• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

MGB MGB windshield replacement near me

Share this page

wkilleffer

wkilleffer

Jedi Knight
Country flag
Offline
Hello everyone,

There's a chance I have asked this question before, and if so, I must apologize. If I have asked it before, it was likely before the pandemic, and that slowed everything down. I've also had a few deaths in the family that slowed me down in other ways. But now I have time and money, so it's time for this long overdue task to be complete.

My 1974 MGB is in dire need of a new windshield. It's to the point that I shouldn't drive it at night or at times when I'm driving into the sunrise or sunset.

I realize this is no one's favorite MGB repair task, and I know better than to take it on by myself. Frankly, I would rather pay a knowledgeable person to do the job and not worry too much about it. I'm not involved with any clubs and while I do have a couple of "car guy" friends, this is outside of what I could enlist them to help with. I'm kind of a "lone wolf" in this regard, and most of the time, I don't mind. But then something like this comes up, and resources seem slim on the ground.

Gang, I'm sick and tired of not being able to drive my car, and this is a major factor in what's keeping me from enjoying it. The brakes are great and I have the engine running better than it has almost since I got it. But if it's not safe to drive due to vision, then it just sits in the garage.

I live in the Chattanooga, Tennessee USA metro area, and know that none of the "chain store" glass places are going to be up for something like this. I'm not sure there's still a local glass shop around here or not. There is a shop not too far from here which specializes in British car work and restoration, but they haven't returned my calls. I may try them again this week now that the local show is over, but they may not want to do it.

This is doubly frustrating now that I have the money, but can't find someone to do the work.

Any thoughts, or anyone nearby who knows the scene better than I do?

Thank you,
-Bill
 
That is a hard one to do - I can't recommend a place since I'm no where near you but I think you are right to get a professional to do the job (or at least the hard part of putting the glass in the frame). Getting the frame off the car is fairly easy, but taking it apart and getting the new glass and seal into the frame was a 2 day job with 2 people working on it. Putting the frame back on the car doesn't LOOK like it should be hard, but I have not yet gotten to that point to find out.

Fortunately it is fairly easy to transport the frame and glass when its off the car, so that might widen your possible search parameters if you can deliver just the frame and glass to someone as opposed to having to take the whole car there.
 
YakkoWarner said:
That is a hard one to do - I can't recommend a place since I'm no where near you but I think you are right to get a professional to do the job (or at least the hard part of putting the glass in the frame). Getting the frame off the car is fairly easy, but taking it apart and getting the new glass and seal into the frame was a 2 day job with 2 people working on it. Putting the frame back on the car doesn't LOOK like it should be hard, but I have not yet gotten to that point to find out.

Fortunately it is fairly easy to transport the frame and glass when its off the car, so that might widen your possible search parameters if you can deliver just the frame and glass to someone as opposed to having to take the whole car there.
Click to expand...
I'm under the impression that there's nothing easy about this job at all. Wrong screws in the wrong spot, you'll get a crack in the glass. Might happen even if you get the right screws into the correct holes. And then from what I've seen, getting the frame back onto the car with new seals has its own set of challenges.

As much as I wish this weren't so, at the very least, I would need assistance from a knowledgeable, experienced person who knows what they're doing and may have any specialized tools. I'll do heavy lifting or whatever, but I could see this turning into a "in over my head" situation quickly if I tried to do it by myself. That's not so much a lack of confidence as it is knowing the skills I have and don't have.
 
is there a restoration shop nearby? Not sure it has to be British
 
JPSmit said:
is there a restoration shop nearby? Not sure it has to be British
Click to expand...
Actually there is. I tried to call them awhile back and forgot that there are a couple of big car shows here in early October. The biggest one was last weekend. I called them today and spoke to the owner, and I'll be bringing the car up to his shop next Thursday, so that's good news. It isn't done 'til it's done, but at least it's on the calendar now.
 
wkilleffer said:
Actually there is. I tried to call them awhile back and forgot that there are a couple of big car shows here in early October. The biggest one was last weekend. I called them today and spoke to the owner, and I'll be bringing the car up to his shop next Thursday, so that's good news. It isn't done 'til it's done, but at least it's on the calendar now.
Click to expand...
great news! where in Tennessee are you?
 
I live in the Chattanooga area. I called all over about the windshield on my restored TR4A and nobody would handle it. I found a small shop in Hixson that would do it. Larry Spears, Hixson Auto Glass, 423-877-5551. Price was good. I hope you did not send your winshield work or any other to the shop I think you did. That is a place for cars to die and disappear. PM me if any questions. Bruce
 
Back
Top