I wasn't planning to change the windshield in my '52 Chevy. I'd rather not talk about it. All I'll say is that if you take the hood latch to the chrome shop early in the morning, don't try to drive the car on the freeway to a club meeting that night.
Back in the '50s, when the components needed were available in wrecking yards (or new-car dealers), a fairly common custom swap for '49-52 Chevys was to replace the split windshield with a more streamlined one-piece unit from a '50 Oldsmobile. Besides the glass itself, you could get the corresponding rubber seal, or gasket, the necessary center clips for the inner and outer windshield frames or stainless moldings, and a rearview mirror that mounted in the upper inside frame (Chevy mirrors mount on the center post). It was a slick, easy swap. But you're not going to find '50 Oldsmobiles, especially with reusable glass or rubber, in wrecking yards today. And Oldsmobile dealers... adios!
I could have shown you the...
I could have shown you the busted glass in my '52 Chevy sedan, but it was ugly. I cut the center post from the opening with a cut-off wheel in a die grinder. A hacksaw would work too. The wiper towers had to come off first, then the beltline stainless, which attached with studs through the cowl. If your car has stainless trim around the rest of the windshield, it comes out with the rubber. I thoroughly cleaned the windshield channel using a rotary wire brush and coarse sandpaper.
I figured it was a good time...
I figured it was a good time to do a little paintwork since I had the glass out. The interior was still in the car so I had to be careful as I painted the dash. I also took the opportunity to paint the entire roof, as it's always best to repaint a car when the glass is out. Otherwise, you could just paint around the window opening before installing the new glass.
The windshield size on '49-52...
The windshield size on '49-52 Chevys varies with the body style. To order an Olds windshield to fit, you need one from a corresponding body type. To be sure, check the "Style No." clearly stamped on this firewall tag on your Chevy. With it, The Glass House, or any good glass shop, can tell which Olds body style and windshield matches.
Surprisingly, however, one-piece '50 Olds replacement windshield glass has been available in the aftermarket for quite some time, though it was very expensive. But when I called Mike Cox, the owner/crew at The Glass House (who not only knows everything about vintage auto glass, but also has patterns for it) about replacing the windshield in my Chevy, he said, "Do you want a two-piece Chevy, or a one-piece Olds? They're about the same price." In today's global market, good replacement windshields for a surprising number of vintage cars are now available from an even more surprising number of places (Brazil, Portugal, England, Mexico, China, etc.), and the competition has significantly brought down prices. So I said, "The one-piece Olds, of course."
The swap is almost as simple as it was in the '50s, but I found there are more tips and tricks to this installation in particular, and to replacing windshields in early cars in general, than I figured.
The new Olds one-piece windshields...
The new Olds one-piece windshields are available from a variety of sources in different tints and at decent prices. On any glass replacements for your rod or custom, make sure a "Safety Glass" etched emblem is visible-it's required by law. Always install a fresh rubber seal with a new windshield. The trick in this case is to use a readily available '53-54 Chevy replacement gasket in the size to fit the glass. They also come with or without an extra channel to accept stainless trim, which mine had.
The one-piece gasket has a...
The one-piece gasket has a molded seam somewhere, and mounting it at the middle of the bottom is the least obtrusive way. Mike measured and marked the glass to center this seam and then fit the rubber to the glass all around.
Next, Mike ran a uniform bead...
Next, Mike ran a uniform bead of sealer between the rubber lip and the glass using 3M glazing compound in a caulking gun.