Funny you should mention that, because that's just what they did, more or less.Don't fall off that horse.......
Not everyone can afford to spend $50,000.00 on a full restoration.
If that rig were mine I would have the glass shop buff all the rust with a wire wheel, treat with primer, and install the new glass. Than I would keep using it.
As long as the windshield doesn't leak for another 5 years why does it matter? Maybe the OP just needs to use this 80 for a few years until he can afford a new car.
Some people still use these rigs as work vehicles and daily drivers.
Why worry about spending $$$$$$$$ to repair something like this. For all the OP knows he might total the rig in 3 months.
If somebody has the $$$$ and their rig is a resto project than go for it but not everybody is in this boat.
Per the glass shop:
- Remove/Replace front windshield gasket
- Inspection request per customer - indication of rust along edges
- Treated rust, removed as much as possible
- Windshield frame treatment
- Install customer provided Toyota OEM gasket
- Glass installation
- Verify seal
At some point, I'll replace with OEM glass, if I can find it. If not, I'll run this glass until it cracks and replace it with something as close to OEM as possible.
So, some history on how I got to replacing the windshield gasket...I've had the LC since about January 2016; she had ~200K miles when purchased and now has 221,xxx miles but I'm finally in a position where I can baseline and then build. So, I'm baselining. I was getting water in the floorboards but I simply thought this was from the sunroof drains being clogged but since I can't get the sunroof open, she would be tarped during the rain months (It's not my DD...that's reserved for my Avalon since it gets 32 mpg). When I took her to the shop for the AC issue and they had the DS kick panel removed, I mentioned the drains and how clear they were. I mentioned the water issue, the tech inspected the windshield and noted the brittleness of the gasket and noted a few area where it seemed popped up or pried up. he then noted the area of bubbles...and then noted that he was 99% certain this was why water was getting in, as apparent by some surface rust (VERY light) on metal behind the dash.
So, replacing the gasket jumped in priority from a non-issue to NOW, nudging its way past a couple of other things.
I mean, if water keeps seeping in then more and more of the interior and components will get damaged/destroyed.
So, fixing it now was a no-brainer.
She's going to be a camping rig...nothing outlandish; something to get me to places others can't from time to time, something to haul my Popup trailer; I'm not planning on rock crawling, but back woods and forest trails, sure. I'm planning a WABR run with some friends next summer (My 80, a 2000 Disco2, and a 2022 Gladiator).
But a full restoration? No.
That's probably saved for the '83 60-series sitting in my driveway, but that remains to be seen as it's also all stock, fully drivable, and with only 183K miles on it.