[Baron Von Zeppelin]

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.

[Cammer-6]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

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.

[rdl]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

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

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.

[68 461 Bird]

Originally Posted by AG

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 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.

[gtobird]

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

[Cammer-6]

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

[gtobird]

Originally Posted by Cammer-6

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

[gtobird]

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

[Cammer-6]

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.

[gtobird]

Originally Posted by Cammer-6

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.

[RA1John]

The 'Bird Glass' will likely remain a mystery unless someone comes across GM, PMD, or PPG documentation specific to this feature.

After researching this with other enthusiasts over the past 35 or so years, all we really know is that the glass was not a special order, nor was it connected to any particular style, trim, or option.

They've been found on fully loaded cars and very basic cars. Ram Air conv, 6-cyl coupes, custom trim, standard trim. Tinted & clear. If one were standing on the line at Lordstown in 1967, they would have seen one car get the glass, while the one directly behind it did not. Quite likely this feature was eliminated due to either cost or, upcoming (Jan. '68) Federal Safety changes pertaining to side view visibility (also the reason for the SV mirror & outer door skin design change from round to rectangular).

PPG apparently only produced this glass in (3) batches during the end of 1967: Sept, Oct, Nov. (only 3 different date codes have been found).

According to Registry files, most surviving cars that have Bird Glass were primarily built between the end of Oct. and middle of Dec. (heavy concentration in Nov. timeframe). Some cars have been found with this glass going into the spring of '68.

While there have been repro 'Bird' decals made over the years, I'm not aware of any repro glass with the Bird ceramic baked in the glass as originals were.