Need front windscreen for my 1980 400i series on.

I cracked my OEM windshield during restoration. I was told by many sources there were no more new OEM out there as parts/NLA. I got a "vintage" (not recent production) aftermarket one from a known Ferrari parts liquidator, they took off a 412 they were parting out and it was not cheap: $1,500. Fit is fine. Even aftermarket took 90 days to get. Low volume car as you know.

 

I have had the windscreens changed on 3 of my cars (365 GT4 2+2 and 400). The new parts were aftermarket windscreens. The main difficulty was in not breaking the mouldings during removal. The bottom moulding and the right hand moulding are available, however the left hand moulding is no longer available.

 

I bought a PGL one from Brisbane for $495 plus $330 courier FL09 is the part number from memory. I haven't fitted it yet but I don't for see an issue as these have been used on these cars before.

 

Jq;

I remember Al posting about his removal but didn't save the link & couldn't find via search. Here's what I copied:

From Al Campbell:

I removed both screens from my project car a few weeks ago. They both came out without any damage to the screens or trim. They are just sitting in the frames in the pictures until I can store them safely. I used a really sharp very thin blade & slowly cut under the trim from the middle to the outside a small amount at a time. Once the trim was off I was able to excavate down the side of the screen then from inside the car sliced the remaining sealant out to the excavated edge. It took days & I ended up with blisters on my fingers but was worth it in the end.

The other car I have waiting for a restoration was a different story though! The rear screen had a couple of small cracks at the bottom edge due to rust under the screen & as soon as I touched it they started to run. I gave up then & it ended up with lots of cracks but is out. I learnt with this one that if you are too rough or scratch the edge of the screen with the blade it WILL start a crack from the edge that runs inward. I cleaned the up the front one on this car & found a small crack on the left hand side like the rear one had so I know it will need a new screen (also has a star in front of the driver). I have included a picture of this crack - if you have any it is game over. The glass on these seems very thin - I think they may have tried to reduce weight in this area.


AL update:

I have seen the wire method used on other cars.

It would probably be ok for removing the trim - being careful not to let it start curling up.

I would not attempt it on the screens as it relies on the wire dragging along the bottom edge of the glass. The edge of the glass on mine is not smooth & the glass is very thin. The chances of the wire scratching the edge & starting a crack are high. In most cases the sealer on our cars will be 30-40 years old & not that flexible anymore so you do not want to put much force on the screen until it is completely free.



Comment from OTTO:

A little comment here - in attempting to do an all-glass out repaint of my car, coincidentally the first glass to be removed from my car which was indeed the rear glass - mine shattered... I had to import an OEM replacement from the UK after looking high and low for alternatives... Not for the faint of heart, not for those trying to keep a tight budget, not for those weekend warriors to tackle this task of removing the entire glass since these cars are older, and certainly above all else, please be cognizant of using kid gloves in the process, irrespective of how much confidence there may be at the time it was decided that it needed to be done. HFS, I have the utmost faith and respect on my guy who attempted this yet mine broke, so good luck to anyone who wants to remove their glass and trim and seals!



AL's reply:

Well OttoB it looks like this "weekend warrior" did better than your guy.

Sometimes it comes down to - do nothing & the rust will split the screens as both screens on my rusty car had already done or take your time & give it a go. I don't think many professionals would spend the time it takes to gently remove these in one piece.



This is what I used for the trim removal. A number 10 feeler gauge with the leading edge nicely sharpened on the edges. Just keep working your way around sliding it under & the trim will eventually just fall off.