348 Windshield Replacement

Does the 348 use a windshield seal or is it cemented in place like most of the new cars built today?
Replaced a windshield in my former Porsche 930S. The Porsche uses a seal and trim that presses into the seal after installation. If I recall correctly the windshield popped out relatively easy from inside the car.
I then installed using the old tried and true soapy water with rope method. Relatively easy and painless. The trim was more difficult than the windshield. Never leaked either!
My understanding is if the windshield requires a seal you always replace the seal with new. I have no idea why the trim could not be reused.

 

I had my 348 windshield replaced about 3 years ago. I believe the trim can be reused if it is removed very carefully. The glass is glued in, so you need the new seal kit. Couple of things to bear in mind:

1) Make absolutely, positively sure that you have the correct replacement glass before you break out the old glass. In my case, my shop was sent two incorrect windshields and one broken windshield before we got one that could be used. My car ended up sitting in the glass shop for more than 3 months.

2) From what we were told at the time, all replacement 348 windshield glass now comes with the imbedded antenna wire and two pigtails. If your car does not use an imbedded antenna, you can just tuck the wires out of the way. The antenna will not work properly unless you also have the amplifier that goes with it.

3) We learned the hard way that the new windshield came with the mirror base already attached to the glass, and the new base was not compatible with the old mirror, so we had to get a new inside rearview mirror as well. Fortunately, Ferrari provided the new mirror at no cost (it retailed for over $300 at the time) because of the screwup in providing the windshield. The new mirror sits lower on the windshield, which is annoying, but there is nothing that can be done about it, other than risk removing the base from the glass and switching to the old base (high risk of damaging the new glass!!)

Good luck with the job. I hope your glass man has done Ferraris before and will be very careful. And I hope you have good insurance, this is a ridiculously expensive operation!

 

My glass guy charged well over $1000 for the installation labor, and the insurance company didn't blink. I've seen several threads here on FChat that indicate a normal windshield replacement on a 348 runs in excess of $3000. I think the total bill on mine was right around $3500 (I had a $250 deductable on my insurance).

He spent several hours removing every trace of the old sealant, and then treating the metal in the windshield frame to make certain that there was no bare metal under there to start rust spots, and no way for water to get in. Once the glass is in, if you haven't done a good job there is no way to fix things neatly, you would just have to start globbing sealant all over the place.

I hadn't punched up your profile - if your car is a late Spider it should be pretty obvious which windshield it needs, but still, don't knock out the old one until you're sure your replacement will fit. The first one they sent us was about 1/2" too wide, the second one was wrong in all dimensions, the third one came straight from Italy and was cracked in the box. The fourth one was fine.

I don't think there is any special trick to doing the installation, just lots and lots of careful attention. Call around. Find out who has done local high-end cars and won't be intimidated by it.

 

You guys are getting the 4re ream job. The install should be about 100 bucks and they come to you. Just call an experienced mobile glass guy and tell him you have the glass. you can resuse the trim if the guy has a brain at all. the glass is glued just like a P. I have gotten exotic glass really cheap. My best get was 500bucks for NOS OEM rare Maserati glass that was over 3k from the washington guy. I hope the new Maser Ferrari relationship in the USA will put that guy out of business. What a thief!

 

My glass guy, who I have known for many years, called all of his sources before he even made a bid on my 348 windshield. He was not able to find a listing from ANYONE other than Ferrari USA to supply 348 glass. No bargains from Ferrari USA. You pay what they charge.

If you can get someone to come out and install your new glass for $100 and do a proper job, that's great. But he'll be losing money, so he won't care if he scratches your car, or leaves a mess in it, or it leaks, or mysterious rust bubbles start appearing, or the trim is crooked, or he broke the mounting tabs off the pillar moldings (got any chewing gum?).

 

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=18328&item=4538047289&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

429,- EUR

Shipment from Germany will probably be too expensive, but maybe this one is useful as a benchmark regarding price ...

