Replacing a Windshield, Headliner and Console in a 64-1/2 through 68 Mustang

In name only, a windshield is naturally supposed to protect you from the wind. In practicality, it's not a bad idea if you can see through it as well.

When you drive your classic car on a daily basis as I do, your expectations are somewhat different than if your car is for show or the occasional pleasure drive. A windshield that looks fine when it's all polished and sitting in a show field, can be all but impossible to see through at night when it is reflecting the glare of on-coming headlights.

In the average lifetime of an automobile, the windshield is assaulted by a universe of abrasive particles. The total of these seemingly benign collisions create an intricate spider's web network of micro-scratches and pits. The result is a hazy view. In some cases it is easy to see a history of wear: scratches, grooves and stone chips.

Damaged windshiled on our 1967 Mustang

In the case of my 1967 Mustang coupe, this was compounded by a long period of wiper blade neglect by a previous owner. Therefore, I have a couple of significant grooves etched into my windshield, one, of course, being right in my line of sight.

Something had to be done.

I decided to try the repair route. My first option was a windshield polishing compound sold by the Eastwood Co. The product literature advises that polishing can only remove scratches you can't feel with your fingernail, but I thought it might be worth a shot anyway. After an afternoon of hard work, I succeeded in removing most of the haze from about 5 inches of the groove on the driver's side of the windshield. The exercise showed me that Eastwood had not understated the ability of their product. It will not work miracles. Over the course of several hours, I began to realize the futility of a rejuvenation approach.

I finally had to admit that the old windshield was a road hazard — an accident waiting to happen. There were additional factors that lent credence to replacing the windshield as well. The gasket around the windshield was dried, cracked and probably leaking. Inside the car, the headliner was dry-rotted and torn. Since replacing either a windshield gasket or a headliner on an early model Mustang requires pulling the front glass anyway, the solution became crystal clear — a new windshield was essential and while I was at it, a new headliner was appropriate as well.

Dried and cracked windshield gasket.

I began collecting reproduction pieces: headliner, windlace, front and back window gaskets. (Here's a hint: ask for these items as Christmas or birthday gifts. A catalog with strategically placed bookmarks left innocently sitting on a living room table will work quite nicely.) All that was delaying the project was the costliest item: the windshield.

After squinting through my cloudy windshield during a succession of dark and rainy nights, I finally decided to tempt fate no more. As a pleasant surprise, I found that a new windshield wasn't quite as expensive as I thought — around $130. It's not particularly hard to find either, since 1964-1/2 through 1968 Mustangs all share the same front glass.

I sought the assistance of Robert Wooley at Customs and Classics restoration shop in nearby Moscow, Tennessee. He, in turn, suggested that we also call in Carl Rounsaville, a local glass man experienced in the idiosyncrasies of the Mustang windshield. As it turned out, that was good advice.

We called our project Operation Second Sight. It was implemented early on a chilly Saturday morning as Wooley and I began the disassembly by removing the windshield wipers and the stainless steel trim around the front and back glass. With care this can be accomplished without marring the paint.

Dissasembly begins.

Inside the car we removed everything that could get in the way: the rear seat, the inner quarters, the domelight and all the old windlace. Because the headliner replacement was part of our task, there were some extra considerations to take into account. Most headliners from the '60s are constructed with small steel rods inserted in the fabric and then braced against the sides of the roof to hold it in place. This bowed-style head-liner was typically used until 1978 when the domestic auto industry switched to headliners that are glued to foam shells. The foam tends to deteriorate after as little as five years, allowing the headliner to sag. To make matters worse, this style of headliner is harder and more expensive to fit. This is progress?

The bow-style headliner requires care to install by yourself. You will need occasional assistance and it will probably take about half a day to complete. That is, if the design isn't like the early model Mustangs, where the gaskets for the front and rear glass hold the head-liner in the pinchweld. In that case, you'll need an experienced glass man to do the job.

To remove the glass, either a windshield or rear window, you will need some assistance. After cutting the gaskets, a person on the inside needs to press the glass out. In this instance, the assistant is pushing out the back glass with his feet. To facilitate the process the glass may need to be gently pried from the outside.

Removing the back glass from our 1967 Mustang required some friendly persuasion.

With the glass out of the way, we removed all the trim clips and cleaned the petrified gunk from the pinch welds.

40 years of service has taken its toll on our gaskets and sealant...it must go.

When pulling out the headliner, start from the front, removing it one bow at a time. Use a felt-tip pen to mark the roof holes that held the bows. Factories frequently drilled more than one set of holes so the assemblers could have some leeway in the headliner's installation. We left the bows in the material while completing this process. When we reached the back, we disconnected the two wires that provide tension on the last bow. These wires, which also attach to the roof, are left hanging in place.

Be sure to mark the actual holes used.

Lay the new headliner next to the old one (both of them upside down) and transfer the bows one by one. If the bows are rusty, spray them with silicone to help ease them back through the material. Do not use silicone spray near a prepared car that's about to be painted as the chemical residue can cause fisheye in a freshly coated surface. Also, if you have to do any touch-up work later, tape won't adhere as well to the sprayed areas of the car.

Transfer the bows from the old headliner to the new, making sure that they will go back into their original positions.

To insert the new headliner, start from the back and work forward. After the bows have been reinserted in the holes that you marked, the time has come for stretching and gluing. Apply a contact cement (a 3M spray-on or paint-on adhesive will work) to both the pinchweld and the corresponding area of the headliner. By using pieces of the old windlace, the headliner can be held temporarily in place around the edges. Soften the fabric with a heatgun (a hairdryer will also do) and pull it taut along each of the edges to assure a smooth surface. Make sure you don't apply too much heat — it could melt through the headliner. After getting the headliner tight on both axis, finish the door opening by snapping the new windlace into place.

Stretching the new headliner into place.

Apply the glue, soften the headliner with a heatgun and pull it tight.

When all looks as it should, snap the windlace into place.

Allow the glue that holds the headliner in place around the window openings to dry before continuing.

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