Front Windshield?

[muleskinner]

How hard is it to find & replace the windshield in a Festy??

I found a 5 speed Festy with a broken windshield for $300. I'm just wondering of the cost to replace one or can you still get windshields for the Festy?

[avitsefdrof]

I got mine with a tinted band on top/which is pretty awesome......for around 200.00 including tip.

[bravekozak]

It is very easy to replace if you use old-fashioned windshield tape and have a buddy give you a hand for three minutes to position it in.
It's a lot more messy if you use urethane in a tube. Be careful not to get any on yourself or your clothes.
It also a good idea to have a bunch of new widshield molding clips, because I am certain you will break off a lot of them when you remove the moldings.

[shadetree]

Guardian auto glass 68 bucks ! Clear
86 green or blue tint .
I have installed at least eight ! Hardest part is not breaking the plastic trim clips !

[muleskinner]

It also a good idea to have a bunch of new widshield molding clips, because I am certain you will break off a lot of them when you remove the moldings.

So those are easy to get for the festy too?? If so where?

[mystro]

Safelite auto glass, installed mine, overall cost of 250 with them making 3 trips to my house, disposal ect.

[mystro]

So those are easy to get for the festy too?? If so where?

ditto

[htchbck]

Don't use Butyl tape on a Festiva. Google why if you want, I don't have the time to type it all out here, but its a safety issue.

[bravekozak]

The story about windshields blowing out on hard braking is an old wive's tale. I worked at Tremco who manufactured butyl windshield tapes for Ford and Volvo. They are tested on an Instron and the failure point is beyond belief. Someone must have stuck in down on some rust or something like that.

[bravekozak]

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=378342

I used to do performance testing to OEM specs on special macjines that simulated movement above and beyond what would be considered normal torture. These machines would move the glass around in rapid small circles day and night for weeks with continuous water spray. I have used it many times and would bet my life on Tremco heavy mastic butyl windshield tape tape. They sell their own line of tape to winshield repair shops. It's called Tremshield.

"Proper windshield tape is extruded in the form of an hourglass. I prefer the one with the small string in the middle.
I have put up towel racks on walls and radios under dashes, without any fasteners. That's how sticky the resin is.
The windshields in today’s cars and trucks are designed to be integral components of the body structure, so the glass must be bonded to the vehicle body. The strength and durability of Urethane fits this requirement nicely. With a sheer strength averaging 1,000 psi or greater, and a lap strength of 1,300 psi or greater, Urethane is the adhesive required by law for every windshield in any private passenger vehicle. A windshield, properly installed, is to stay in place in an accident or rollover. This protects the occupants from being thrown from the vehicle, and provides added structural support for the roof to prevent it from collapsing in on the occupants. If the windshield fails to remain in the vehicle, the probability of injury or death increases 400%. Butyl tape is simply not strong enough to meet these requirements, and is therefore illegal to be used on any windshield; it is however still used on some back glasses that are “bolted in” as opposed to bonded."

I admit that urethane offers superior ridgidity for unibodies than butyl, which was intended for cars with frames. I just don't want to breathe in any of of the odorless isocyanate vapors. Guess where it cures the fastest? Inside your lungs. Warm, moist, nice. It is a moisture cure. If you get it on your clothes and they are polyester, kiss them goodbye. If it is wool or cotton you only have minutes to dip it in solvent. It's the filler carbon black that is insidious.

The installation is only as good as the surface preparation. Clean glass and a rust free primed surface. Don't forget to compress the tape by pushing on the windshield after you have placed it. Make sure there are no trapped air bubbles.

[htchbck]

I admit that urethane offers superior ridgidity for unibodies than butyl, which was intended for cars with frames.

This is the part to which I was referring.

[denguy]

The guy at my local NAPA had a shoe box with those clips of all shapes and sizes in it. I found some that were close to what I needed and made them fit.