<VV> late windshield panel repair

[Tony Underwood]

At 03:32 PM 6/13/2009, Ron wrote:
>FYI - I recently had the rust problem at the bottom of the windshield on my
>'66 sedan repaired and the bill came to just under $2000.  You can't tell
>that there ever was a problem now but the fix is costly.
>RonH




2k for windshield panel repairs...




Humm, I'm in the wrong line of work.    I forget exactly how many 
'vair windshield panel rust issues I've fixed, on my own (four) 
'Vairs or mostly for free (club members) during tech sessions or 
collaborations with projects, including the one I did last week 
(which still needs patches in the back corners, as well so 
technically it's not finished yet).  ;)     Seriously, maybe I *am* 
in the wrong line of work.   A 'Vair windshield panel repair or even 
replacement (once you straighten the available aftermarket 
replacement panel because it won't fit quite right otherwise) won't 
take more than a day, tops, if you dedicated the effort to it 
exclusively.   Usually, unless the car was pretty bad to begin with, 
like sitting under a pine tree for a decade, the entire panel won't 
need replacement.   Usually the problems are where the leaded seams 
crack and allows moisture to seep in and rust out the joint, which 
can be replaced with hand hammered patches without a huge amount of 
trouble.    The finished repair can look at least as straight or 
better than the factory lead and it won't crack again.

It's a better fix than paddling solder over the joint, but it takes a 
bit longer... ;)


Then again, the solder generally lasts about three times longer than 
the cars were ever expected to last in the first place.




tony..