First of it's kind and fresh off the press from Auto-City Classic in Isanti, Minnesota. Here's the link .

This is a shot of the bird logo from the original tinted RH window I shipped to them to use as a sample (this piece was pretty scratched up and was not usable):



And some shots of the repro piece received today (sorry, best of all the shots I took). The logo is printed (raised) and not etched, just like the original. Let me know what you think:

If this looks good to you, I'd be real interested in this as I am going to be replacing all of my glass SOON. My only reservation is the fact that I currently have the Bird glass and did not want to loose it...

I don't see on their site where it mentions anything about the "Bird" glass...

It's a totally believable rendition. The only thing is that, although both the original and repro are printed, the original feels more pronounced to the touch. You can still feel when you run your finger over the repro print that it is a print and not etched, but it's not as raised as the original. But who's gonna know? You trade that for NEW GLASS!

That's because they never manufactured it before I asked them to make it. They saved the image file for those who want the same. Ask for Denny.

Ahh ok, did they indicate how much the additional costs will be? I would imagine if it is reasonable and looks good, many FGF owners will purchase this glass.

This piece, complete with the correct date stamping that appears on the other end of the window, was $175.00 US. Keep in mind there was addtional work to actually create the bird stencil. You reap the benefit of them now having the image on file.

Best give Denny a call.

What would you rate the quality of their version of the bird vs. the OEM piece? Your advantage is having both in front of you, that is great!

soon,most the original parts will be scrapped cause they wont have any value anymore

Terry,

I think original will always be marketable. This simply provides an alternative to those who want an authentic look with "like new" condition. THAT'S what's getting harder to find, especially at a decent price (except for what you offer, of course!).

Hey I am all for OEM parts, but, in this case my Bird glass is pretty scratched up and I would love to have nice clean glass. For me, this is an excellent alternative and I will definately be on top of this soon. I am looking at the power window kits now. My plan is to replace ALL of my glass, install power window kit, install all new front and rear panels (door).

When I get to this point I will sell all of my OEM parts on this site to someone else who is looking for decent driver quality parts. OEM stuff will always have some value to someone. In fact, think of it this way Terry, now that this is available, I will be replacing my originals. Otherwise my originals wouldn't be available to someone else etc. So really, repop parts do put OEM parts into the market. No?

For NEW and no scratches thats one heck of a price. .02

From what i can see in that picture,the bird in the bird glass looks bang on!

David

if its 'raised' it could then also be made from the stuff they make fake etched glass with...we have that on our front door for the business....company name looks etched ,but if you feel it you can feel a slight edge ,its just a version of tint...
whomever does that should be able to massproduce these and sell to just 'stick on' the windows.....

Looks pretty nice. At least I can save on shipping their only one hour north of me.

yes marketable,but it is sometimes that one sale that fetches a premium price that helps pay the bills so you can keep going may be the straw that will break the camels back.it is hard to make a living now.the bad part is,there are alot of the bigger retailers that wont sell wholesale to the small guy.most small businesseses are gone already and they are dropping like flies down here

I dont see the problem with new aftermarket as long as it's good quality.
Heck, all the windows are scratched on both my of mine.
And both windshields cracked.
I would buy new aftrmrkt non-bird glass over decent used bird glass.

You done good Mark, thanks for the update. I will be intouch.

Ed

This is good new indeed. I will need to get glass at some point and would prefer nice clean new stuff.

The glass looks good, Mark. Thanks for informing us about it.

If someone wanted to etch bird glass instead of the imprint, it's rather inexpensive to do. I think a bottle of Armour Etch is $10-15 a bottle. Then you can make your own stencil from Contact brand vinyl. I used to etch glass and mirrors but I used premade stencils. Never tried it making my own stencil with the vinyl. Clean glass with alcohol and let dry. I would recommend placing stencil on the glass while in the door so you know exactly where you want it. Just make sure to tape off the surrounding glass around the stencil well. I wouldn't recommend paper or anything thin. Etch the glass when it's laying flat and not vertical. Use rubber gloves and put the etching cream on. Let it sit for awhile. I usually let it sit a little longer than recommended. Wipe off with paper towels. Wash off area with water. Dry. Then peel off the stencil and tape. You might want to do some practice tries on small pieces of glass or mirror first.

Just make sure the stencil sticks in every spot especially on the edges or else the cream may leak under the stencil leaving an uneven edge. I'm not sure how etching will work on tinted glass.

Mark had it reproduced the correct way. It is a printed process not any type of etching, and the etching will not look anything like the original bird glass... but for anyone wanting a custom look etching would be a good option and the etching info is great advice.

As long as it's close enough where most won't know the difference, but not too close where some may try to pass it off as original and try to command original prices for it, I'm all for it...

Brett!

FYI...

I confirmed with Denny at Auto City that they also templated the location of the bird logo so they have both the image stencil and placement recorded for future orders.

I will definately be ordering a set hopefully soon!

Arrrrrrg! Help!!! Placed my order today and apparently they have lost/misplaced the template for the location of the bird. They need measurements to locate it properly. Can someone please help?

Is this for a 68? Do you need it for both driver and passenger? I have the birds on my glass but the glass is installed. I will have to give you coordinates from the top and front edge.

PLEASE CONFIRM

Gus, that would be great. I appreciate it!

Have a look ...

More Pics...

I went and bought a whole parts car just for the bird glass.

Thanks Gus, will follow up.

If it helps...

I have an original RH window with the bird emblem that I shipped to Denny at the time so he could use it both to capture a digital image of an original bird (for the stencil) as well as to establish placement. I will dig that out of the garage today and compare to Gus's measurements to double-confirm placement. I'm sure Gus is correct but it's always good to measure twice, cut once.

Please do Mark. I think everything is good but it never hurts to double check. You could provide a measurement from the bottom as well. If need be I can catch Denny first thing Monday.

\

FYI,
My measurements are based on a parallel line exactly 13" from the top of the window. I did this because I could not reach the bottom of the glass.

Do they have the bird emblem template made or do they need to build that as well? Or is the relative position of the bird on the window what you are looking for?

Right, I bet your measurements are spot on and yup I can see the door panel in the pic and I even sent all three pics to Denny. I think they just needed the location but I am planning to follow up with Denny on Monday.

Ok, so here's what I got. I thought I'd approach this a bit differently than Gus, as I have the advantage of having a spare piece of original bird glass from which I could measure from the bottom.

This pic shows that, from the bottom edge of the tail (taken from the exact centre of that edge) to the bottom edge of the glass, it's exactly 7 " :



There are 4 holes that are used to mount the window to the regulator. The assumption is that the placement of these holes should be consistent with the placement found on the reproduction windows at ACC. I think it's a good assumption, as the window wouldn't otherwise line up with the window frame when installed.

From the right-centre edge of the 2nd hole from the left (keep in mind this is a RH piece of glass; it would be left-centre edge of the 2nd hole from the right for a LH piece of glass), I ran a piece of tape horizontally, intersecting with a vertical piece of tape whose left edge ran to the exact centre of the bottom of the bird tail. The horizontal measurement is 1 3/8" (from the right-centre edge of the 2nd hole to said intersection), with the vertical measurement being 2 1/2" (from said intersection to the bottom-centre edge of the bird's tail) .

Then, I ran a piece of tape to the tip of the angled front edge of the glass. From the left-hand edge of the vertical piece of tape that aligns with the bottom-centre of the tail to the very tip of that angle, it measured 4 15/16" . Here are 2 pics taken at different distances to demonstrate this:





Finally, here's a close-up of the actual etched bird, along with a pic which attempted to show that the measurement from the upper LH tip to the upper RH tip of the bird's wings is exactly 1 11/32" . This measurement should provide the means for ACC to get the correct size for their stencil, in case they misplaced the one created when I had my glass done:






I suggest right-clicking and doing a "Save As" for the pics with the measurements, as that will allow you to zoom in once saved to your PC.

Let me know if you need any more info or pics.

OK, I followed up with Denny and all is well. Thanks for all the help guys! I will let ya'll know when it arrives!

Alright, here are some pics. I'm still in the middle of another project so the car is in the gararge but if there are any other shots or angles just let me know. The door glass does seem to have more curve from top to bottom where it meets the 1/4 glass. I would need to make a template of the curve and then compare it to the original to really compare. But I adjusted it all the best I could and I think its fine. I really dig the bird emblems.

Oh crap, scared the poop out of me...when I clicked the thread it started at page one and there was Terry....thought he had come back to visit!!

I have original bird glass but unfortunately being a ragtop I almost always have the windows down...

I bought a December built parts car to put its 'bird glass in my November built convertible.