 

AR, have you ever used these guys ? They supply "replica" glass for a lot of cars. Their e-bay shop looks quite impressive:

http://stores.ebay.de/GLASTEC-IHR-AUTOGLAS-SONDERMARKT_W0QQssPageNameZl2QQtZkm

I was thinking of getting a new screen for my 355 from them.

I am in Cologne almost every week at the moment for business and was thinking of calling into their place to see the quality of their products.

Do you have any experience of them ?

Thanks,

RF.

 

A friend of mine, Bo Pirkle has been doing paint and body work on Ferraris including installing glass for over 30 years now. He says that he always charges the same as the cost of the glass in labor. Ferrari glass is not as easy to replace as it is in most other cars. It is almost imposssible to remove the trim without damaging it. That's likely why the dealer went ahead an offered it to you to begin with. Also, according to Bo the factory often gets glue on the edges of the dash leather which often time causes the dash leather to pull lose as you remove the windshield. I would not have anyone that has not installed windshields in several Ferraris before if I were you.

 

Jeff,

the glass does not have to be from FNA but it should be and can be OEM glass. FNA is not the only importer just like the SKF bearings you get anywhere are the same as the FNA imported SKF bearings but not in a yellow box. They have the same number. Your glass just needs to be from the OEM manufacturer. And to the guy about Germany location glass as a datapoint the last glass I shipped direct from Germany was a passenger side window on a new vandalized 2002 3 series in 2002 so there was no glass in the USA. It cost me $120.00 to my door but the euro was .80 to the dollar!

 

Not yet. Wednesday a crack in my windshield occured so I am in the market for a new windshield. I will post any learnings from my quest in this thread.

 

Just had my windshield replaced because it delaminated. I paid for the new trim since it's VERY hard to take the old off without damage.

Rick

 

Lyle Tanner (Ferraripartsexchange.com) has the 348 glass for around $1000.
BT

 

By now I have experience with Glastec: I bought the new windshield for my Mondial from them. Everything went smooth, I am satisfied. They even covered the freight cost at their expense. So .. .. 429,- EUR is the benchmark over here.

 

When was this? The eBay link shows them selling it for 799 Euros now.

 

pmorin (and others) -

I assume by your post that your Mondial is in need of a new windshield (or "windscreen" as they say at FoUK). My Mondial's new windshield is now 1 week old. Time to throw a party!

Seriously, here's my experience:

Let's check exchange rates first. So, 799eu=1,008usd as I write this.

FoUK has Mondial windshields for ~$1200 usd. Bad part for me was that shipping to the US was about $800. Total to my door: $2K.

Lyle Tanner had the same deal. Basically to my door for $2K. I went with them.

The crate o' glass arrived at my home about 2 weeks after ordering. I had purposely delayed the delivery a half week because I was out of town.

I called my glass guy when it arrived. He had originally offered to do the install in my garage, but he asked if I could bring the car to his air-conditioned shop instead (it was pushing 90f+ degrees that day). No problem.

True, MOST guys wouldn't want to mess with the fragile metal trim - my guy included, but he DID save it, no problem. The "be very careful" part rings true. That, and some skill with a razor to cut the glue and alot of patience to clean the trim.

Installation took about 4 hours. $300 for installation. Total for a new windshield, installed = about $2300usd. And, although my installer was one of those "mobile" installers, HE's the one that the local exotic car dealerships call to do THEIR glass installations. The dealerships actually recommended him to me.

I read earlier in the thread that the Glastec windshields are "replacement" glass. I bought "Ferrari" glass. Based on the prices quoted, I guess I paid an extra $200 for original glass over replacement glass. But did I read "free freight" on the Glastec glass? Worth another look to be sure.

One last note: Be sure that the mirror mount is correct! I had an aftermarket mirror on my broken windshield (the mounting shoe type) and my installer almost refused to do the job when he saw it. The new windshield had the correct Ferrari mirror mount (It's called a "mirror fixing" at FoUK). The problem is that removing the mounts from the glass requires the use of heat and could potentially crack the new glass in the process. He was VERY relieved when I produced a new Ferrari mirror to go on my windshield.

Good luck with yours.