1963 Dated Rear Glass

[Richard S.]

I am looking for a nice set of rear windows with the correct date (pre 10/62). Can rear glass be purchased as a repro without loosing points? Or can a decent set of rear windows be polished if the scratches are only surface?


Essentially how do you get the right glass for a 63 coupe?

[Harry S.]

Re: 1963 Dated Rear Glass

Rich, look for good original glass, it is out there. Took me 18 months to find a set.

[Marco H.]

Re: 1963 Dated Rear Glass

Rich,
The side and rear glass on the C2 Corvettes is "Tempered", which means, when it breaks, it will crumble in a million small pieces that should not have any sharp edges.
The windshield is "Laminated", with a clear film between the two layers of glass.
It has been my experience, that only the laminated glass can be buffed successfully. There are some manufacturers that can etch a nice logo on their glass. Typically, the font on the repro glass appears more fat as compared to the original.
With regards to points; a new glass with a detectable font may be a wash with an original - showing aging.
Hope this helps,
Marco

[Richard S.]

Re: 1963 Dated Rear Glass

Marco. Harry,

All good information...Thanks

What is the going price for decent used set of glass?

Where is the best place for a repo set and what does that typically go for?

Rick

[Terry M.]

Re: 1963 Dated Rear Glass

Rich,
The side and rear glass on the C2 Corvettes is "Tempered", which means, when it breaks, it will crumble in a million small pieces that should not have any sharp edges.
The windshield is "Laminated", with a clear film between the two layers of glass.
It has been my experience, that only the laminated glass can be buffed successfully. There are some manufacturers that can etch a nice logo on their glass. Typically, the font on the repro glass appears more fat as compared to the original.
With regards to points; a new glass with a detectable font may be a wash with an original - showing aging.
Hope this helps,
Marco

I respectfully disagree Marco. I successfully polished ALL four pieces of glass on my 1970, and the side glass had scratches deep enough that they could be felt with a fingernail. It can be done, but is exceedingly time consuming.

[Harry S.]

Re: 1963 Dated Rear Glass

I would think somewhere around $300.00 for the pair. You need a very early set so that might be more. I've never looked at reproduction glass.

[Richard S.]

Re: 1963 Dated Rear Glass

Terry,

What was the polishing process you used to remove the scratches?

Rick

[Terry M.]

Re: 1963 Dated Rear Glass

Terry,

What was the polishing process you used to remove the scratches?

Rick

There is a commercial glass supplier to the industry near me, and I bought a jar of cerium oxide and a felt buffing wheel. A similar "kit" is available from Eastwood and many other companies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emvl30wsoF0

Google, or the like, is your friend. There are quite a number of videos on YouTube on this subject and they generally promote a product for sale. There was also an extensive thread on this subject on this board a while back. The 1500 rpm of the polishing is critical. Faster is not better.

If you aren't prepared to do a little work, don't bother looking. I spent 40 to 60 hours over a couple of weeks on three of the four pieces of glass on the car. I tried to work on them when I was not tired so as not to make a mistake and do more damage. The windshield was fine. The rest was a disaster, but came out fine in the end.

[Marco H.]

Re: 1963 Dated Rear Glass

I respectfully disagree Marco. I successfully polished ALL four pieces of glass on my 1970, and the side glass had scratches deep enough that they could be felt with a fingernail. It can be done, but is exceedingly time consuming.

Terry, that is great to hear! The Eastwood kit left deep swirl marks to the point where I tossed the glass in the trash. I have to admit, the scratches I wanted to remove were rather deep, you sure could feel them.