[AZ64GP]

Getting the '64 Grand Prix ready for paint soon. First I have to remove the windshield and the rear window. I've looked on this forum, watched Youtube videos of window trim removal on old cars, etc. and I bought a couple different tools for removing window trim.

For the life of me, I can't remove the window trim . I figure there are clips that could be pulled with a small pick or a window trim removal tool and I can't find anything at the windshield between the black weatherstripping the trim. I can push the edge of the tool all the way to the A-pillar. I've used the tool to gently pull up and all I see is the back of the trim as it meets the A-pillar. It doesn't appear to have the small metal clips like other cars do.

After failing at the windshield, I tried the rear window. Feeling around with the pick tool and the trim tools, I can feel clip or something under the trim but pulling on it doesn't seem to release the trim.

The rubber weather stripping around the windows is as hard as a rock, so this has been a challenge. If anyone has done this before or has any tips, please let me know. Thank you!

[Marv]

Firstly, I am going off hazy memories but I am pretty sure my windscreen trim wouldn't come out with the roof and A-pillar trim left in. Double, triple, quadruple check there are no screws holding the edge of the top piece of trim on.

I went to town with a good-quality knife (not just a box-cutter) slicing between the rubber seal and the glass. I actually ran the blade as deep as I could while sitting it flush with the glass.

Once I had done that I found that if I used a pair of good quality trim removal tools (see below) the windscreen trim lifted away. I did have to slowly and quite forcefully pry the trim out, however, working it in sections back and forth. .

[Jeffs64Cat]

Did you try what I had suggested?

[AZ64GP]

Jeffs64Cat,

Thank you for replying. I wrote this post before I saw your post and asked. I've tried a bunch of different window trim removal tools and a right-angle pick. I've removed some of the rubber weather stripping to get a better look at the underside of the trim, and I don't see any clips. I've tried pulling up on of the trim a little bit (carefully so I don't bend it!) and all I see is the back of the trim and how it appears to die into the backside of weather stripping. I don't know if someone installed the windshield differently and the clips for the trim got covered as the weather stripping was installed or what. As Marv recommended, I've cut some of the weather stripping away, but I'm worried about prying too hard up on the trim. The only way to get any leverage is prying up from the side of the glass, and one false move and I'm putting the tool through the windshield.

I have a friend who has a hot rod old truck and has used an automotive glass shop that is run by an old timer who knows a lot about antique car windows. I'm going to call him this week and see if he can come out and remove the trim, rear window and front windshield for me. I'll watch him as he works and see how he does it. I'll update this post once the windows are out and let everyone know how it turned out.

[Goatracer1]

You need the trim tool that is flat and has 2 hooks facing opposite directions. Slide one of the hooks under the trim, hook the clip releasing it and using a small flat screwdriver carefully lift up the molding. Continue doing this as you work your way around. You should with some care be able to remove the moldings. Dont bother to try to remove the glass from the gasket just cut the gasket off the glass Before removing the rear window make sure you have a new gasket in your hand. They are different than all other 1964 rear window gaskets and can be hard to locate. The front gasket is not the same as a Regular 2dr ht. It uses a 4DR HT windshield. Good luck.

[Jeffs64Cat]

Originally Posted by Goatracer1

You need the trim tool that is flat and has 2 hooks facing opposite directions. Slide one of the hooks under the trim, hook the clip releasing it and using a small flat screwdriver carefully lift up the molding. Continue doing this as you work your way around. You should with some care be able to remove the moldings. Dont bother to try to remove the glass from the gasket just cut the gasket off the glass Before removing the rear window make sure you have a new gasket in your hand. They are different than all other 1964 rear window gaskets and can be hard to locate. The front gasket is not the same as a Regular 2dr ht. It uses a 4DR HT windshield. Good luck.

Is that just for the Gp?

[421mike]

On my 61 I had to cut the rubber seal off as you indicated. Be careful when you pry trim up as I have discovered that the factory some times drills and puts sheet metal screws though the trim if it did not seat on the assembly line. there were three on my car one inn the front and two in the back.

