So on my quest to get under the 3k lbs mark I placed an order through Midwest Chassis for 1/4" front clear, and 3/16th rear in dark tint. My original plan was to pay someone to do this but ended up changing my mind and deciding to tackle it on my own. I have zero glass experience of this kind, so I just had to wing it. I'm gonna give you all the tips that I learned along the way in case you want to try it yourself one day.
Here is when they arrived. The box was kinda beat up....I'm actually surprised they weren't damaged somehow.
Made a trip to harbor freight to pick up some windshield specific tools:
This is the urethane glue I chose. No particular reason, I purchased it on ebay for about $10 per tube. You'll need about 2 per window.
You may want to hire someone to remove the glass, I chose to give it a whirl. I started on the back first. Its tougher then the Youtube videos make it out, especially without scratching the car. You need to remove the perimeter molding first thing and the inside panels then use your various tools to separate the glass from the car. I finally decided fuck this.
One of the things that makes the rear glass a real pain is in the corners there is two separate lines of urethane, which makes getting through that part super difficult to a beginning installer. You can see here, where the glass makes the curve at the bottom is a thick bead, then toward the upper edge there is another thin line.
This is the edge of the fiberglass lip at the rear (basically right in front of the spoiler). You can see the wire tool was actually chipping away at the fiberglass. Grrrrrr :mad:
This was the tool I selected to remove the urethane from the car to prep for install. I sharpened it first. Also, new urethane sticks to old urethane so there is no reason to remove every single bit. The most important thing is the surface is smooth and there is no excess old urethane left.
Here is a better picture where you can see the double spread line that traces the corners of the glass.
Here's the surface, prepped, sanded, and cleaned. I went over the entire flange with maybe 220 grit just so I knew it had some bite. The fiberglass seemed awfully slick and I was nervous about the urethane bonding.
Make sure you test fit first before you commit to the final install. I was also curious about whether it needed the stock molding back on it (it is no longer available for purchase). It looked fine with nothing, so that's what I ended up with.
These are velcro spacers x2 at the top of the window, I reinstalled them.
Lay your beads down following the factory lines.
I dropped the rear in by myself. Bottom is basically resting on the car with no room for molding, the top leading edge would be your preference. I think I'm going to leave it bare.
For the front, remove the molding that runs along both sides and the top.
Remove the cowl cover. Im also deleting the windshield wipers.
Remove the glass......
Whoops!
Same as the rear, nothing tricky up front. Prep and clean.
Make sure you test fit before you commit.
Find a work station, clean your stock molding, and reglue it to the lexan, tape it, and allow the glue to dry. I used black silicone. It is available new for about $75 if you want to replace it.
Run your beads just like the back, and drop in place, remember to have a friend help, and tape up top to keep it from sliding down while it cures.
A couple hours later it looks like stock.
The windows weighed roughly 10lbs rear, and probably 17/18 for the front. They are supposed to save about 50/55lbs for the pair. My car should weigh, after the wiper delete, somewhere around 2970 or so. Overall they look really nice and fit really well. Im pleased with them.