Windshield

I bought a new windshield and the outside trim piece for my car but unfortunately the inner spacer part is NLA. (late car 85.5-87 type) I need to find out some things so I can make up something to use in place of the factory spacer. Basically there are two things I need. First does the late glass sit at the same level as the body or does it sit slightly below the body. And second, if it sits lower than the body how much lower.

I am putting the flush mount glass into my 84 body so I don't have anything to look at and I haven't been able to find anyone around me with a late car.

It seems that they used a spacer on the 85.5-87 cars to position the glass higher for the flush look and then they modified the window opening for 88. So without this factory spacer you cannot replace the glass unless you can salvage the old spacer.

Pellican Parts tried to get this part from Germany but could not. I tried another supplier and they called all over the country trying to find someone that had one in stock with no luck.

Thanks.

The depth of the early 944's windshield frame is uniformly the same as the airbag cars (88's and newer...including the 968...which btw, has no embedded antenna). The height and width of the frame openings are the same for all the cars.

But the height and width of the windshield glass itself are different because the early 944 glass sits deep in the frame and the glass area is slightly smaller than the late 944 glass which sits very flush to the outside front of the frame. This is due to the angled sides of the frame itself.

The easiest way to replace the early's recessed windshield with the late's flush windshield is to cut off the clip-on molding's metal posts on the early's windshield frame and use a windshield for an airbag car ('88 & up) which has a uniformly thick rubber seal, and comes already bonded around the entire perimeter (4 sides) of the glass. (Techno Duck & I did this to one of my 944 cars...an early '85.) We used glass for the 968.

I don't think this airbag windshield seal is available by itself...maybe...dunno.  And if you go this route, try a few trial fits before you seal it. You will notice a space between the dashboard edge and the glass since the w/s was moved forward. I used window sealing foam tape from Home Depot to fill in the void.

The non airbag late 944's cowl ('86, '87) is shaped differently so the depth of the windshield frame is not uniform. The top and sides use a single seal which needs to be ordered separately...so I've been told. (And yeah...maybe it is NLA...can a Safelite dealer get them?) The bottom cowl area is not very deep. I don't think these '86 and '87 cars use a seal along the bottom...just a thin bead of silicon sealant. I could be wrong.

If you can find them, maybe you can use two of these 3 sided seals and cut the sides sections off the 2nd seal? But this sounds like a long shot. Also I am not sure if the seal is as thick as the airbag car w/s.  

Else, hopefully you can exchange the glass for the '88 and up airbag car glass.

Also those nice flush rear side windows on a 968 are a totally different shape from the 944...don't even think about swapping them  

Finally, for any nit pickers...the airbag change actually started in the latter part of the '87 model year and the 'late 944' actually started in the latter part of the '85 model year.

Thanks for the reply. I have cancelled my order and they are getting me the 88-91 glass and have already confirmed that the thick rubber seal is attached to it.

I had been under the impression that the whole pinch weld area on the 88-91 cars was modified to make it shallower. I guess doing it this way they made the glass retro-fittable to the 85.5-87 cars.

v8carreragts wrote:I guess doing it this way they made the glass retro-fittable to the 85.5-87 cars.

I've heard that some have used the airbag w/s and took a razor to the bottom part of the thick seal to allow for the cowl depth difference.

Please let us know how the 'early to late' windshield swap comes out.

Changing to a flush windscreen is something I would like to do also. I was thinking about using the same windscreen as I have today (recessed) since it's in good condition. I don't know what to use as spacer, but it must be possible to find a piece of plastic that can be glued onto the windscreen(or the car). Finally for closing the gap between the glass and body, I was thinking about filling it with a bead of black marine bedding or similar. Yes, it's going to be a PITA to take it out again, but how often is that necessary.....

No matter how we change our windscreens, I think it's necessary to change the windscreen wipers also. A few weeks ago I was looking closely at a 1986 944, and the wiper arms were not the same as on my 1976 924. The edge along the bonnet was also modified a bit, just above each arm. The sheet metal flange was bend a bit more.

The wipers on the 1986 car were not stoved as good away as on my 1976 car, I think. Probably because the windscreen is closer to the bonnet and there is not enough space for the arms.

You should be able to use your old windshield but you need to space it up a little less than 3/8" (9 mm) from the pinch weld. The factory spacer is NLA so you will need to find something else to do this. Also, you will need to be able to remove your old windshield without breaking it. (difficult--even with the right tools) I modified my windshield base to space the wipers higher. This raised the wiper mech. about the same amount as the flush windshield so I can use the same wiper arms.

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I thought long and hard about trying to reuse the original w/s (I've broken many during removals).

In the end I was happy to go with a new 968 I bought from safelite for about $450 with frame seal attached. It fit easily after trimming about 16 small metal posts from the early's w/s frame...and used p/n 944-559-535-07 for the w/s outside trim. I did not change out the early's 2 rubber w/s 'rests' that are along the bottom edge.

I'd forgotten about the wiper mod. I took the 'early' 944 wiper arms to my bench grinder to 'clearance' the curved area underneath...they now have a 90 degree inside edge + maybe a washer...I don't remember. btw...new wiper arms are p/n 477-955-028.

Always have the wiper arm folded up (away from w/s) 90 degrees whenever working on - adding them or removing them. Fold them down only when the work is done!

Be sure to protect the new w/s with something like cardboard or a sheet of rubber, taped around these vulnerable wiper areas as the w/s is so easy to crack at the edge of the glass. (I even tape old magazines to the lower corners anytime I remove my hood).

I bought the late windshield with the attached rubber frame. I also bought the late rests and the fit perfect. These help to adjust the windshield position. I used the adhesion promoter (08682) and adhesive (08693) (3M) for this. (not the 3M urethane stuff you can buy at AutoZone) As above, you need to remove the tabs that are used to hold on the windshield trim clips.

I inverted the windshield transmission holes to raise the wiper assembly. Although this also required some trimming for the rotating arm on the wiper motor.

The windshield fits perfectly. I also bought the OEM trim for the late car but is has been superseded by 993.541.925.00.

Inverting the wiper transmission holes raised up the wiper arm mounting so I didn't need to trim the wiper arms.