The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk What would cause a drastic difference in cost of '54 windshields between vendors??

I'm looking to replace the windshield in my '54 truck. It's in great shape, but it has a tinted band at the top that's right in my line of sight. I'd rather replace the windshield than butcher the seat.

Anyway, while looking through the catalogs, I noticed that the price at LMC is drastically cheaper than Chevs of the 40's and Chevy Duty.

Any reason why? Any experiences?


Thanks,
Ed

LMC prices are also cheaper then Jim carters, at least the peep mirrors are,, look the same,,


maybe we might call in greed, dont know.

**Male Answer Syndrome Alert** [see Click and Clack for more details on this affliction]

Here is a 75% made up fact. That is, I recall hearing it somewhere, but have no way of verifying its truth. I have heard that there is a molding process involved in the manufacture of windshields. The first 5 or 6 yield high-quality product, and the subsequent runs yield products of lower quality. I've heard that the cheaper windshields available in our local glass shops are from the "tail end" of the mold's life.

If that is true, it may or may not explain the price differences. It may be as simple as the vendors dealing with different shipping costs to get them to their warehouse. (This part is not a "made up fact) Depending on how much freight a catalog company brings into their facility, they qualify for different discount rates from the major motor carriers. If one company brings in only a little freight with the carrier that the glass vendor prefers, their frieght costs will be much higher than another cataloger that has qualified for better freight discount rates.

MONEY and the place to shop for parts.There are only a few people that make these parts.They all get there parts from the same distributor.It's just a name ,so buying the price will not get you better parts.So check out Chevy Duty.com.I have found these people for the best prices

Lots of reasons why that could be.. not sure how many manufacterers of old truck glass there are, but i'll bet there is more than one.. i mean, it's glass. Anybody with a pattern and rudementury glass cutting skills can cut it.. not like they have to import it from whoo flungg dung like the majority of the repop parts.

Then there's the loss leader.. hey, I need glass.. and this outfit sells glass really cheap! While i'm ordering my glass from them, i'll pick up the other stuff I need, too.

That other stuff may or may not be as cheap as the other places.. which is how they make up for selling the glass so cheap.

Then there are the reasons Kimberly mentioned.. size of the outfit, shipping to their warehouse costs, amount of volume discount they get from their distributer, etc etc.

Or it could be that they have their own in-house glass shop, or have some guy across town with all the patterns who is happy to 'cut on demand' when they get an order.

geez, maybe I oughta write up a glass info tip!!

here's a bit about windshield lamination Fumblin, that talks about the latest material attributes it\'s polyvinyl butyral , much different than the bad ol days

there's possibly only one [1] actual maker of windshields in the USA, which would be PPG, who started the biz before 1900, and have been responsible for most [if not all] the advances in the technology - they were the first in the world to get continuous conveyor mass production systems workable for volume production - there are prolly a dozen places in China, a couple in Korea, some in other places like India, the UK and EU and so on - in the EU the main one is Saint Gobain, who are big in all types of glass world wide, especially container glass, and are fighting with Owens Illinois for dominance - OI designed the machines that produce huge volumes of bottles automatically [hey, Ken Brown helped w/ that I think! ] and they've about sucked up every other bottle company in N America and prolly S as well

likely all the parts places get windshields from wholesalers who are stocking primarily PPG, but some might be getting offshore windshields, and all will be varying distances from the warehouse, and all will have different costing arrangements and different volume deals, as said above

shaped windshields like the 54 are not "cut to order", they are manufactured, and because of the compound curve [top to bottom + side to side] they are picky to get perfection to a pattern, and any mfgr wants a volume order to justify the setup and waste for something like these windshields - they'll note interest over time and make a certain quantity run, and not make them again until they're sure they need the stock - you'll find times w/ this sort of stuff [like w/ the 3.38 gearsets] where some or all of the vendors don't have them and can't get them for a period, until there's another volume run - making a single curved windshield to order would prolly run you a thousand or more, but there are places that will do it - in England anyway

the only thing you might want to ask the supplier is if the windshield is US made - the TF one was only put back into production a few years ago, and I'm sure it's US made, and perfect - it's also available thru any local auto glass place [which is a good indicator it's PPG], and you might check if the 54 is as well - otherwise between vendors w/ US made glass, you'll hafta compare the shipping cost and the vendors reputation and toss yer own coin!

the 5-9 TF windshields are more expensive than the 54/5 AD ones because the sharper bend is more troublesome, and the 60-63 is more expensive yet [although about the same size/shape] because there's less demand, less volume - the rear TF big window is also being made new now, and it's tempered not laminated - also note that the majority of windshields anyplace will have the tinting band at the top, or be entirely tinted, and that tint is in the core laminate, not the glass - don't know if that's because everybody wants that or because the suppliers thought they'd want that and the clear ones sold first!!

