Moss Motors, Ltd

Need instructions on removing and reinstalling windshield on  (73 MGB) after painting , new glass and seals have been installed.

Try these two articles. They should tell you everything you need to know. I don't know how to make a direct link for you to click on so you will have to type these in yourself. Sorry about that.

www.mgexperience.net/article/window-seals.html

www.mgexperience.net/article/windscreen-install.html 

 

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The early bird may get the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Very difficult task. I truly believe that it best to bite the bullet and have it done at local glass shop. If they crack the glass it's there

cost to replace. I am refurbishing my 77 B now and the labor to install the glass was $100.00 almost the cost of the glass

by itself. Good luck.

 

Mike

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Where there is nothing to lose and a great deal to gain if succesful by all means try.

Yeah, I'd say you got a bargain for a hundred bucks.  The frame has to be disasembled at least partially.  Usually the phillips screws are rusted firmly in place.  Also geting the frame off is a project.  On my 72 it's almost impossible to get at the bolts with the dash in place.  Perhaps later cars are different?  Could be that the glass guys know of some short cuts but on mine I took the whole frame assm off took it apart & put everything back together with new screws, glass and rubber.  Put some antisieze on the screws in case it needs to come back apart.  Mine could use another new glass & the "new" base rubbers are all cracked but I dread the thought.

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72 MGB 80 TR8
Pittsburgh PA

$100 is a great bargain.  You should buy those guys lunch and a six-pack if the did the job for that little.  This is a very labor-intensive job, and even the "experts" dread doing it.  Labor can run up to $500 or more.  Ask how I know that.... 

R.

 

Guys, There has been a rash of poorly reproduced B windshields on the market. We've actually had to take a belt sander to the edge of one to reshape it. There are also cases of wrong curvature out there. The best ones seem to be the ones made by Pilkington, but even that's no endorsment. Forcing one of these out of shape ones into submission may accomplish the task, but it may only crack from the stress and a few good bumps or door slams. Be aware of what you are buying. Let's hope the aftermarket wakes up on this one.

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Motorbill
From Lola to Land Rover, If it's British and has wheels, it's likely I've bloodied me knuckles thereupon

That's a good point.  I "hear" that the most recent batch are better, but don't count on it.  You may end up with some hinkey curvature at the bottom corner of the new glass.  Once it's installed you could end up with an incipient gap down in each corner.  If that does happen, it can be tamed with silicone adhesive with no problem.  (I used the clear stuff instead of the black, FWIW.  The black may have been a better idea, but with the clear I was sure I was filling the entire gap down there.)  Once that's done the windscreen itself will be water tight.  'Course, the rest of the car will still leak like a sieve....

Motor Bill's note about forcing it into submission is another good reason to let the pro's do it.  If they break it, they bought it.

R.

 

While on the subject.  Does anyone know who makes the best rubber parts.  Mine started to crack after about 2-3 years and the car is always garaged.  Pretty sure they came from TRF but the was back in 93-94 .  If I do get around the changeing everthing it would be nice to have something that will hold up for a while.  BTW, sorry to hear about the problems with the glass.  I know it's an old car but heck there's so many out there you'd think they could get it right.

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72 MGB 80 TR8
Pittsburgh PA

 

Well gues I needed to come back and talk about my windshield again. Yes I did get the glass installed in the frame only for $100.00 but the bottom seal and the actual installation into the car fell into my hands. I completed that task today on my total 77 B rebuild. I hope to god that I never have to do this

task again in my lifetime. The bottom seal is just miserable to get into the grove but I  finally was able to get it done after many trys. Once the windshiled was in place on the car the mission became to get the bottom seal turned out from under the bottom rail of glass frame. I discoverd that

it was helpful to get the 2 bolts into the center support where it attaches to dash panel. Didn't tighten just got them down a few notches. Once this was done I used what is called bone a plastic 1/2 inch wide tool they use in glass shop. I used this to slide under window frame from inside car to push seal out. Once seal was actually faceing forward I again tightened the center support all the way down and left the tension on tthe seal for 2 days. After 2 days the seal was a little less likely to spring back under window frame. Finally my wife came to help and I was able to push the frame corners down as she installed the 2 dog leg bolts into the window. If the dash had been in the car the window would be almost impossible to install. I have to ask myself how in the world did MG ever do this in a factory setting LOL. From my point of view if this window ever breaks the insurance company won't be happy at the cost. If someone out there is good at placing glass in frame including seals then it would be worth every penny of $500.00 to buy this glass with seals in frame. I failed to evenbegin going into  the 2 L brackets that are located in the upper frame of window. Those brackets cost $35.00 each and in almost all cases need to be replaced and if your lucky the screws that hold those brackets

wont be rusted to hell like mine were. The rust caused the screw heads to twist out so  new holes had  to be tapped after the L brackets were removed. Well I hope I didn't scare you away from do it yourself but have lots of time and patience when you start this WINTER project. Work 20 minutes then walk away and compose yourself for the next round but most of all enjoy yourself when she rolls out of the garage with that new windshield sparkling, I know that I am!

