Broken Windshield [damn!!!!]

Wow,

I'd be very interested to know what your windshield part number was. This number will be on the sticker that was attached to the windshield on delivery. It is not etched into the glass anywhere unfortunately.

If yours fit down into the corners of the front pillars it might be the 3121 glass. If it is I would really like to give you a call and see if we could get some measurements off it.

Paul

 

After Saturday's failure, and before I start grinding glass, I decided to call FoH and chat with the service department. I talked with Luis there who clued me in to one more thing that I hadn't thought about, which is that the original glass was set to be able to react to the flex of the car. If I put a thicker [stiffer] windshield in it would be much more susceptible to stress cracks, air/water leaks etc. due to body flex.

He maintains that it IS possible to find a correct windshield for the car and has volunteered to check out what is available through Ferrari. Given that I would really like to have the correct OEM glass back in the car I have decided to cool my jets for a couple of days and let Luis check things out. He quite reasonably stated that Ferrari has a business rebuilding 3x8s back in Italy and glass replacement is often part of the chore of restoration. Obviously non of those cars is finished with something that shouldn't be in there so he reasons correct glass just has to be available.

I called IRA at Glass Seekers and the tab for shipping the 3121 glass from Europe is going to be close to US$3K. Given that we don't even know if that glass will fit my car that is another good reason to let Luis have a few days. IRA was not happy about the possibility of him being stuck with the tab if it didn't fit.

I think I will also complete touching bases with Ferrari Parts Exchange etc.

Later,
Paul

 

Hi pdmracing,

Yes it does. Here is a shot of the paint sticker and is a link to this summer's adventures with a few more shots of the car in various weather conditions.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=292619&highlight=houston+toronto

Ciao,
Paul
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After taking a week and scouring the market for an OEM Sigla 3121 windshield I have the following to report. The best I can find in OEM is at Pilkington glass [Triplex] in the UK. Having it shipped over here only to find out it doesn't fit is really not an option for me. The expense is estimated near US $3K but the fear of it not fitting after all that is too great.

Talking with Juan at FoH and Punu at Ferrari Parts Exchange I have found out that when they get into this position they source windshields from PGI in Australia which for whatever reason have a good reputation for fitting. They have the right curvature and thickness although the tint band is 1" thinner at 5.5". For the reason of fit, and for the fact that a windshield receipt from Ferrari won't hurt my records, I have ordered a replacement PGI windshield from FoH. They are going to have their installer Mario come out and install it when it arrives. The cost will be somewhere around the US $1350 range which is not bad.

Unfortunately though, we are now into the Christmas season and I am sure this will not be happening in any record time. I am still hopeful that it may occur between Christmas and New Years. If it does I may get a chance to take my kids out in the QV before their visit ends.

As usual, I'll keep you posted with pics as things progress.

I think Isabella is not happy with sitting in the garage glassless. I walked around her yesterday and saw a trail of coolant on the passenger side rear. I can't tell were it came from. I replaced all hoses, clamps, gaskets, thermostat, water pump etc. some 5000 miles ago and this is the first time since then that anything like this has turned up. Funny how temperamental these cars can be when not being driven hard Well, she'll be happier today as I am putting her up on stands and will go over all the coolant connections at the passenger rear as well as have a look at the thermostat and water pump housings.

Later,
Paul

 

Thanks,

Yep I did a good once over of those when I did the job prior to my Toronto trip. In paranoia I look at them again every time I am under the car. So far, so good. I have one hose, the one from the water pump tube to the rear tube, that has a cranky clamp on it. It is a new constant torque clamp but seems to need to be extra tight to not leak. I am suspicious it may have come a little loose. I gave it a couple of rounds and we'll see if any more coolant appears in the near future. Again, so far so good on that but I have only just warmed her up in the shop. Coolant level is still fine. Not "much" air in the system.

 

I heard from FoH yesterday that my next windshield is in town. They expect to be out just after the new year to install it.

All appendages are crossed that the third time is a charm.

