Birdglass topic revisited
 

topic has come up again
wondering if theres any more news on this "frill".
Im not privy to the FB page so add info from it if you like.
Please no speculation only facts backed with documentation.

I do know that all Ive had ,the glass was produced in Nov(11) but have seen them
in cars later than that,perhaps leftovers.
It seems to follow a pattern of high option cars getting it,Ive never seen it
show up in a bare bones model,but not to say it couldnt happen.
I tried to follow this topic on FGF but it got so scrambled up I couldnt tell what was going on.
Ive got some other running changes to explore but thats a topic for later.
DId I see someone post LOF glass or was this just a misfire?
Maybe this can stay on topic and get somewhere.

Good topic I'm researching glass for my 69 as it needs a new windshield and back glass. My front is LOF and the rear is ppghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...ca70e80648.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...074916b10f.jpg

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sorry I should have stated
this is for 68s only and the topic is "bird" glass
not who has LOF or PPG.
that comment was for someone that posted they had LOF glass
and was meant to infer that it was "bird" glass.
Just one of the things I want to clear up

Cropped image of the 'Bird' on the glass


https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...1&d=1695739599


:)

just to recap
this was 68 only
doesnt seem to be much in reasoning why it was selective as to what got it.

We bought a complete 68 PS door with the standard door panel on it. I noticed the "bird" on it when I mounted the door and rolled up the window.

Our car came with no glass, did all the glass have this bird on it or was it just on the door glass?

do any convertibles have documented bird glass?

Door glass


:)

My 68 Convertible Firebird is a fairly high option car but it does not have the bird glass.

It is a 350 with automatic, Rallys, custom interior, console, PS, PB, Power top, and Special order Spring color Carnival Red.

It is a mid-February build date as I recall.

Chris it seems as tho chances were better if its a Nov build or oddly near the end of production
that I surmise they used leftovers up.

Here's some previous threads:


Bird Glass


1st Gen.org Thread


1st Gen site had a dedicated database for this, but doesn't seem to be available now?


Another thread on PY


:)

My car has Bird glass with a build date of 12B at Lordstown.

My second week of September convertible did not have bird glass. My third week of November convertible DID have bird glass. Neither my second week of January coupe nor third week of July '68 'vert came with bird glass.
I also had a different coupe and convertible back in 1980 and 1981 that had bird glass, but I do not remember the build dates on those cars.

I have the window rolled up all the way and I do not see a date code. Where should I be looking?

In one of those threads I posted, it seems like they are inside the door, at bottom of glass.
(have to take out or panel off possibly?)


:confused:

real faint and hard to see
sometimes a dark sheet on backside and a flashlight will make it viable like post #2
Can be seen without removing door card

12B is on the body tag
2nd week of Dec

glass dates are also used as a point of reference.

I bought my 68 convert in 1989 from the third owner, who only owned it for a few weeks. He was a young guy that made a mistake and needed to sell it. Around 2017, I had a talk with the original owner (yes still alive). I tracked him down because I have all of the original paperwork including the hand written salesman order sheet. It was custom ordered and I DO have one of the broadcast sheets I found under the carpeting. The car was ordered with power windows and the tinted safe-T-glass which I still have. It has BIRD GLASS, BUT, I have seen nothing to indicate bird glass. It does have the deluxe interior and it was a spring of 68 build.

In case anyone needs some bird glass, I have an extremely nice set of non-tinted power window bird glass I got from a pair of 68 doors I rescued.

The car still has approximately 76K original miles on it!

Regards,
OJ :D

Whats date on data plate and date code of glass?

If you are looking at the glass from outside the car the date is lower left-hand corner by the door lock on the passenger side and lower right-hand corner on the driver side. Etching looks like it is on the inside like Jonhnta said.

I will check and post pics. It may be a few days until I can get to it. I've seen this topic get batted around since I had my first 68 Bird convert (bought in 1979) and it too had bird glass. No-one has solved it yet and a lot of effort was put into figuring it out quite a while back. RA1JOHN has documented an amazing amount of info on our cars and I believe he tried to run this down. I will ask him to reply to this post,

OJ

I too have been in the thick of it,never can tell what info will pop up.