Bill

Greed? lol

A lot of the mail order places make their revenue on the shipping not the parts,
Scott

Its all about what the market can stand. My local glass shop beats the socks off the vendors especially on flat glass and good quality. How do I know? I've used them for years and still have vehicles with their glass in them. Biggest thing if some vendors think if its old it "should" cost more. You would be surprised the number of parts they sell for a "37" that also fit a "62" and can be bought through local parts housing at a fraction of the cost and overnight free delivery. Simply put, its your/our money. Do the HOMEWORK and then make an intelligent decision. Good luck!

Red58 great post!

Interesting reading and useful information too. You should turn that into a glass info tip!

Seeing how I own a glass business here's an example: I can buy a 54 windshield for 118.00. Chevy duty wants 250.00. But they only come with the shade band at the top. I only use ppg glass because I think it's the best overall quality and fit. The cheaper the glass the cheaper the quality and fit. Most people think only about the $ and not the quality of glass their getting. To them glass is glass. Anyway Ed go to a reputible glass shop and have them get you a ppg or plk brand windshield.

Just make sure they don't have the blue tint,
I looked for sometime and most if not all the
new ones have the tint. Might even be the law?
Just make sure and ask them about 10 times.
Good luck!

wilbur - thanks for the tip that the 54's are available too, I didn't know if the volume for them had warranted PPG's interest!

hadn't thought about Pilkington doing windshields, but I guess they'd be as big in auto glass as PPG? not really current as it's been 20 years since I was really involved, and only in architectural glass

you're the one who should get up a tech tip on the glass for these ol rigs, get folks in touch w/ using their locals for glass needs

Bill

Something that I didn't see mentioned was the possiblility of In Stock parts versus Drop ship parts. Some suppliers will keep parts in stock (thus increasing their cost) other venders may make arrangments with larger wharehouses to dropship parts to the end customer for them. These venders are making money handling paper. Glass can take up a lot of warehouse space if you stock it. Plus you have shipping to factor into your cost if you stock it.

I should see if they make PPG glass for my '46 1/2 ton.. i'd rather have real auto glass then just regular old glass with a clear laminate on both sides.

This has been interesting my local glass company which I am friends with can do the door and vent windows no problem but, they told me I had to order the front and big back window. For the 59.

Someplace I think it was out of Alanta had both clear and "green" front and back windows.

popcorn The Truth is Out There (Local company said they would be happy to install the front and back for me) bEN

fumblin46,
The glass for the 46 is all flat glass anyway and will be hand cut from patterns. You can ask to have it cut from ppg glass or from viracon glass. It really doesn't matter. The quality of flat glass is pretty much the same.

This is good stuff - I think a tech tip is in order. Now can anybody tell me how much of my original post was BS (about the molds)?

LMC may have a connection to a company that can build the windshields and the other companys like Chevy Duty and Jim Carters don't so they buy there windshields through LMC and mark them up so they can make a profit on it thats another reason why some companys are more expensive then some

kim,
The molds can be used basically forever, They don't wear out. The difference in the quality is the quality of the mold that is made and the quality of the sand used to make the glass. There is alot of mexican and korean glass being used out there. Only the glass co. knows , The customer can't tell unless you look at the bug or i.d. on the glass , usually found near the bottom either center or to the right of a late model car or truck.
bill

When I replaced BillyBob's windshield a couple of years back, the glear glass was not available so I had to go for the four inch tint. It's not as objectionable as I thought it would be, now that it's in place. Got it from Chevy-Duty and was informed, in no uncertain terms, that I had to inspect it before signing for it as Chevy-Duty would no longer be responsible for it after the shipper left the parking lot.

I was told, I can't remember who by, that the windshield was manufacturered in Mexico. Any of you who read the BillyBob log entries know the problems I had installing it. It is just a tiny bit off and the stainless steel trim doesn't sit quite right as a result.

In the year I've been riding around in the weather, the trim has settled a bit (but it will never be perfect) and I've finally gotten enough silicone behind the gasket (from Steele rubber products) that it doesn't leak anymore except for the smallest trickle from a all day deluge.

What's wrong with the tint? As I recall, it was available as an option then...and it's easier on the eyes.