Pilkington C3 Window Glass

68/70Vette

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Location
Torrance, Ca.USA
I ordered all new door windows for my 68 Convertible from Pilkington Classics. Pilkington bought out Libby Owens Ford (LOF) some years ago, and they have since been bought out by a Japanese company. Several Corvette vendors sell glass, but i assume if you purchase window glass with the LOF logo etched in the lower right side (driver's side), it has too be made by Pilkington to avoid copyright problems. They don't sell 68/E69 door windows any more. You have to buy L69 to later years convertible windows. For 68/69E windows you have to buy a $25 per window lower mounting track to convert the 69L/70+ convertible windows for a 68. It's supposed to be an easy conversion. The convertible windows for all C3's are the same shape. The 68/69E windows have 8 holes drilled in the bottom for mounting, the 69L and up windows have 5 holes. The windows they sell are tinted...didn't ask if they sell untinted windows.

Pilkington windows have the correct Astro Ventilation enameled logo. The also include a generic LOF logo on the window that you can see just above the door handles. For correct date coding, they want another $50 per window. These little LOF logo's are sand blasted. With date coding, 69L conversion tracks, shipping, the price is a little over $600.
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Why new windows? My current windows are chipped on the top where the glass used to contact weatherstrip mounting screws on convertible hard top. I bought replacement 68/69E windows on eBay...they look fine in some viewing perspectives, but if you hold them sideways to sun light, you can see a lot of superficial scratches. Also, on the eBay windows, the area of the windows in contact with the felt windows seals has been "fogged" by grinding wear. So I decided to buy new.

The window glass appears to be relatively soft. Being sensitive to scratched window glass, I started looking at all my cars. To my surprise, my 08 hangar queen has two scratches on the passenger window about 4 inches long and about 1/8 inch apart. Have no clue as to where they came from, maybe a diamond ring or something!!!

If you google Pilkington, you'll see that they are a major worldwide manufacturer of automobile windows.
 
Is it $600 for each or both?

Good to hear that original replacement glass is still available
 
I think it's $608, for the two windows which includes the "Astro Ventilation" enameled wording, plus a time coded LOF logo, packaging, and shipping.
The windows will be tinted, which I'm not sure I wanted, but that's what they were offering. I'm confused about tinting since I'm not really sure if my present windows are tinted. They have slightly greenish appearance, so maybe they are tinted???. Once again, Pilkington appears to have exclusive rights to the LOF logo.

I did search functions on this forum, Corvetteforum, DigitalCorvettes, and NCRS and surprisingly couldn't fine very much information about who to buy new window glass from. Corvette Central does have a good photo rich description on how to replace the window glass. So....if someone does a search function on Google for Pilkington or 68 Corvette Windows, perhaps they'll get a hit on CorvetteMod.com....hurray!

My 68 was made in May, 1968. So I ordered March, 1968 windows. Just to be somewhat accurate. There's no confusion that my 68 is not NCRS with it's ZZ4 engine, GMPP Serpentine kit accessory kit drive, 5 speed transmission, 69 factory side exhaust. Even though I'm not "NCRS" I like to use their expertise.

So......when I get my glass...I'll let you know how it fits and how it appears.
 
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Received the Pilkington windows this week. A quick look checks them out as OK. They are actually for 69 and up convertibles. A stock adapter bar is supposed to make them work. The 68 windows had 8 holes drilled in them, the 69 and up had 5 holes. The 69 bracket for the 5 hole windows makes the 68 windows fit. So far everything looks OK. Have date coded LOF logos and the Astro Ventilation wording on the windows. (LOF - Libby Owens Ford) No matter who you buy your windows from, if they have a LOF logo, they are from Pilkington...they bought out LOF and all their copyrights.
 
Received the Pilkington windows this week. A quick look checks them out as OK. They are actually for 69 and up convertibles. A stock adapter bar is supposed to make them work. The 68 windows had 8 holes drilled in them, the 69 and up had 5 holes. The 69 bracket for the 5 hole windows makes the 68 windows fit. So far everything looks OK. Have date coded LOF logos and the Astro Ventilation wording on the windows. (LOF - Libby Owens Ford) No matter who you buy your windows from, if they have a LOF logo, they are from Pilkington...they bought out LOF and all their copyrights.

Post a picture of that if you have an opportunity. I've got some (lighter) late model windows for my early '69, and I've got to modify/change something to make them fit.
 
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