My 68 Firebird has a small 'Bird' emblem etched in the door glass. They are located in the front lower portion of the glass. Is this an original offering or just some one's personnel touch?

alan

My 68 Firebird has a small 'Bird' emblem etched in the door glass. They are located in the front lower portion of the glass. Is this an original offering or just some one's personnel touch?

alan

Very Original.

Check your car's ID tag to see which MFG plant the car came from [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I forget the precise reason why some Birds got that...maybe it was A/C, rather than just Tinted&Shaded for a particular Bird MFG Plant, like Norwood.

Paul Spotts had a bird with those etched Birds.

I have 3 original unmolested '68 birds w/etched bird glass... goes like this. 68 400(YT) conv,3sp auto, A/C, PW, PDB, tinted glass all around, std int., loaded w/etched glass. Another 68 350 coupe, 2sp. auto,manual drum brakes,deluxe int.,no other options, non-tinted glass with etched birds. And lastly, a 68 conv 400(WZ) 4sp, p/w, tilt wheel,speed warning, pwr disc brakes, fold-down rear seat w/etched birds.

So, it is not an option thing. One thing I did find in common with 2 of these cars was relatively early production build dates (C8, K7) and the fact that they were traced back to original owners that bought them out of the showroom. I thing Pontiac put those on for the dealer order lot cars for the early builds. The third bird was not traceable, so I don't know.

Regards,
Pontonjon

For what its worth ... my 68 GrandPrix has the eched "GP". Ive seen a couple Birds with the eched windows. Maybe it was a 68 thing

That's very interesting John.

Thanks for the info. Don't know much of the history of my car but it is an original 400 car, deluxe interior, tinted glass, at,ps
pb, clock and little else. Pretty bare bone. Deluxe seats don't even have cool weave inserts, but are original or the uphoster was the best there ever was cause no trace of any work being done on seats.

Here's another one for the First Gen Firebird list. Weird detail, noboby has figured out why it exists or which cars got the "Bird" emblem.

http://firstgenfirebird.org/

Check FAQ and archives

Glenn Uettwiller [email protected]
http://firstgenfirebird.org/show/closeup.mv?CarID=209
http://firstgenfirebird.org/show/closeup.mv?CarID=210

Yes, I see your point. But maybe if you would just comb your hair a little differently...

There are quite a few '68 Firebirds in the Registry with 'Bird' Glass. Many are early builds however, some have build dates as late as March '68. To date, no common factor has been found that is linked to the 'Bird' Glass.

RamAirJohn
Eph. 4:32
Semper Fi
http://members.aol.com:/ramair68/gen1home.html

So, all in all.... use the bird glass if you have it... you can't lose points at a show unless the glass is scratched. I have extra tinted bird glass in great shape... will be on ebay after my current 68 F is done in May or so.

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Pontiac Scorned!!

my 68 has the little bird symbol etchings and its the crappiest lowest end model F-bird you could get at the time

www.teamonyx.com
http://www.teamonyx.com/media/sigs/fbird3.gif

My 69 400/TH400 and 69 sprint 6 parts car with tinted glass had them but the 69 TA didn't. Wierd!!

Here's a thought. Why can't PY or someone make a steel tempate so that we can beed blasted or acid etch the birds back on?? That doesn't sound that expensive.

If your 69's had the Bird Glass, it may have been swapped out for glass from a 68? To the best of my knowledge, the bird glass was only offered in 68, as John mentioned until May or so.

Second, from what I hear, it's dificult to actually bead blast on tempered glass, and also the original are not quite an etch, it more of a printed process. Etching will give you a fogged transparent look, and these if you look close are White. It's more of a screen printing process... of sorts.

Just some food for thought...

67 Drop Top 455!

67droptop455 is correct. No bird glass in 69 Firebirds. And Yes, I agree that the bird is NOT etched into the glass. It is definitely some type of printing process.

Sounds cool, anyone have some pics of these 68 prints?

http://www.mensexpo.com.futuresite.r...s/tigeranm.gif
GR-RRR!

Now I'm confused. I didn't have good history on the inline 6 parts car so I can believe that the glass was swapped. As for the 400, I bought the car from a good friend of the family. He purchased the car new in early 1969 and had it until 1998 when he sold it to me. I parted out the car but it had tinted windows and Bird glass (both sides). He's real lazy and swears that he's never touched the glass or had it replaced. All the interior panel clips where in perfect shape and the water shields where still in place and perfect. Could GM have used up some extra bird glass in the 69's??

On a seperate note, now that you guys mention it, I agree that the birds look like they where silk screened/painted on not blasted. When I worked at a glass company, we used to etch, blast, or print tempering information on the glass so I know it can be done. (Blasting works but you have to have a real hard media and higher air pressure)

Well, anything is possible? But they wouldn't have been "extra"... maybe misplaced or something?
But the bird glass seemed to have been on a very limited number of cars, and there is no rhyme nor reason as to which ones seemed to have gotten it?

