33 windscreen replacement

[colcol]

The windscreen in the 33 is now about 25 years old, cracked, sandblasted and a pane, [sorry about that], to see out of at night or in the wet.
I was waiting for the right time to replace it, like a bit of time and the 156 being all good, i have been after a air intake grille that sits under the windscreen as mine was cracked, rewelded and cracked again, but i have never been able to find a good one, thats not cracked or sunburnt.
Recently at the closing down sale at Alfa Parts in Moorabin, i managed to purchase 2 good ones that had been in storage for years with no damage, the reason i purchased 2, was that he said if i wanted 1, i would have to buy the other one as well, deal done!.
The reason i didn't get a professional to do the 33 windscreen, is that being an old school Alfa, there was bound to be some rust under the screen, i was not too wrong.
At the bottom of the rubber next to the windscreen pillars where it was clogged up with mud, there was some rust, but not too much.....so i got the scraper out and underneath the perforated paint were rust holes, on each side there were about 2 holes about the size of 5 cent pieces.
I scraped all the rust out, and hit it with dexodine, to kill the rust and to send it black, and because the area was double paneled, i couldn't fix it from the back, so i tapped the metal down and filled it with metal mend, that is like a fibreglass mixture with metal strands in it.
You wouldn't use body filler as it would have no strength and it would absorb water, and you cannot get at the back so you cannot pop rivet another piece of metal to it, welding is out of the question because the panel is so thin and i don't want paint peeling off, starting more rust.
So with a bit of sculptering i managed to cover the holes up, with sufficient strength, then a bit of sanding down, undercoating and some mismatched red paint i had for another car [SUD], i painted it over, and around the windscreen and around the grille support.
In the meantime i was chasing up a windscreen, emailed about 10 places, the normal windscreen places and locals and about 5 got back to me, some were really expensive, ah Alfa Romeo, think of a number, a couple wouldn't deliver, others were not open on a Saturday, so it ended up, i purchased one from Superior Windscreens in Maidstone in Victoria, $130 for the screen and $20 for delivery, and i paid by credit card and it was delivered when they said they would.
The screen was a Fuyao brand made in China, with all the Department of Transport approval and the screen had a sticker on it saying it was for a 83-90 Alfa 33, thats my car!
Looking up the Fuyao website to see what the company was about, they make a lot of screens and they had wholesale prices for Alfa Romeo screens, for 35 in a crate they are $16.50 each, but at that price it can't include delivery, we should get a  big order amongst us all?......er no.
So i waxed the windsreen opening on the car, to help the screen slip in, cleaned up the old rubber, which was in great condition, took about FIVE hours to clean the rubber, very important that its clean otherwise it won't slip in easily.
There is a excellent instruction on changing 33 windscreens in, of all places the 33 manual, including rust repairs, even then Alfa Romeo knew they would rust.
So i inserted the nylon string cord in the screen rubber after putting the new screen in the rubber, put the screen in bottom first, carefully pushed it towards the bottom and using old hacksaw blades pulled the rubber through the windscreen opening, this took about 3 hours, pulling the rubber through to the inside of the car is murder on your fingertips, but do it gently and start at the bottom and work towards the top, if you get stuck, just think about what you are doing and don't force it as you will crack the screen.
With the screen in place from the inside of the car, you pull the nylon draw cord to slip the rubber home, then change over the rego sticker, E-Tag and most importantly, new 'Alfa Romeo Owners Club' sticker and its all looking good.
Give the screen a final polish and go for a drive and its like when you get a new pair of glasses with no scratches and you can see again.
And i haven't driven the 33 for about 3 weeks and i remember it awsomeness, how can a car worth $140 on ebay be so good to drive, as Neil Young so accurately once put it "Long may you run", Colin.

[colcol]

This week in Melbourne, we have had a lot of rain, and it is an absolute pleasure to have a good screen to look through, i put new wiper blades on as well and they seem to work good, the problem with a chipped and sandblasted screen is that it chops up any new wiper blades, so after about 10 minutes they are smearing again.
As a point of the cost of windscreens, i always relate it to your current earning capacity, the one i purchased cost me a days wages, [$150], the one i put in the 33 about 25 years ago, cost me about 3 days wages, [$180], the one i put in the Passat in 1975, cost me a weeks wages, [$80].
The windscreen has no leaks due to not the skill of the installer, but the good quality rubber seal that Alfa Romeo used, after nearly 30 years its still flexiable and not split anywhere, how often do you hear people say Alfa Romeo's are rubbish?, well this is an example that their quality is good, Colin.