[AZ64GP]

Originally Posted by Goatracer1

You need the trim tool that is flat and has 2 hooks facing opposite directions. Slide one of the hooks under the trim, hook the clip releasing it and using a small flat screwdriver carefully lift up the molding. Continue doing this as you work your way around. You should with some care be able to remove the moldings. Dont bother to try to remove the glass from the gasket just cut the gasket off the glass Before removing the rear window make sure you have a new gasket in your hand. They are different than all other 1964 rear window gaskets and can be hard to locate. The front gasket is not the same as a Regular 2dr ht. It uses a 4DR HT windshield. Good luck.

Thanks for the info, Goatracer1! I bought a trim tool (actually a few different ones) that are as you describe. I have felt around using the tool and a 90-degree pick screwdriver and I cannot find any clips. I've tried to pull up and back on the trim and looking along the A-pillar and there aren't any there. All I see is the back of the trim where it appears to make a 90-degree bend and disappears into the back of the windshield gasket. Maybe cutting the gasket completely away will help expose any clips, but I'll probably wait for the glass guy to do that. As for the rear window, I've felt around with the tools and it feels like a clip but then trying to hook it and pull doesn't seem to do anything. I believe Steele Rubber Products has a weatherstripping kit for the '64 GP so hopefully, I won't have any problems replacing the weatherstripping.

I'm removing the glass so I can get the body and paint work done and then I intend on replacing all of the weatherstripping with new once the painting of the car is done. With it being a southern CA and AZ car, the weatherstripping is completely baked. It's either hard as a rock or just crumbles into pieces when touched, so I'll be replacing all of it.

[Willshire]

Hey Bro! These window trims are a PITA. The flat clip removal tool goatracer suggested is the correct tool. i had to grind the tab a little to make it narrower to slip behind the clip. There are 3 i believe along the sides and 6 or 7 along the top. but be super careful. I used a small plastic wedge to pry the trim away from the window so i could see the clip edge and wedge the tool behind it. I broke the windshield on the donor car i bought (and it was a nice piece of glass too) so you need to be really patient. Pry up a little on the trim to see the clip, get the tool in and turn it so it pulls the clip toward the windshield. There is a sharp toothed barb on the a-pillar side of the clip that grabs on to a tiny bead in the trim piece. The barbs are sharp so they dig in a little to the stainless which makes them hard to get out. it took me between 1 and 2 hours to get the trim off without bending it.
Hope this helps. Congrats on being miles ahead of me on the build lol. 5 years and counting mine. Working on doors, found out the inner to outer shell spot welds create a little outward dent on the bottom of the doors so i have to fill them. Once doors are done it should fly back together.

FYI. If you do damage the window, rockauto sells them for 4 door cats. (same window as GP)

Good luck buddy!
Adam

[MUSLCAH]

I have a new shield for my 64 GP ...I have to install.....watching this thread !

[Willshire]

Here are 2 that should work. I have the Y shaped one but the lobster claw looks like it would also work well and likely not affect the window if you slip

[Willshire]

This is what the clip looks like AZ

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by MUSLCAH

I have a new shield for my 64 GP ...I have to install.....watching this thread !

Me too - I have new trim that I need to install.

Originally Posted by AZ64GP

For the life of me, I can't remove the window trim .

I want to encourage you to not feel bad, or feel stupid.

I can (and have) built entire vehicles from scratch - but I am still intimidated by windshield wiper blade replacements.



K

[Willshire]

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[Willshire]

Hard to see against the black paint but the yellow background really brings out the clip lmao

[AZ64GP]

Thanks Willshire and others who have commented/replied! Maybe because I've looked for a silver-color clip and they're actually black is why I haven't been able to see them. The photos of the clips help.

I actually tried using the tools that you (Willshire) showed in your thread. I've tried the tool that looks like a salad tong and the other flat tool with the two arms and the hooks at the end. I've jabbed those tools all the way into the A-pillar under the windshield trim and run the tools up and down the A-pillar trying to feel for the clips. I've also used a small plastic trim tool to gently pull up on the A-pillar windshield trim to see if I could see where the clips are. Nothing.