 

Regards,

 

Michael

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Where there is nothing to lose and a great deal to gain if succesful by all means try.

almond,

I feel your pain. Folks should try to save those L brackets if possible. I've found replacements ones to often be made inaccurately.

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Motorbill
From Lola to Land Rover, If it's British and has wheels, it's likely I've bloodied me knuckles thereupon

Imagine that, replacement parts that don't fit!  Probably answers almound's wonderment about how MG did it.  They probably actually had parts made to fit the car!  I would also like to add that if your rubber gaskets look good, I'd use them over if possible.  I just worked on a fellas 78 and was looking at his windshield rubber.  Looks to be original and in PERFECT shape.  Meanwhile, I replaced all of mine when I restored the car in 93 thinking that was the thing to do.  After the first few years it started to crack & now looks like something on a car parked in the desert for 20years.  And this is a car that spends most of it's life in the garage.   Seems with a lot of stuff on these cars, new isn't always better.  I'm actually thinking of looking for a decent used rubber bottom gasket when I get around to putting in another new glass, which it could use.

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72 MGB 80 TR8
Pittsburgh PA

Almond,

Congratulations and welcome to the DIY windshield club! That lower seal is a real b$%ard to get on. Not sure what my favourite parts of the job were, but getting the screws back into the L brackets was pretty special. Also finding that the first windshield I bought didn't fit was a bit of a setback.

Everyone should be aware there are two patterns of glass, as the frame was changed part way through production. I eventually ordered glass from PPG through a local automotive glass shop. The following order codes were confirmed by PPG when I spoke to a technial representative:

PPG glass, code FCW 154 for early cars (62-76).

FCW 415 is for the later frames up to the end of production.

Hope that info might be of use,

Cheers,

 Ed

 

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I want my MGB

Ed:

We have been doing a lot of reseach lately to figure out what is needed to keep good fitting windshields for the MGB on the shelf.

So far we have come to the conclusion that BL changed the spec on the glass sometime in the early 70s. It is often assumed that this was done at the same time the windshield side posts were modifed in Dec '72.  The only changes that I can find to the windshield assembly are minor ones where the lower rail connects to the side supports, nothing that would entail the corner reliefs seen in the updated glass. My belief at this time is that the windshield specification was changed to allow more clearance to the side brackets to reduce stress when the glass was replaced.

The FCW154 spec does not have corner reliefs, the FCW415 does. Either glass will fit into an early or late frame. Tested frames 1964 and 1980.

The windshield rubber also has cutouts for the brackets so evidently the factory was being doubly careful.

 I'm open to any arguments contrary to this belief. 

After fitting 5 different brands of glass, it was evident that the clear windshield currently offered had reliefs that were cut so deeply they ended up becoming ventilation ducts. These windshields were immediately blocked from sale and will be re-sourced. Interestingly enough, the tinted windshield from the same factory has an acceptable fit. 

The result of this testing is that Moss are planning on carrying Pilkinton Triplex windshields for the MGB, as they seem to have the best fit and are the closest thing to original currently on the market. These are available in both the early non-relief design (FCW154) and the later modified design (FCW415). We are very interested to hear first hand experience with fitting these and other brands of windshield.

Due to the high cost of the Pilkington windshields, we will continue to try to source lower price point windshields that fit adequately.

 

 

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Kelvin Dodd
Global Sourcing Engineer
Moss Motors, Ltd.
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Disclaimer: Working on automobiles is inherently dangerous. Moss Motors, Ltd. is not liable for injury or damage due to incorrect installation or use of their products. All products are sold with the understanding that the safe and proper installation and use of the products is the customer’s responsibility. Follow factory workshop manual procedures and instructions, but use current shop safety standards and common sense. Some tasks will require professional advice or services which Moss Motors cannot provide.

The problem I had was with a Euroglass screen - now no longer available from Moss if I understand KelvinD correctly. Moss dealt with this issue very amicably, and helped me to find a suitable alternative :). The PPG replacement was a good fit, though a little more expensive (around $175).

I'm still amazed at the range of parts available for our cars, thousands of miles away from their country of manufacture and years after production ceased - innit great?

 Cheers,

Ed

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I want my MGB

Ed,

You bet it's great. Kudos to the relatively few enthusiast individuals and companies who doggedly work at this. Far too great are the complaints, and far too faint is the praise for those who use their talents in this endevor. With their smarts I'm sure they know their return on investment is not what it could be in other fields. Oops....maybe I've said too much....

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Motorbill
From Lola to Land Rover, If it's British and has wheels, it's likely I've bloodied me knuckles thereupon