Windshield glass and frame compatability

[barnesjtsl]

I keep reading through old forum posts about the windshields on these cars all being the same through all years.

Well I know for a fact that is hogwash. I have a 79 spider. I bought a windshield in the frame off craigslist. I pulled it off the car myself. I can't remember what year the car was I took it from. I installed it on my spider, went to close and latch the top and it didn't fit. The front bow on my top hit the top of the windshield frame and there was still and inch of space on each end of the front bow and the frame.

I put a 2 x 4 across the the top of the frame and measure at the middle. The original frame from my 79 measured from the center of the frame to the bottom of the 2 x 4 as 4 inches. I put it on the frame that I had purchased and made the same measurement and it was 3 inches.

So in a nutshell these windshields and frames are not all the same.

Can someone please give me the years that are interchangeable, specifically which years will fit my 79 spider.

Thanks,

barnesjtsl

[18Fiatsandcounting]

My first thought was that things were just out of adjustment, but in reading your post again, it sounds like the curvature of the top of the windshield frame is different between the original and the one you bought. I'm no expert on this, but I had thought that the windshields for 1968 to 1980 were all the same, but that later years were slightly different. Maybe you got a windshield from one of these later years?

I'd suggest calling a couple of the Fiat parts vendors (Vicks, AutoRicambi, Midwest-Bayless) and see if they have any insight.

-Bryan