a real awe #$%&.

If you want to clean them up, place a few in solvent, (laquer thinner?) and see the outcome. If you reuse the clips, place a small amount of sealant on the screws during installation.

[Scott S.]

Re: 1967 windshield & rear glass molding reveal clips - original? Can they be re-used

Reusing these clips may result in the trim pieces not snapping in place correctly, if the clips are bent,weak etc. You won't discover this until you are doing the final trim installation, and then its a real awe #$%&.

Can anyone tell from the pictures in my first posts whether those clips were new or used? The look new to me, except they each have a circular rubber/tar-like sealant substance stuck to them, and I don't know if that's how they came new as over-the-counter service replacements, or whether that indicates they are used clips.

[Scott S.]

Re: 1967 windshield & rear glass molding reveal clips - original? Can they be re-used

If you want to clean them up, place a few in solvent, (laquer thinner?) and see the outcome. If you reuse the clips, place a small amount of sealant on the screws during installation.

The clips in the first couple of posts were found a few weeks ago in the garage attic, at the bottom of a box filled with Corvette parts. Some were NOS parts, some were original (used) parts stored in service replacement boxes, all mixed together. The front and rear window molding clips were in plain zip-lock bags marked "Rear" and "FT".

The car has original December 1966 glass front & back, so I don't think the glass had ever been out of the car before. When I compared the front & rear clips found in the garage attic to the clips that came off the car, the front clips were identical ("AWT" stamped in both), and the rear clips were identical in size and shape, but I didn't see a "G" stamped in the clips that came off the car.

About a year ago, when we were removing the glass, I read in the archives that Paragon had the front & rear molding reveal clips that fit best, so I bought a set of their rear window clips. I just compared the rear clips that I found a few weeks ago in the garage (same size and shape as the ones that were on the car) to the rear window molding clips I bought from Paragon last year, and the Paragon clips are noticeably larger.

I'll try to post comparison pictures this evening or tomorrow.