Quote:
Originally Posted by projectsupra
Any good body shop can tape the seal back so they can prep and paint a little past the rubber edge, but if you're paying thousands for a full respray definitely remove all the glass.
This will also expose any possibly hidden rust or failed window sealant that needs repaired anyway.
The only issue is the S13 rear quarter windows are no longer available as far as I know, and you can't just find new edge molding either so if they cut them during removal you're stuck searching for another decent used one that someone removed properly.
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You cant tape the weatherstripping back. Have you touched a quarter panel window before? The rubber is extremely thick and impossible to lift. In fact, installers need to be extra careful not to use techniques like piano wire because it will gouge / mar the rubber. Removal can be extremely tricky especially when the sealant is old and hard.
I was fortunate enough to buy new glass for both S13 hatch and S14. The S13 glass was bought around 2008 and I thought it was expensive. The S14 glass I bought back in 2017 and I thought that was way overpriced as well. Nowadays I pity anyone trying to do a build or restoration because the costs are just unreasonable or the parts are flat out discontinued.
Back in 2018 I chalked this all up as "the end of an era" as theres just no way parts for these cars are going to be available. Worse, pricing has turned me off to the point where its hard to enjoy owning these cars really. $2400 for quarter glass? Gimme a break.
edit: and this is no S30 240Z. The modern S-chassis has way too much rubber and plastic and unless we have serious volume and connections with manufacturers, no one is going to produce these parts. Compared with the S30 Z, there are a lot less parts on that car and they are a lot simpler in construction.