I am suffering Ferrari withdrawal something awful. I can't wait to get my QV back on the road.

I will go out tonight and take the obligatory odometer shot to end 2010 and start 2011.

 

Well it took FoH a little longer than they anticipated to get the glass shipped in. We missed December and finally got the glass in during the third week of January. Remember that this was going to be PGI glass from Australia with the 6.25" curvature and 5mm thickness.

Well, Mario from Silmar Glass stopped by FoH today to pick up the glass and bring it out here. We gave it a test fit and it fit probably the best of the three windshields to date, BUT it was 6mm thick, too thick for the application and too thick to be able to get the trim to catch the clips. Sigh........................................

It fit very well on the driver's side, but still hung up quite a bit on the passenger side. We tried taking the trim off on that side to see if the glass would fit better, at which point we could reinstall the trim. No such luck unfortunately. It just didn't want to fit properly down into the passenger corner. If it was 5mm I am virtually certain it would have made it.

I will give Nolan a call at FoH on Monday and see if we can try for the 4th time. I was hoping that 3 times is a charm, but not with my QV. Am I bummed...you bet, but this gives me a perfect excuse to get after the gauges and turn signal switch repair work done. I am certain that if I disable the car in some electrical/mechanical fashion the correct windshield will magically appear. Am I desperate or what...

If FoH can't get the correct glass I did find a 5mm, 6.25" option at Ferrari Parts Exchange and I may end up ordering that. We'll see on Monday.

Meanwhile Hagerty is getting after me every week to end this saga. I guess they don't like having a claim file open this long.

More later..............

Paul

 

They are not being pushy, just calling a lot.

Their goal is to have the car fixed properly and have me be happy. The agent I have been working with has been very friendly, and agreeable throughout, just likes to call a lot lately wondering how things are going It has been dragging on for nearly 3 months now. Talk about Ferrari withdrawl.........

I nearly threw on a helmet today and went for a blast, but the thought of "realigning" the windshield pillars during the run with no glass in there scared me enough for common sense to prevail........

 

I am beginning to wonder just what the original fit of the 308 windshield looks like at the base of the windshield on the passenger side. The question is "Is there quite a gap between the glass and the dash down in that corner?".

If any of you could take a look at your cars [GTS or GTB, mine is an 84 GTS QV] and let me know I would appreciate it.

Unfortunately that is one picture I didn't take before we took the windshield out of the car and is the one thing that is causing grief with all the windshield fits. Maybe Enzo wanted it this way :-|

Thanks,
Paul

 

Hi,

Saturday saw a new windshield installed in my QV at long last.

I went with the PGI 6mm glass, 6.25" curvature and 5" shade strip along the top.

It was not a straight forward install since the old trim was custom ground for the OEM 5mm Sigla glass, but after 7 hours of fun and games and several attempts at the trim Mario was able to get the thing installed [see attached].

I was unable to find an OEM Sigla windshield 5mm, 6.25" curvature and 6" of shade strip at top. I strongly suspect the Pilkington 3121 glass would have done it, but the cost of having it shipped from the UK on spec was more that I could bear. I will continue the search and if I ever come across either an OEM Sigla glass or a Pilkington 3121 I will likely buy it and put in in parts here for the next time.

Quite a saga, but in the end an acceptable solution. At the very least I have Mario's name in my files for ANY glass repair needed on the car. He was extremely careful and managed the job with no damage to anything including the original trim, my paint or my leather dash. He also was quite well versed in 3x8's in general and prevented me from attempting to install the two previous windshields, both of which would have been a disaster.

I'll tell you, driving the car the last two days has been VERY nice

Paul
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Yes, he took extreme care when removing the windshield back in December to preserve the trim. The plus on that is that I didn't have to acquire new trim, the minus is that the old trim was custom ground for the 5mm windshield. That fact caused quite a bit of extra work in the final install trying to get the trim to catch in all the clips with the replacement 6mm windshield.

It all worked out in the end however. Hopefully it will be quite awhile before I have to go through this again