All I can see is the where the back of the A-pillar trim curves down and it looks like it goes behind the weatherstripping. If I could find the clips but couldn't remove them would make me figure out some way to get them loose. With not even seeing or feeling the clips, I don't know what to do.

When using the flat tool with the hooked ends on the rear window trim, I am able to feel something that feel like a post. I've pushed, pulled, lifted up, etc. where I feel the posts on underside of the rear window trim, but still nothing pops loose.

I've made an appointment for my friend's glass guy to come out to my house next Saturday ( 7/21/18) and look at getting the rear and front windows out for me. I'm hoping since he's a glass guy who does this for a living (and supposedly knows his way around antique vehicles), he can get the trim safely removed and the glass out for me.

The glass guy told me that he should have no problem getting the rear window out (which is the glass that also is not reproduced and I'm most concerned about), but he said the windshields on these old cars breaks 1 out of every 5 times. He said the glass and the seal around it gets brittle and sometimes the windshields just don't come out without being broken. I'm sure that I'm still better off having him give it a try than me. If the windshield breaks, then I'm ordering one from RockAuto or our host I guess. After the glass guy comes by next Saturday, I'll provide an update to everyone to let you know how it went. I've already purchased some car door edge molding which I heard is a great way to protect the ends of automotive glass so it doesn't chip and crack during storage.

Speaking of the window trim, does anyone know how to remove the metal chrome/stainless trim with the weatherstripping attached that runs from the base of the A-pillar along the top of the roof of our hardtop to the back of the rear side windows? It's what appears to seal the tops of the side windows to the roof the car. I don't see any screws holding it in, but I haven't removed the black weatherstripping from the metal trim either. I assume when you buy the replacement weatherstripping, you have to remove the old stuff from the metal trim, install the metal trim back on the car and then glue the weatherstripping back onto the metal trim?

Thanks again for all your help. This forum and its members are awesome. I don't know what I would do without this community...at a minimum you are always good moral support!

[Willshire]

More photos of clips and trim. You can see the side trims have 4 locations for clips. You can see the lip on the trim in the last pic. This ridge goes the whole length of the upper trim piece. One photo is how the y tool grabs the clip. They are hidden behind the rubber hence why the point is bent downward slightly.


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[Willshire]

Here are some pics of the compounds I use from Steele. The first is the black bedding compound. You place a bead behind every clip before you put them on, place the clips and bead the whole opening. The second is the glue that seals the rubber to the glass to prevent water penetration between the glass and the rubber. Hope this helps
Adam


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[AZ64GP]

Thanks to everyone for your help and replies! I ended up leaving the work to the glass guy I found. He did an amazing job and no glass got broken or trim damaged.

He did an interesting thing with the windshield. Since the cowl was already removed and the front clip off, he carefully cut all the weatherstripping out of the front windshield and then the windshield slid downward. We each grabbed one side of the windshield and took it out. Then with the clips completely exposed, he popped the windshield trim off one piece at a time. The only bummer is the top band of the windshield is a brownish-copper color due to being faded in the sun for years. So even though it’s (possibly) the original windshield, I don’t know if it’s worth reinstalling with the top of the being brown. If anyone has an opinion if I should reinstall it since it’s original or replace it since it’s brown at the top, let me know.

Back window was easier. Cut the weather stripping out, removed the top and side trim and then from inside the car he carefully pushed the back window out. He got out and the both of us carried the back window out. Cost me $250 (not bad for 3 hours) but I think it was worth it for the peace of mind.

If any of you need a good glass guy for your cars, PM me and I’ll send you his info. He is based in Scottsdale, AZ but works in AZ, Louisville-area in KY and in Alabama.

One step closer to paint and body!

[Goatracer1]

If you decide to replace the windshield have the glass company supply the windshield. It might cost you a little more but otherwise they my not want to install yours or might not warrenty their work.