Thought I'd follow up on my own inquiry about windshield replacement. I checked around a few glass places in Ottawa, including the one Dave mentioned above, but no-one wanted to touch an old 911 with a "roped-in" windshield. Asking at the Mark Motors Porsche parts desk directed me to Andreas (one of the founders) at the body shop. He offered to have a look at it.
After looking at it, he warned me that after seeing a couple little paint bubbles along the lower edge of the windshield seal, there had likely been water leaks in the past. As the rubber seal ages, it shrinks and water gets in, causing rust along the lower frame. Previous owners had squirted all manner of sealants around there, but it didn't accomplish much. We wouldn't know the full extent until the old glass and seal came off.
So I bit the bullet and brought the car in last fall. Sure enough, it was rusted right through in spots, so after cleaning out everything, he welded in a new section, sanded and re-painted the area. He also replaced the little cowl seals. And now for the new glass.
I wanted a replacement of the kind original to a 911 SC, meaning green tinted with an upper shade band. The only one Porsche supplies for the car now is for the 3.2 Carrera, which also has a printed antenna. I went with that one, even though the SC uses a power mast antenna. The brand was Pilkington. He also replaced the black aluminum trim pieces, as the old ones were too mangled to use. And of course, the genuine Porsche seal, and the new rear-view mirror. All parts supplied by Mark Motors.
He had a hard time getting the new glass and seal in, as the fit was very tight. He was concerned about breaking the glass, but managed to get it in. However, there was a problem - the seal wasn't completely covering the gap in the windshield frame in two of the corners, and water would be able to get in there. As it was late fall by this time, he advised me to take it home and let it sit over the winter and let the seal set. In the spring he would try to re-install it.
So I brought the car back last week and and he had at it again. It took 2 attempts to get it right, but it's aligned and fully seated, now. Job done!
How much, you ask? $1200 for the glass, $420 for the seal plus some small parts, bodywork, paint, labour and taxes added up to $4k. This was probably a worst-case type of situation with the bodywork that was needed, and you could no doubt do it with cheaper parts and labour if you shopped around, but I'm satisfied the work was done right. Besides, "the mistress" is worth it!
Hopefully this information is useful to some people. I don't wish to scare anyone, but if you have (or are looking at buying) an 80's or older Porsche with a shrunken or cracked windshield seal, paint bubbles along the lower edge, signs of windshield de-lamination or stop-gap measures like sealants, it probably means you're going to have to deal with this at some point.
Happy motoring!