Here we go again ;)

Sometime around the end of Sept., to the beginning of Oct, 1967, Lordstown Assembly began installing door glass (R/L) with a small white 'Bird' graphic (ceramic baked) in the front, lower corner (bottom of A-Pillar area). This glass (produced by PPG) was then pulled from production (and as supplies were depleted) around the mid to end of January, 1968.

Mfg. date codes found on 'Bird' glass include: Sept. 9, Oct. 7, Nov. 7

Despite the efforts of many Firebird enthusiasts over the years to research this special feature, no conclusive evidence was revealed as to why some cars were built with this glass, while others were not. To date, no official PMD documentation has surfaced that mentions this glass. From surveys & research, 'Bird' glass has been found on...

- Coupes & Conv.
- All color combos
- Standard and Custom Trim
- Low option and high option vehicles
- 6-cyl, 8-cyl vehicles
- Tinted and clear glass
- Standard windows and power windows
- Standard S/V mirror or Remote S/V mirror

It would seem that PPG produced the glass in batches and mixed this glass in with non-'Bird' glass. There appears to be no pattern in the build schedule, examples have been found built the same day, with other gaps of more than a week. This may have been a styling feature that was introduced sporadically. Interestingly, all '67 Grand Prix's had a similar etched "GP" on the door glass, while the '68 Camaro had "Astro Ventilation" on the door glass.

It is assumed that 'Bird' glass was production was stopped due to upcoming Jan. '68 Federal Safety Regulations which included side view visibility. It's also possible that cost may have been a factor.

It would be necessary to collect thousands of records for surviving vehicles with this glass to better establish when exactly this glass first arrived at, and was last used at Lordstown Assembly. I've collected records for perhaps several hundred to a thousand 68 firebirds over the years and see a scattering of 'Bird' glass cars built between early Oct. and mid Jan. Most are in Nov, early Dec.

Over the years, there have no doubt been owners who have added the 'Bird' glass to their '68. There's even a '69 owner who claims his has factory installed 'Bird' glass.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8d2ed11f_b.jpg

John, I might be the ‘69 owner you spoke of. Let me clarify my story. It was delivered new by order to a New York dealer and, at time of pick up, it had passenger side bird glass only. The original owner (I’m 2nd owner) conveyed to me that the transport carrying the car to the dealer was delayed when it went off the road during a snowstorm. The dealer claimed no damage was done to the car. However, when I removed the original paint, I discovered the driver’s door had been dented, repaired and resprayed. The owner informed me the car had never been in an accident while in his care. The passenger door was virgin. I assumed perhaps the driver glass may have been replaced. Maybe the dealer actually replaced damaged passenger glass with old stock? I will now check dates on both and update the forum if that helps.

Its surprising that no one has reproduced a decal to simulate these yet.
Maybe with a safety disclaimer ...

I'm doubtful "visual obstruction" is the issue. It's far less an impediment than the previous year's ventipane framework.

Can anyone who currently owns one tell us that bird is in line of sight to the mirror from the driver's point of view?

RA1John,

What format is the date code?

There is a decal. I ordered a set and used one on my driver door glass.

Its not in the direct line of sight

Explained by someone else to us at some point back in time , I thought it was posted on this site but maybe it was somewhere else .....
As being - The proximity is close enough that it can unwillingly distract some focus to it versus full focus on the mirror.
Split seconds can cause issues in situations
Its an attractive symbol

That was how it was explained in conjunction with the Jan 68 Fed Safety Regs coming in.
If that is fully legitimate
It sounds about right but I don't recall any bulletin posted.

Hooray ! :first:

Try this ∆
edit : oops thats the location, not format. sorry

LOF date code is different than PPG
LOF basically alpha and alpha
PPG is digits I think


Thought I had a web page made but can't find it.

