Side Window Repair Advice - 63 Chrysler

Hopefully you will get an experts help but one tidbit that I happen to know is that in the 70's manufacturers used hot glue adhesives in the window attachments for some cars. Of course by now there may be better choices available.

No good online guide, no. I certainly hope you have a factory service manual for the car! If not, go get one right now! They are readily available from any of the literature vendors found in Hemmings.

DS

Daniel,

Yes, I have the factory service manual...It has a lot of information about adjusting the window mechanisms, weather stripping and such, but not so much general information about replacing the window glass or redoing it.

But, thanks for the suggestion,

Robert

I believe the stuff you want is "glass setting tape."

I'm not entirely following you here, you mean that they put silicone or similar in the guides *around* the window? (only one I could think would be present would be behind the vent window) i.e. part of the door not the window itself? New "fuzzies" should be readily available and if you're going to be working in this area you might as well just replace them while you're in there.

yes. Lacquer thinner works well too.

See above. The window ought to be set in its frame with rubber tape. Also it may be easiest to remove the window from the door entirely, this will involve removing the door panel. I have no experience with Chrysler hardtop/convertible windows but in my old Studebaker the stainless "frame" around the hardtop window is actually held together with small Phillips head screws that are only accessable with the window removed. I imagine this is why the PO tried to take a shortcut.

Maybe a junkyard would be your best bet, if you can find one with an unrusted window assembly. FYI generally hardtops and convertibles use the same window hardware, although again, I'm not familiar with your particular car so that may or may not be the case.

Might be easier if you do some of this disassembly work yourself and just take the window to the glass shop for a damage assessment, if you want to go that route.

no problem, and take my advice with a grain of salt as I admittedly am not familiar with your particular model car. Also I imagine you have more than one problem... I'd suggest removing the window regulator itself from the door and thoroughly inspecting it for wear at pivot points, missing/broken rollers (which have probably been reproduced at this date, try Year One for starters?) and other obvious issues. The window *should* roll straight up and down with minimal "slop" if everything is working correctly. (yeah, like mine do, I know I'm a total hypocrite but still... ask me sometime about piecing together some Lark hardtop window regulators with a welder and bits from a GT Hawk regulator... or better yet don't...)

BTW when you're done the glass will be an unholy mess, I generally clean them up first with lacquer thinner followed by some Bon Ami on a sponge and water, then finally with a strong ammonia/water solution. I hate replacing glass because of all the cleanup required afterward to actually get it to the point where you can see out of it.

good luck,

nate

I think you answered it well with the "glass setting tape"...Assuming the glass has four sides (top, left, right, bottom), the top, left and right have chrome trim that was applied with some black adhesive/caulk that has oozed out onto the window. I'm afraid they used the same stuff on the bottom where the glass attaches to the rollup mechanism. On a hot day, the glass will move in/out (towards the interior of the car, or towards the outside of the car) within the channel that it sits in (the channel being part of the rollup assembly). This movement is what I referred to as sagging in the channel. If the window sags towards the interior, then of course it doesn't seal against the top when raised. From what I can tell, the channel itself doesn't appear to be flexing inward, only the window within it.

I hope that's clearer.

Oh, and I already bought a new set of "fuzzies" (weather stripping door wipes) from Andy Bernhaum, so I'm set there :)

That was my plan...To remove the door panels where there are adjustment points (four I believe) for the window tracking. Then remove the glass from the assembly. Redo the chrome on the glass, then reattach the glass to the assembly, then readjust everything for proper tracking.

Good thought....I have a friend with a '62 Newport to part out....Maybe the mechanism was the same, although I'm afraid that between the hardtop and convertible, the rear side windows were different shapes. Maybe the bottom of the windows were still the same size.

Thanks heaps for the thorough and detailed response. I'll start researching the glass setting tape and see if it is a job I want to tackle.

Robert

Robert, I once worked at an American Motors dealership, and at that time, most of the glass was *bonded* to window lift mechanism by a special adhesive made by 3M. I remember having to take the glass and mechanism to a glass shop, since we did not do it at the dealer.

On many of the early 1960's cars that I worked on, the glass was held in place by bolts, with rubber or mylar washers on each side. These would sometimes loosen, and cause the sloppy operation that you described. I remember noticing that some of the *postless* cars had the metal trim that you describe. I was curious as to whether the trim was *crimped* on or held on with some adhesive.

Since most cars back then did not have A/C, the windows tended to get used more and wear out more often compared to now.

-Kirk Matheson

Thanks for the info, Kirk. I may take the car by an Auto Glass shop and see what they say. I don't want to make a bad situation worse by not knowing exactly what to do.

Robert

. . .

Heh heh! Careful with that lacquer thinner. Not saying don't use it, but it quickly dissolves some types of automotive paint. I still remember when I was much younger thinking it just might remove some bug guts from the hood of my first brand new car and watching in horror as I wiped a 6" diameter area on the hood all the way down to the primer in less than a second.

Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")

Yikes!

I have to admit, I'm a clean parts kind of guy. You should see the rear axle under my Lark... I've eaten off dirtier plates. When I work on something, I want it to have a uniform, painted (or not, as appropriate) grease/oil/dirt free surface when I'm finished. I mean, otherwise, someone might look under there and go "you swapped *that* dirty old thing in and didn't even bother to clean it up some?" and that would just be too embarassing for words. Therefore my two favorite chemicals in the whole world are lacquer thinner and Berkebile 2+2. However, your warning is indeed appropriate, as there are a few places where their use is not appropriate, as you found

nate