Windshield Replacement Shop Recommendation Needed for 1961

[Mike B.]

My '61 windshield is cracked. Can anyone recommend a shop, preferably in the NYC metro area that can replace the glass? I need to get estimates for insurance and am drawing blanks. Glassworks (the Hard Top Shop) can do it but that includes total restoration of the posts etc. which I don't need. I can dismantle the frame components and ship.

Thanks, Mike

[Doug L.]

Re: Windshield Replacement Shop Recommendation Needed for 1961

Mike,
I'm not a C1 guy but I replaced the cracked windshield on my '64. I wanted it to be as correct as possible, including the tint, sunshade and codes that are sand-blasted in one corner. You can buy these from various sources. I researched suppliers and was informed that Pilkington Glass owns the rights to the original LOF brand and could reproduce them including the codes. Their price was as good as anyone elses. I took photos of the etchings in my original windshield for them to reproduce. Then was the question of having it installed. I wasn't going to try that myself and risk cracking the new one. I contacted a local shop that installs all sorts of auto glass and explained what I was doing (restoration with correct glass, and where I wanted the glass to come from [Pilkington]). They agreed to place the order with Pilkington with my specifications, have it shipped to them (eliminating me from liability during shipments), and come to my house to do the installation in my garage. They charged me the cost of the glass, $100 for managing the transaction, and their standard fee for installation. The only problem I'm aware of, since the car has not been judged yet, it that I believe the tint band across the top is not the same color or the same band width as original, but no one else's is either.

If you don't care about originality, go to any auto glass shop and they should be able to get the glass and install it.
Doug