I have the codes on my computer.

My Bird glass is PPG and the date format looks weird, M27?. I'll write down all the numbers and post them.

The PPG pic in post #2 shows the date as 118 - Nov 1968


:)

My date is 117 so November 1967. Wouldn't Nov 1968 be for the 1969 model year?

In post #2 , he has a 69 car and had a different type dilemma with his glass.
Not a Bird Glass contributor , he just had a general question about glass in his Bird.
He might find his answer if someone provides a decoder for LOF dates.

Yea that was me with the 69. Sorry.

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The LOF date in that post has a date of Jan 1973


:)

Sent u a pm. Thanks

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Okay, I have additional info... let's see if any sleuths here can help solve what happened with my car back in the day. The car was built late January '69:

PPG Glass Dates:

Windshield = 25-106
D/S Door = 26-128
P/S Door = 26-107 ('bird glass)
D/S Quarter = 27-108
P/S Quarter = 27-98

Looks to me like the windshield and passenger door glass were replaced by the dealer. Thoughts?

Someone installed replacements on those two pieces .
It seems odd that he wouldn't have objected to just one side having the Bird symbol on a brand new car.

wondering the same with the one Sprint I had that had a clear and tinted,both "bird'glass.

Actually, not really. You’re understandably looking at the issue with hindsight. There are other examples of qualities in cars from the era where symmetry wasn’t a design feature. I didn’t think it was odd either until a thread on ‘bird glass surfaced in the 2000’s.

I found it, PPG glass 26-117. It's out of a 68 door I bought to replace our badly damaged and rusted door that was original to the car.

Finally got around to looking at my glass and data plate. Sorry it took so long. Had to get it all out of storage.

Car build date = 04C, so looks like 3rd week of April 1968

Markings on Glass
Soft Ray
Safety PPG Flo Lite
Solid Tempered
26 117
M27.8
AS-2


These are power window glass and my car is a convert with a deluxe interior

Also, I have another set that are power window glass, but NOT soft ray. I don't know what the build date was for the car they came out of, but it did have the rectangular remote mirror, so I'm assuming it was a later build date in 1968.

Glass Markings:
Safety PPG Flo-lite
Solid Tempered
AS-2
26 107 and 26 117
M20.8

04C is certainly out of place sequence wise.
Has anyone traced the history?

I've owned the car since 1989. The original owner custom ordered it and had it in his possession almost the entire time. He sold it to a kid that almost immediately resold it to me.

I talked at length to the original owner sometime back and asked him about the bird glass. He had no idea where or why it came with the car. I have the original order sheet filled out by the sales guy. Nothing on it indicates anything about the glass.

OJ

One more random thought on this........... To this point, no-one has come up with any provable logic for the bird glass and it seems pretty random. I'm wondering if GM simply added the bird emblems to the glass right before assembly and it was supplied on all cars that were custom ordered for a short period of time. I'm thinking quite possibly it was something Pontiac offered as a special thank you. Anyway, that's my no evidence WAG of the day.

OJ

As stated previously on this topic,Bird Glass,Astro Ventilation,and GP all disappeared
at the first of the year(Jan 1968)
Any cars later than that were suspected to have used up the existing stock.
Not much is known about the who where what and why,hence why Im reviving this topic again.
Its good to have fresh input on this.

Sure, but there were birds produced before Jan of 68 that had bird glass and birds produced without it. There had to be some sort of reason why some got it and some didn't. As stated earlier, my car has bird glass and it was confirmed by the original owner, though he didn't know why it had it, yet it was an April of 68 car. The other set of glass that I had was taken out of a car with a rectangular remote mirror, so in theory, it was a later car as well. I can understand the "use up" strategy, but still, why did some cars get it and some didn't? I know that is what is trying to be answered by this posting. I really think it is tied to some kind of a promo program that lasted for a period of time. It could be GM did the program and it was poorly communicated to the dealers. Again, I have zero evidence. I just enjoy the search for UFOs. :bolt: