'15 touring windshield removal

[john in kzoo]

I want to get safety glass put in my windshield. Thought I would take the entire thing to the glass shop. It looks like there are only the two bolts on each side of the windshield frame that hold it onto the car. Is that correct? Thanks in advance

John

[TWrenn]

John, yes that's correct. I had to take the top half from my former '15 in for new glass. It fit pretty tight
in the hinge bracket, so be careful if yours "resists" pulling out from it. Worse yet, you have to be real careful when
putting it BACK IN...if it resists like mine did. I pushed down a bit too hard and it slammed down onto the bottom
section, and you may have guessed it...it CRACKED!! So back to the glass dealer it was. Most expensive top half ever!

[john in kzoo]

Thanks for the reply. I want to have both halves done. So I thought I would take the whole windshield in (Top and Bottom). My poorly worded question was referring to the whole windshield frame to body. Is it just the two bolts at the base of the entire windshield frame on each side that need to be removed?

[TWrenn]

John, as my lame brain recalls, yes it is. But it WILL be super heavy...frankly I'd advise (carefully) removing them
one half at a time. And the glass people are going to need it that way anyway. I did mine by myself, I have to admit it
would've been better to have a second pair of hands, just to steady things if nothing else. Good luck!

[KWTownsend]

John-
The 1915 windshield is riveted onto the mounting brackets. You will have to take the mounting brackets off the body along with the windshield. The two screw design began in 1917.
Please post a picture of what you have.

[john in kzoo]

Keith,

Thanks, my poor description isn't helping. Yes, the frame is riveted to the bracket (Large dome rivet heads). I'll have to take the entire bracket off. Just curious if that is what most folks do is to take the entire thing into the glass shop????

[Steve Jelf]

The brackets are held by just a p[air of carriage bolts on each side, so removing them should be pretty simple. I agree that the top and bottom halves of the windshield should be removed separately.

[Wayne Sheldon]

According to the parts I have, the two carriage bolts on the outside are NOT the only thing holding the windshield brackets onto the body! There is also a bolt inside the body lines bolting the bracket to the inside of the cowl piece. On my car, I used a round head bolt for that inner bolt. The decision to use a round head bolt was based upon a few old photos, and may not be correct as the bolt really didn't show well in those pictures. I am not certain what style bolt was originally used there. Besides, that bolt may have been changed on any car through the many years now. I have noticed several Ts with common hex head bolts there.
Both the spare windshield and another spare bracket also have the hole for that inner bolt. So I am fairly certain it does belong there on most open Ts during those years.
For whatever it is worth. I know some people have removed the windshields from their touring cars or runabouts, supposedly with little difficulty. However, I plan to NEVER remove the frame from my runabout. It was h0!y he!! putting it on! The body had been separated from its original chassis decades earlier, the wood was rotten, about half missing, and the sheet metal had been messed up a bit by someone wanting to make a "bucket roadster" out of it. After which the body sat half collapsed outside for a few decades. Basically, a lot of repair, guesswork, wood replacement, and damage undoing was done before the windshield brackets and frame were installed. Things didn't quite want to line up, but I finally fought it all together, and it looks good. I have the glass for it, but have not tried to install it yet. I dread the day.

[Steve Jelf]

I stand corrected. As Wayne says, there's another bolt inside. I don't know how I missed it.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Thank you Steve J for the picture!

[john in kzoo]

For what it's worth. I took the windshield off over the weekend and the only thing holding the bracket to the car were the 4 dome topped carriage bolts. Now it's at the glass shop getting laminated glass put in...

John