The Mystery continues!

67 Drop Top 455!

2 1968 Firebird Convertibles, One is a 350 Automatic the other a 400 4 speed both with custom interiors.

No etched birds.

Charlie
http://forums.performanceyears.com/g...&ul=1806005481

I took a few pictures of my etched glass birds. On my '68 Firebird Sprint automatic. Pics are still in the camera. I will post as soon as film is used (after Xmas)
Tim

heres some says there out of a 69 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1875525883

on ebay

http://forums.performanceyears.com/g...&ul=2976062581

So what? When did we start accepting ebay sellers as the final authority?

Just because somebody says it, that does NOT make it true...

Glenn Uettwiller [email protected] (new address!)
http://firstgenfirebird.org/show/closeup.mv?CarID=209
http://firstgenfirebird.org/show/closeup.mv?CarID=210

"To choose one's victim, to prepare one's plan minutely, to stake an implacable vengeance, and then go to bed... there is nothing sweeter in the world." - Joseph Stalin

Hopefully...the pics I have will work here.

'68 Firebird Sprint auto non ac 3.23:1 rear gears
Tim

bird glass
 

I came across a parts car 68 bird 4 speed [no motor or trans,body could be rebuildable. good doors with bird glass has 160 speedo and 4 speed console.I went there to buy a fender and was surprised to see this car,is it worth buying and parting it out,also has a small sunroof ??

Depends on what you have to pay for it and what parts are there. And are you willing and able to hold onto some of the parts for an extended period of time.

bird glass and parts
 

true.I could negotiate a good price because the guy is retired and ready to move the car and I could hold the parts if I needed to I have some space,lol

FWIW, I may or may not have bought, parted, and scrapped a low option base model coupe just for the door glass.

Every once in a while I run into a parts car and have the same dilemma. Part it out, or buy and restore. I finally got to an approach that seems to work. I just figure out if I bought the car, what I would want it to be when I'm done with it. Then I add up the cost in time and parts to get it there. Next I compare it to what I could buy for that money in a completed car or a much better car to start with. Interestingly enough I haven't found a parts type car worth restoring since I started using this approach. On the other hand I can retrospectively say that I parted some cars in the past that I would now have restored. Hindsight is 20/20. :boom:

I also screwed up and bought parts off of cars that cost me darn near as much as just buying the entire car and parting it. You never know what someone is willing to sell an entire parts car for until you ask.

In high school (1977) my friend's sister still owned her 68 firebird that she bought new. Options were: 400, 4 speed, hood tach, posi rear, PS, deluxe interior and it had the bird glass.

bird glass
 

no trust me this car is not worth saving I would never scrap a car just for door glass.its beyond saving, but the bones still have some pieces that are worth saving

When I was a kid a neighbor had a 67 GP hardtop that had GP on the door glass, I thought it was the coolest thing in the world!

Logically you would think that it was a way to highlight the absence of vent windows (GP in 67-hardtop only and Fbird in 68) and that it was cut during the model run as a cost cutting decision.

I guess the best way know what actually happened is to build a big enough database of 68 Fbirds looking at build date, assembly plant, tinted glass option etc.

That work was already done at the FGF site.(Database with dates, options, etc.)

here is what research i've done on the subject and came to. The glass was produced from sept to nov and installed into cars until that run was gone. the latest i've seen have a car with it originally installed was 01D(cowl tag). glass is dated with a 269 2610 2611 for one side 279 2710 2711 for the other. (9 sept, 10 oct, 11 nov) i believe the pass side is the odd number but i'd have to check on my car. the date is back by where the lock is, very faint. the norwood plant seem to be the majority of where they were installed but some of the LA cars had it as well. There was no "option" it was just installed on cars. high optioned, stripped down, tinted side glass, clear, ac, pw(rumored to be the curved bottom vs the flat bottom) IT DIDN'T MATTER. the thread on firstgenfirebird.org that Vikki Papesh did has some "answers" but nothing definitive. My 68 convert that is a 12D car has it with the 2611/2711(nov date) has it in clear, and my 68 hardtop 10D car has 269/279(sept) it as well.

back in the late 70's I asked the parts manager at one of the Pontiac dealerships why some had it and he told me it was supposed to be on the cars with deluxe interior

Maybe 'supposed to', but I've had it on three standard interior 'birds, and only one deluxe interior 'bird myself.

Still a mystery.

yes I agree thru the 80's I have seen several in salvage yards with standard interiors that had them. im drawing a blank did all the 68 gp's get the gp call out on the windows???

