Identifying Your Alfa Romeo 164 Windshield Glass and Tint
To determine which replacement windshield matches your 164, you need to check the factory glass tint and the presence of an upper anti-glare sunshade band. While North American drivers received the car between 1991 and 1995 across Base, L, S, and LS trims, the glass shape stayed identical across all global variants, including the European Super, Cloverleaf, and all-wheel-drive Q4 models. What varies across these cars is the color treatment applied to the laminated safety glass.
You can identify the original glass by holding a piece of white paper halfway behind the front glass and viewing it from the outside in natural daylight:
- Green Tint (Eurocode 2027AGN): The most common glass on North American imports (Base, L, and LS), displaying a soft green hue against the paper.
- Green Tint with Shade Band (Eurocode 2027AGNGN): Green-tinted glass featuring a darker green anti-glare gradient strip running horizontally across the top perimeter behind the rear-view mirror.
- Bronze Tint (Eurocode 2027ABZ): Found primarily on specific European market executive trims, showing a distinct warm, brown tone.
- Clear Laminated (Eurocode 2027ACL): Untinted transparent glass, found almost exclusively on early European base-specification models.
Because original factory inventory dried up after Alfa withdrew from North America in 1995, I source only aftermarket glass for these replacements, selecting high-grade units produced by global manufacturers like Pilkington, PGW, FYG, or XYG under the industry standard NAGS reference FW00644.
Unique Surround Trim and Pininfarina Body Interface
Pininfarina designed the 164 with crisp, aerodynamic body lines that make its glazed area entirely distinct from its Type Four sister cars—the Saab 9000, Fiat Croma, and Lancia Thema do not share this windshield. The 164 uses framed steel door apertures and welded steel A-pillars with a specific bonded installation. The glass provides zero accommodation for modern sensors: there are no camera mounts, rain sensors, or defroster wire grids built into the pane. The interior rear-view mirror mounts directly onto a pre-bonded bracket on the inner glass face.
The main challenge on the 164 involves the exterior perimeter mouldings and base seals (OEM 60509717 and gasket 60598485). The factory decorative trim strips secure along the A-pillars and roofline. After three decades of sun exposure, the original plastic retaining clips become exceptionally brittle and disintegrate upon removal. When original replacement moulding strips cannot be sourced, fitting a modern universal wrap-around rubber profile provides the necessary perimeter seal. At the bottom, the glass mates directly against the multi-piece plastic cowl panel assembly and standard twin-arm wiper cowl; maintaining a tight, leak-free seal here is vital to keep water from entering the cabin bulkhead and harming the interior climate control components.
Can I use a windshield from a Saab 9000 or Lancia Thema on my 164?
No. While the Alfa Romeo 164 was developed alongside the Saab 9000, Fiat Croma, and Lancia Thema on the shared Type Four automotive platform, Pininfarina gave the 164 a unique, steeply raked cowl and bespoke A-pillar dimensions. The glass from those platform siblings will not fit the 164 aperture.
Does the Alfa Romeo 164 windshield have an integrated radio antenna?
No, the windshield does not contain an embedded radio antenna wire. The 164 relies on an exterior fender-mounted power mast antenna or rear-window grid elements depending on the specific model year and trim package.
Are the windshields different between the 12-valve and 24-valve 164 models?
No. The 1991–1993 12-valve models (Base, L, S) and the 1994–1995 24-valve models (LS, Quadrifoglio) use the exact same windshield curvature, dimensions, and mounting aperture.
