[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.

[cambirdracing]

So Basically if your car has them you are one of the few lucky ones? And pretty much that is about all until someone uncovers the mystery.

[quicksilver97ta]

There is one place that re-pops the bird glass. I keep this contact info on my desk for when I save up some coin. This is from 2 or 3 years ago so hopefully they keep making it available.

Auto City Classic
Isanti, MN
763-444-5880
800-828-2212
contact person: Denny

[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.

[Cammer-6]

anyone that has Bird Glass can PM me with the info on your glass and Ill decode it
also include your build date as its stamped on the cowl tag

[Kurt S]

Originally Posted by 68bird400HO

It was built at Lordstown in June of '68 and I do have the bird glass.
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.

What's the dates of your glass?

From http://www.camaros.org/glass.shtml:
LOF sand-blasted almost all glass marks with a stencil. The only exception was the early '68 model "Astro-Ventilation" mark, which used fired-on white ceramic paint [a thank you for this correction goes to Dan DelGratta of LOF]. Decals are incorrect.

Rich's comments on the usage dates are directly relevant to your car:
The Astro-Ventilation logo was dropped from the 1968 door glass after Nov '67 (approximately) production. However, one pane of apparently original May '68 door glass with the Astro-Ventilation logo has been observed in a 05C build. The mating glass on the opposite side of the vehicle is Sep '67 Astro-Ventilation glass, and combined with the other dates seen in the set, CRG believes that the May '68 pane had the Astro-Ventilation logo added by LOF to create a matching set, presumably to fill a void in production and/or to use up left-over panes. Of course this conclusion is speculative, but we will continue to watch for other, similar, indications.

[68bird400HO]

I will check when I get home tonight. My bird is the fired on white ceramic which is what I believe all of the birds were. IIRC, and this is going back 10 years when I was finishing the car, the glass had a straight bottom, not curved.

I read through the first gen Firebird thread and I guess I don't necessarily agree with Vikki's end conclusion that any cars with it built after the given month (January, I believe) "....was installed post-production." It seems there were several data points with car build dates of March through July and they are being discredited with that conclusion.

[68bird400HO]

Ok, I just checked my car. First, I was wrong about my car being a June built car. The data tag is 07C. I haven't even looked at that tag in years. My original paperwork from the dealership shows the car was ordered in June so that was were I erred. My glass is all PPG SoftRay which is consistent with the order form and original window sticker. The date codes on the front windows both match, 26 11 7. The rear convertible quarter glass is dated 27 10 7. I replaced the windshield 10 years ago since it was cracked.

[Kurt S]

All dated Oct or Nov of 67. I'd say they were clearing out inventory....07C was the last week of 68 production.

[68400BIRD]

Originally Posted by quicksilver97ta

There is one place that re-pops the bird glass. I keep this contact info on my desk for when I save up some coin. This is from 2 or 3 years ago so hopefully they keep making it available.

Auto City Classic
Isanti, MN
763-444-5880
800-828-2212
contact person: Denny

They still make it.

[Captainofiron]

Wish my car had bird glass, that looks so cool

[68bird400HO]

Originally Posted by Kurt S

All dated Oct or Nov of 67. I'd say they were clearing out inventory....07C was the last week of 68 production.

What I think is interesting is not so much the time span between the glass and the car, but, that all four panes are that early. That would indicate to me that they actually matched up all of the side glass into sets (tinted vs non, and hdtp vs convert) as it came in. Again, maybe tinted convertible glass hung around the factory longer than other sets because there were fewer cars built with it. Also, as new glass came in the earlier glass may have just gotten buried in the back of the storage area and not gotten to until the inventory thinned out again. This is were it would be interested to have access to the collected data to see if there are similarities between the late built cars with it (eg all tinted glass convertibles, etc). Again, skimming through the FGF thread it seems like there are several Firebird data points with later build dates including at least 5 cars with June and July build dates including mine.

[cambirdracing]

Finally got a chance to look at mine. Says 11D.

[Cammer-6]

I would love to see any glass that has a date later than Nov 67