I was finally making progress putting the interior into my '68 Coupe restoration, but am now stuck. I can't button up the doors until I sort out the interior workings, and I could use some advice.
I bought new regulators when the body came out of paint ten years ago, and asked a glass shop to install them when they put in the new front and rear windscreens. I had to button up the car quickly to trailer it, and I now live across the country from the glass shop. Either the reproduction regulators (sadly, from the now deceased Paddock) were not the best, or the glass shop did shoddy work. Either way, the car was sealed for a February drag across the northern half of America, and the windows rarely rolled up and down during the car's ten years of reassembly in the garage.
But now that the car is almost road ready, here's the problem. When I roll the windows up or down, the ball shaped studs at the end of the regulator arms occasionally pop out of the plastic rollers in the window or door tracks. It seems like the regulator arms themselves are shaped incorrectly, and as the window moves up or down the bend in the arms tends to pull the arm away from the roller track.
The passenger side is not as bad, only the rear regulator arm pops out of the roller in the track at the bottom of the window glass. The driver's side is much harder to roll (more resistance) and both the regulator arm at the rear bottom of the window glass AND the short arm that rolls in a track bolted to the rear, inner door structure pop out.
I'm thinking I should bend the arms toward their respective tracks. My plan is to allow them to pop out, then with the arm free grab the center of the "X" of the regulator and bend each arm end toward it's track. I think this will apply positive pressure to keep the ball fitting at the end of the regulator arm seated in the plastic roller, and the roller in the track.
My question then: is this a good idea/recommended fix? Or will bending the arms mess up the geometry of the regulator making it even harder to roll the windows up and down? Am I missing parts or fittings that keep the ball fitting seated in the rollers?
Any suggestions for keeping the regulator arms in the rollers in their tracks would be most appreciated. Once I fix this disconnect problem and hunt down some annoying door rattles I can put on the door panels and move on to seat upholstery.
Thanks.
I bought new regulators when the body came out of paint ten years ago, and asked a glass shop to install them when they put in the new front and rear windscreens. I had to button up the car quickly to trailer it, and I now live across the country from the glass shop. Either the reproduction regulators (sadly, from the now deceased Paddock) were not the best, or the glass shop did shoddy work. Either way, the car was sealed for a February drag across the northern half of America, and the windows rarely rolled up and down during the car's ten years of reassembly in the garage.
But now that the car is almost road ready, here's the problem. When I roll the windows up or down, the ball shaped studs at the end of the regulator arms occasionally pop out of the plastic rollers in the window or door tracks. It seems like the regulator arms themselves are shaped incorrectly, and as the window moves up or down the bend in the arms tends to pull the arm away from the roller track.
The passenger side is not as bad, only the rear regulator arm pops out of the roller in the track at the bottom of the window glass. The driver's side is much harder to roll (more resistance) and both the regulator arm at the rear bottom of the window glass AND the short arm that rolls in a track bolted to the rear, inner door structure pop out.
I'm thinking I should bend the arms toward their respective tracks. My plan is to allow them to pop out, then with the arm free grab the center of the "X" of the regulator and bend each arm end toward it's track. I think this will apply positive pressure to keep the ball fitting at the end of the regulator arm seated in the plastic roller, and the roller in the track.
My question then: is this a good idea/recommended fix? Or will bending the arms mess up the geometry of the regulator making it even harder to roll the windows up and down? Am I missing parts or fittings that keep the ball fitting seated in the rollers?
Any suggestions for keeping the regulator arms in the rollers in their tracks would be most appreciated. Once I fix this disconnect problem and hunt down some annoying door rattles I can put on the door panels and move on to seat upholstery.
Thanks.
Let us know what you discover.
