[wovenweb]

Originally Posted by 68bird400HO

I don't necessarily agree with FGFs conclusion regarding this statement. My '68 convertible is a factory 400HO, auto, non A/C car with standard interior, power windows and tinted glass-all. It was built at Lordstown in June of '68 and I do have the bird glass. Given that when I bought this car it had 36k original miles and was pretty much untouched. It still has its original top and interior and even still had its original deluxe wheel covers on it when I bought it. I am pretty sure my bird glass is original to my car even though it was built so late. Like other have said, there is no rhyme or reason to it. I think a few runs of it were made and the workers at the plant used it until it was gone, maybe judicioulsy or maybe randomly. I have also seen glass on '68 Camaros that has an "Astro Air" (or something like that) etched in the glass in the same spot. It seems GM did this on these camaros and birds with the deletion of the vent windows and inclusion of the new ventilation system in '68.

After getting data on dozens of cars with the glass, there was a general rhyme and reason to it. Is there a 100% guarantee on anything with the these cars, no. Yes your car could have had it direct from the factory but it is the exception. But the lack of cars with it from Lordstown in the intervening time period is an indicator. Similarly, as you don't know the full history of your vehicle(even given the mileage) doesn't mean it wasn't added later.

But to say it was random isn't accurate. Parts are produced at given times for given reasons because it takes work and effort. There is a reason why it is fairly obvious my current 03C Ram Air II head equipped car is a clone for those who know the general history of Ram Air II equipment.

[phoenixpnr]

I was once told that it cam on cars with deluxe interior, and I guess that build date comes into play. I have had over ten 68s none of the standard interior cars had it and only one deluxe interior car did.
But as 68bird400ho mentioned that his car has standard interior and bird glass.
Does any one have a list of 68 Bird options that might list the glass as an option?

[68bird400HO]

Originally Posted by wovenweb

But to say it was random isn't accurate. Parts are produced at given times for given reasons because it takes work and effort. There is a reason why it is fairly obvious my current 03C Ram Air II head equipped car is a clone for those who know the general history of Ram Air II equipment.

Comparing GMs decision to discontinue the RAI d-port in favor of the RAII round port late in 68 is a whole different can of worms than talking about a short run of glass. The special glass really doesn't serve a functional purpose, it was for decorative reasons only. My guess is that since they eliminated the vent window they wanted to put something there so the side windows didn't look so plain, hence the reason for the "Astro..." script that I have seen on some 68 camaros as well. They likely stopped production after a short period to save costs since it wasn't necessary. Someone listed the date code range of the bird glass somewhere. Do we know if there was other non-bird glass produced during this same time period??? Do we know if it was just one supplier that made it??? I would be interested in seeing what the data you collected shows since I have not seen a specific pattern. It does not show as an option on any documentation....it was just a run of glass that they made for a short period. There are several standard interior cars that had it as well as cars with various engine options. Did A/C cars ever have it or could it be on non-A/C cars only??? One reason why my late built car may have had it was because it was a tinted window car. I am guessing that there were fewer cars built with tinted windows all the way around (esp. w/o A/C) so the tinted bird glass may have hung around the plant longer.

[wovenweb]

Originally Posted by 68bird400HO

Comparing GMs decision to discontinue the RAI d-port in favor of the RAII round port late in 68 is a whole different can of worms than talking about a short run of glass. The special glass really doesn't serve a functional purpose, it was for decorative reasons only. My guess is that since they eliminated the vent window they wanted to put something there so the side windows didn't look so plain, hence the reason for the "Astro..." script that I have seen on some 68 camaros as well. They likely stopped production after a short period to save costs since it wasn't necessary. Someone listed the date code range of the bird glass somewhere. Do we know if there was other non-bird glass produced during this same time period??? Do we know if it was just one supplier that made it??? I would be interested in seeing what the data you collected shows since I have not seen a specific pattern. It does not show as an option on any documentation....it was just a run of glass that they made for a short period. There are several standard interior cars that had it as well as cars with various engine options. Did A/C cars ever have it or could it be on non-A/C cars only??? One reason why my late built car may have had it was because it was a tinted window car. I am guessing that there were fewer cars built with tinted windows all the way around (esp. w/o A/C) so the tinted bird glass may have hung around the plant longer.

I didn't do the research, that was done by others who were very thorough and have been very forthright with their data. The data is muddied somewhat as people later have offered to etch very similar looking 'birds in the glass, so one has to determine if the emblem on the window is in fact an original silk-screened style one or a non-original etching. See the thread here:

http://firstgenfirebird.org/forums/u...r=74932&page=1

While it may seem to be an entirely new mystery it has been discussed and looked at before and while truly definitive, iron clad, airtight conclusions can't ever really be made with these cars, the general information is there to draw conclusions from.

We may never know who killed Jimmy Hoffa, we can be fairly certain that the Manson Family did not.