[Vwdiesel] Windshield install thread - was 82 Jetta install

[Bryan Belman]

For what it is worth, a friend and I installed a new windshield in a ladies 73 Super Beetle last night.
She sprung for the plastic Chrome trim to keep the American trim look.  Here are my notes.
 
1.  The car had those metal hold in clip strips around all 4 sides of the body metal.  I always figured these were to hold the head liner in place but they had no purpose but to hold the rubber in place on the 2 sides and across the bottom of the windshield.
 
After a failed first attempt, we got it 90% in and found the glass was off center by 1/16 of an inch or so and we were not going to be able the pull the corner in as our string was out long ago.  We gave up and did 3 wraps of the string in the rubber and tried a 2nd time.
this failed as well, those curved windshields are tough and 3 people would have been better.  It popped out and we took it out again and pre-loaded our string again but only 2 times around in the rubber groove this time.
 
3rd time was a charm, we got it in.  The glass has to be perfectly centered and only on the 2nd time around pulling your string out of the groove will it pull the curved sides of the windshield in to the body.
 
In the end, we should have removed the strip of hold in clips across the top, because the rubber would just not come 100% around them, but 75%.  You can still see them, but the windshield rubber is in all the way.  It would have made the job much easier and less SLAPPING of the hands to get the thing to settle into place.
OUCH
 
2.  I now know why they came up with the plastic trim.  With all the pushing and slapping you have to do to get the curved windshield to go in the aluminum trim would have been all bent up and would have looked really bad.  The plastic trim is flexible and can take the movement but in the end it looked Perfect.
 
 

Bryan Belman, Pt. Pleasant, NJ
04 Jetta Wagon TDI PD, 100hp, 5sp -- running :<)
92 Jetta 1.6 Eco-Turbo Diesel, 5sp -- running :<)
82 Diesel Westy 1.9NA -- running :<)
70 Type 1 stock Elm Green Beetle -- Under Restoration :-)