So a bicyclist cut across the middle of the road and crashed directly into me. Thankfully he was OK and walked away but my car (1994 Vanden Plas) got pretty badly damaged (see picture of the windshield). I just want to repair the windshield right now (the headlamp and hood took some pretty serious damage and the trunk took some minor damage as well as he rolled over the entire car).

I took my car to a body shop and they said they couldn't repair it because the parts that hold the windshield to the glass were on backorder with no plans to restock. The parts they listed in the estimate were GNA8850BA reveal molding and BCC9213 reveal molding retainer. I assume that is the rubber seal and chrome molding around the windshield. The body shop also told me that the chrome molding on the non damaged side of the windshield would be destroyed when the windshield is removed, so I would need two of those, and couldn't get them from another car.

Am I out of luck here?

Thanks

 

A lot might depend on where you are, I have a near new screen in my garage and probably the mouldings as well but I am in NZ somebody where you live could well be in the same position?

 

Not sure, but I think with careful manipulation you could remove the moldings and rubber seal carefully, yourself.

Again, I could be wrong but AFAIK the windshield is glued to the frame and not held by these moldings, they are simply trim pieces. I'm pretty sure the rubber can be removed without damaging it. Worth a try?

Even if you couldn't get the trim pieces right now, they might turn up later so why not have them fit a new windshield anyway? Better yet, try talking to another body shop that is familiar with or has replaced an XJ40 windshield before? BTW, you might not be able to get a heated screen, I think they are NLA, like the trims.

Double check this, but I believe the '94 windshield is identical to the early X300 screen ..

Larry

 

Hi tab,

Welcome to the Jaguar Forums! It's great to have you with us. We're very sorry about the damage to your car but thankful the cyclist wasn't seriously injured.

Several years ago I had the windshield on our '93 replaced. Like your shop, my glass guy found that the trim and seals were NLA. However, my guy is very good, and he was able to remove and reuse the stainless steel trim and reuse the old rubber parts (I don't recall whether he had to remove the rubber or not). You might get a second opinion from another glass shop, particularly one familiar with the challenges of older/classic cars.

Cheers,

Don

 

I recently had Safelite replace the front glass on my 1990 XJ40 in my driveway. I do not know if the 1994 is the same.
The glass tech started to remove the chrome finisher from the bottom right side of the glass and carefully removed it without bending it in any way. The chrome finisher came off very easily as it is not supposed to be glued to the rubber retainer. If it is glued, the possibility of it bending on removal becomes a reality.
After cleaning the area on the body, the tech applied an adhesion primer and while that was drying, he installed the rubber retainer and the chrome finisher on the new glass.
He then applied the sealant on the body of the car and installed the glass complete with retainer and chrome. Total time close to 2 hours.
PS: After telling Safelite that the rubber retainer was NLA and the cost of the chrome finisher was prohibitive for me, they told me that they were sending a tech who had experience doing Jaguars and this tech demonstrated that he knew exactly what he was doing. The overall experience was very pleasing to me.

 

Thanks for all of the advice all, I'm going to take it to a few more shops. I think one confounding factor is that the roof is also dented.

 

From your photo now I can see the dent, too bad but maybe fixable by one of those paintless dent fix it places, or failing that, maybe try a toilet plunger ....if it isn't too close to the windscreen margin you may be able to pop it out?

Anyway, hope you get it all sorted out, I had an encounter with a truck that pulled out in front of me that took out a headlight and creamed the corner of the hood and fender. Terrible feeling especially when it isn't your fault.

Good luck with the repairs!

Larry

 

The area of the dent on the roof would be doubtful to pull out with a plunger as the damage extends to the windshield. From memory that area is a double skin and will need to be massaged out with slightly more gusto.
The screen itself is bonded to the body with mastic and the rubbers and trim can be reused (BTDT on the rear screen) very easy to remove the trim and with the correct tool very easy to remove the screen yourself. This will save you some money. I was quoted $nz250 by a ‘reputable?’ Screen replacement outfit just to remove the screen. Needless to say I didn’t get them to take it out.

 

As other mentioned, this is fixable, trim and rubber can of course be reused and any experienced tech would do it easily. The dent is another story though, to fix this you'd need to remove the screen, remove the headlining and get someone to fix the dent from inside while everything is out. Locally here, that would cost you ~$150. I had some big dents pulled/massaged/whatever they call it in the past with great results.

 

Thank you all so much! I was ready to give up on the car after what I heard initially, but based on what you all said, I found a shop that will be able to save the chrome when replacing the windshield. Total cost to repair the dent in the roof and replace the glass should be around $900.

Now to see if I'm willing to pay what it takes to:

• repair the hood (as best as possible) and fender
• replace the headlamp and chrome bezel around it
• paint it all like new

Another $2500 for all of that, but it is my first car and it has a lot of sentimental value...

 

I have a 1988 VDP. I've had the wind shield replaced twice. Once due to a rock and the second time when the headliner was replaced. It was done by a shop in WI.