[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.