Maybe they were originally for the Deluxe interior cars, but then they ran short on the regular glass and had to use them up. Then they decided after glass reserves were back to normal, they didnt want to spend the money on Bird Glass? just a theory. ; )

My bracket Bird has 'em. I've owned lots of '68's. Never really paid much attention to the bird glass til recently.

One of my first full resto's was a '68 Camaro with Astro Ventilation system.
They had the script etched on the door glass to announce/identify this feature.
Did this possibly relate to some sort of similar air flow/vent feature?

You got me thinking. Maybe F-body customers weren't happy with the loss of the forward ventilator window in the 68 model and the bird was an attempt to distract the eyes. In the case of the Camaro, Astro Ventilation was an intended replacement for the vent widows. From the brochure, "With ventipanes gone we developed a whole new ventilation system - Astro Ventilation." http://oldcarbrochures.org/NA/Chevro...olet-Camaro-05

About 5 years ago, I asked Vikki Papesh mentioned earlier in this thread " were any conclusions ever drawn"? Here was her reply:

I think the 2nd part can be debated, but the most important takeaway was that the glass all came from a single supplier plant. Her comment of primarily Lordstown does contradict an earlier comment. It would be interesting to know if this is an accurate recollection on her part. She does concur in other statements with jinxd68 that no other clear pattern was ever discerned regarding selected options, etc. It would be interesting to know if any 'maro ever got a piece of 'bird glass by mistake and vice versa with the Astro vent glass.

:fencing:I also question the statement that the glass was installed primarily in Birds no later than January of 68. I have a car built in spring and it has power tinted windows with the bird glass. I have had contact with the original owner and he assured me the car came that way. The car was very original when I bought it some 28 years ago. I have the glass packed away. When I get it out to put it back in, I'll provide the date codes and also the month my car was built. I think it was May, but I'll have to double check. I also have a set of clear bird glass that I exonerated from some donor doors. Its power windows style also with the curve at the bottom. One thing I noted is that the donor doors were identical in how they were optioned to my car. Deluxe interior, rectangular remote mirror and power windows. Probably means nothing other than the rectangular remote mirror was supplied on the later built 68 cars.

Also, I ran into a guy with a 68 Bird coupe that has Astro Ventilation glass in it. He claims it's original. I can't prove he is wrong and I don't think he can prove he is right.... It wouldn't surprise me if it was original.

could it be that all tinted glass got them???? I cant recall seeing any non tinted with them. (but I really never paid any attention to that detail either)

No disrespect intended, but you must not have read all of my post above. I've already dis-proven your theory. I have a set of clear bird glass also.

Example Story...
 

Interesting thread. Let me add a little mystery to the fun: I have a '69 convertible with one "original" 'bird glass on the passenger side only (RF).

I had my youngest daughter help me read the numbers off the glass on my '69 last night (young eyes make a difference!). I'm the second owner and have spoke to the original owner's about the vehicle's history. He told me the car was damaged during delivery to the dealer in February of '69 when the car hauler slid off the highway during a snow storm in New York State. One of the door windows on the car was grazed badly and replaced by the dealer before he took delivery (he wasn't sure which door). None of the glass has otherwise been replaced. Do the date stamps tell the tale...?

LF = AS2 M20.8 26-128
RF = AS2 M20.8 26-107
LR = AS2 M20.6 27-108
RR = AS2 M20.6 27-98
W = AS1 M21 23-106

Sounds like PPG glass:

AS-1 means windshield, AS-2 is side glass
M20.8 means 1/4" non tinted and M20.6 means 3/16" non tinted
the 23 or 26 or 27 is the glass plant code

I added the dates below:

LF = AS2 M20.8 26-128 (dec 68)
RF = AS2 M20.8 26-107 (oct 67)
LR = AS2 M20.6 27-108 (oct 68)
RR = AS2 M20.6 27-98 (sept 68)
W = AS1 M21 23-106 (oct 66)

So sounds like the windshield is from an 67 Camaro (Firebirds were not yet in production) and the passenger door glass is from an early 68 with the rest being a matched set for a 69 car probably built around Xmas 68 give or take a month

As for the theory of why they had that etched glass on some 68's I think logically it was simply to highlight the absence of the vent windows which was a big PR push at GM and it was ended when the bean counters decided it was costing too much. I guess variables like glass supply contracts, assembly plant inventories and the variance in those inventories between tinted and non-tinted are why its hard to define a cut off point, there must be a Service Bulletin about it out there somewhere.

Thanks for decoding, north. The RF does fit the time frame of the other 'bird glass. It was likely the one replaced, though it is interesting how the dealer may have come into possession of it.

My car is a 12B Lordstown build date with Bird glass.

The glass is:
26-117
27-107
26-117
27-107

All Soft Ray

68 400 convertible with standard interior and custom trim. Etched glass, Dec 67 build date in Lordstown Plant.