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Installing quarter glass

39K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  wilmaya 
#1 · (Edited)
I posted a few weeks ago how to remove the quarter glass. Well I just finished reinstalling the passenger side glass and thought I'd let you know how that went. Took about an hour, not sure exactly as that d*** Ray called while I was right in the middle of it. :D

First I'll go back a week when I installed the chrome trim on the front edge of the glass. Searched the internet and called several glass shops, no luck finding the 'glass tape' originally used. The other option was urethane, the kind used for setting windshields. Napa carries it, about $20 for a caulk gun tube. Beware, unless you have an electric or air powered caulk gun this stuff is like trying to squeeze a rock through the gun. Also make sure the tube fits in your gun before you open it up. The tip screws on and the end is wider than most tubes of caulk. I have 3 guns and it only fit in one because of the wider end.

Basically just filled the chrome rail about half way with urethane then set the glass in. Don't worry too much about the mess if and when the urethane squeezes out. Once it's dried just use a cutter along the edge of the chrome and a razor paint scraper to peel it off the window. Any small bits left can be rubbed off the chrome and glass with your finger nail or rag. The top edge of the strip is open between the two sides, glass side and rubber seal side. The urethane will squeeze through to the rubber side where you don't want it. Make sure you cut it out of there before you install the window and insert the rubber seal. I left the rubber seal out until after I installed the window, just gives you a little more room while setting the glass down in the panel.

Now for installing the glass, first I taped the edges of the glass and the chrome strip so I wouldn't scratch them or the car. Oh, almost forgot, I scrubbed the guide rail down with Simple Green to remove all the old grease. Made it lot nicer during the install, didn't get grease all over my hands and the window.

Set the guide rail, the one you cleaned all the grease off of, down inside the body panel. Slide the window down into the panel a few inches. While holding the window lift the rail on to the nylon rollers. Now you need to hold the glass and rail with one hand, if you removed the jamb vent you can slide your hand in there. With the other hand you need to position the regulator lift arm to the correct spot and lift or drop or rotate glass and rail until the arm goes into the track.

Now while still trying to hold all of this mess with one hand, install the guide rail bottom bracket. Doesn't have to be tight, just enough to hold things up. Then install the bracket to the top of the panel, the one the top of the guide rail bolts to, then install bolts through bracket into guide rail.

Now you have to get things aligned so the window is straight with the front glass and the gap is correct. First start by getting the two windows in line with each other, top to bottom. Slide the bottom guide rail bracket towards the front or rear of car to get the vertical alignment then lightly snug it down. The washers have teeth so it won't move easily. Next slide the top of guide rail to the front or rear until you get the proper gap between the two windows. You may have to adjust the bottom again as the vertical alignment may have changed a little. Then of course you may have to fine tune the gap again. Last step is to adjust the bottom guide rail bracket so the window slides into the upper seal. Loosen the bolt inside the body panel that holds the guide rail to the bracket. Push the rail out or in so the window slides up into the seal properly. Install the upper window stop so you can't drive the window too far into the seal. Tighten everything down, remove tape, install rubber seal in chrome strip. Lube up the slides and you're done.

My wife is out of town and she has our camera. I'll try to find my son's camera and see if I can take some pics of the adjustment points. I expected the job to take a lot longer but it really wasn't bad at all. I should have done the other one too but it's pretty cold in the garage. Decided to have a beer and type this instead. :)


Found it. First pic is driver's side guide rail, top of rail on left. Fixed nylon guide on window, the one that does not turn slides down the center slot of guide rail from the top.

Second pic is bolt holding bottom of guide rail to panel. Slide this front or rear to align windows vertically.

Third pic is top guide rail adjusting bolts. Slide these front or rear to obtain proper gap between the windows.

Fourth pic is the finished job. Well almost finished, need to get out the Windex and clean the windows. It's not the best pic but gap is uniform top to bottom.
 

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#2 ·
I installed my '69 windows basically the same with the following exceptions: I loosely installed the lower bracket to the guide rail before lowering the guide rail into the body, leaving the guide rail unbolted to the body. I guided the window rollers onto the guide rail as I lowered the window glass into the body, then raised the rail as required to bolt it to the body. Having the Astro vent out of the jamb is almost a necessity IMO.
 
#5 ·
Hank it sounds great, I might just take my windows out in my vert and have you install them for me so I can sit and drink beer and watch you, hehe:D
 
#9 ·
Those videos Tom did on rearend bushing are great. I can't believe how fast he knocked those bushings out and installed new ones. Unfortunately I'm usually by myself when I'm working on the car and I'm no where as good as Tom.

I installed used glass, don't know where to go for new.
 
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