"Anyone done their own windshield replacement?"

Many of us have. The reasons vary between economics on the downside and quality of work on the upside. Familiarity with your posts and a glance at your sig tells me you're not just trying to save money.

"Looking for tips/coaching...."

From my recent experience (three months back) and assuming your '82's glass is original....

1) Pry the anodized aluminum trim from the clips from the glass (inner) edge. You may want to get the wiper arms out of the way also.

2) Mask your interior (headliner, dash) because the butyl rubber will make a mess of it. Remove the inside trim. The strip across the top needs to be eased from its 8 clips away from the upper pinchweld, and the side trim has a slotted clip molded near the center reverse pinned to the A-pillar.

3) Clean all the butyl from the trim exterior and interior. Kerosene works. You may need to remove and re-tension the spring clips attaching the interior trim to the top of the windshield.

4) Your original w/s is set in butyl. It will come out easy if you leave it in the sun on a warm summer day. Use your feet spread to near the corners, go slowly, and pay attention to the feedback. Have something 6-8" long to prop it open once it is loose, or a helper to grab it from the outside.

5) Remove the butyl sealant and repair any rust in the pinchweld. Short sentence for the longest part of the job. I carved an ice scraper handle into a scraping tool. Ice scrapers are now indeed available below the Mason-Dixon line.

6) If you want to preserve the original look, get a 3/8" butyl tape kit, clip kit, and FW404 w/s. If you don't care about the look and want the 91+ integral trim, order an FW667 w/s with UV frit and rubber trim attached and have a glass installer set it in your clean pinchweld using primer and urethane.

7) Lay the tape in the pinchweld joining the ends mid-pillar. No primer needed.

8) Place the spacer blocks (included with the tape kit) at the bottom, clear of the drains. Attach the clips to the FW404, with the green adjusting clips at the top, and with a helper, set the glass on the spacer blocks. No suction cups are needed if the front windows are rolled down to allow you to reach inside.

9) Adjust the clips firmly against the w/s edge. Ensure good contact and squeeze out along the entire length of the tape seal, as seen through the glass.

10) Reattach the exterior trim. Gently warm the corners of the rubber part of the trim to make it flexible enough to seat the extrusion into the clips without forcing.

11) Reattach the interior trim.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

“Never underestimate the difficulty of changing false beliefs by facts.” --- Henry Rosovsky