The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Keep Original Glass or Replace?

1956 solid CA truck is going through almost frame off (cab stayed on) and is starting to go back together. The original glass is in good shape, just old. Looks like it has yellowed vs. new glass.
It is not intended to be a points truck but have tried to stay as original as possible, with as much of the original parts as possible.
Glass man who does restorations is recommending new tinted glass basically for the cosmetics - new paint, new interior, new glass.
Question is if there is any strong reason to choose one over the other.
Thanks, Joe

the decider is $$$$$$$$$$, if the original glass is fully functional and you're not looking for a trailer queen, why 'fix' what ain't broke?

Bill

My $.02 is that's there nothing a nice as a new windshield and nothing more annoying than driving into the sun with a well used scratched up windshield.

Besides if I just put new paint and interior I definitely would renew the glass as well!

My experience after 39 years in the auto glass business has been that glass that looks good with the old paint job looks terrible with nice shiny new paint. Every scratch, chip etc. shows up. Plus, any laminated glass thats starting to discolor is going to be brittle, increasing the chances of breakage during installation. Just wanted to give you some points to consider. If its in the budget, I would replace. John

I had to make the same decision on my '38. I decided to keep the original glass, even with all the yellowing. We did have to replace the windshield because it broke when we tried to remove it. I've gotten a ton of positive comments and thumbs up at shows and other events for keeping the original glass. It WILL make your truck stand apart from the others.

The windshield and rear glass on my truck were broken so replacement was the only option. The side windows didn't look to good but weren't broken. There were threads going on at the time about some of the replacement glass being too thick and other fitment issues. I figured I had nothing to lose so I took rubbing compound followed by polish (made for paint) on an electric buffer and went to town on my side windows. In my case they came out looking new but it took considerable buffing. The go up and down very nicely even with all new felts and rubber.

Chuck

I had the same question with my 47 AD. The glass is not cracked, just yellow, slightly bubbled and lightly chipped. After some research on flat glass for my Jeep CJ7, I discovered that flat laminated glass is the least expensive glass for any automotive application. Thus, most good glass shops (think glass table/desk tops) can cut glass for you based on your patterns(existing glass).One local shop here in Denver offered to be competitive with any prices I could provide him. I thought the help to local business was cool. In glass tints were available as well.

Installed all new lightly tinted glass in my '56 when I restored it--a decision I've never regretted.

I replaced the front and rear flat glass on '51 because they were cracked (with a little help from me when disassembling). But, for the other glass I wanted to retain them especially the corner glass. I read in a thread here that Bon Ami was again making their original formula and calling 1886 Formula. I found some on line and order it.
It is amazing. The glass came out looking almost new although the edges are still chipped a bit. If your glass is in good shape and not discoloured then I would definitely give it a try.

If you look close you will see the original glass is dated. For some this is a major consideration, just depends on how original you are looking to keep it. As others have stated, stains and bubbles tend to be a stumbling block to getting it pristine again. I kept mine and have been fortunate to find good glass in a few parts trucks as well so I did not have to cut any.