The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Window Channel Issues

Anybody having issues with the repo window channel and division bar channel for the TF trucks being to tight? The stuff I got seems to be to plush causing a lot of drag on the window...the felt is so thick it acts like a brake. The window will actually stay in any position with the regulator disconnected.

As I recall the original channel was just cloth lined...am I correct in my thinking?

Mike B

I have the same problem with my new window channel. It was a bear to get in and the window is hard to wind up and down. Complained to the supplier but no suggestions from them. The stuff I took out had the same material for a liner but not as thick.

I have noticed the same thing with the channel from Jim Carter, the repro sets are probably all the same. They are really hard to get the bend at the rear of the door right, seem to be overly stiff. I put new glass in mine and the windows are tight but do go up and down, I'm hoping it will loosen up at some point. My old channels were nothing but the metal in most places with very little fabric left. The old ones seemed to be way more pliable too.
Steve

My problem was with the front vertical channel in my 53 with vent windows. The rear and top were fine.

The replacement channel I used when I did my fire engine in 2005/06 (don't remember which vendor I got it from) is felt lined with NO wiskers at all. The window frame has a little wiggle room and the window goes up and down with ease using to fingers. The new stuff I just got has the window so tight I have to put a death grip on the crank just to get it to start moving...I think I'm going to wear the regulator out before I even get the truck on the road.

I'm going to contact another source tomorrow and see if I can get the non-wisker channel. I'll report my findings here.

Mike B

I haven't installed my new channels yet but they seem very stiff. Should I spread the channel apart before I install them?

Dustin

Background info, I have repo doors with repo glass and regulators.

When I install the vent window and frame the roll up window hits the back side of the door before the window is all the way up. It's like the roll up window frame is to big for the opening. This might be due to the extra thick felt in the center divide channel

I have odered a different channel from a different vendor and will see if that helps the window drag issue, then I will deal with the window size/fit issue.

This is the last main hurdle to finishing my truck...anyone else having issues with their TF door glass or is it just me???

Thanks,

Mike B

I had the same problem with the new window channels on my '53. They were almost impossible to roll up or down, even with one hand on the glass and the other on the crank. I sprayed the channels with silicone and they immediately rolled up and down like new car windows. Worked like a charm.

FWIW...I'm not sure if the windows are very similar on the TF trucks compared to the AD pickups.....one of my 52 windows would go about half way and then "lock down". In the end I found that the pattern slipped when the new glass was cut and the glass became more "square" than with the slight angle to the back edge. They cut me another and it rolls up and down nicely.
Could your glass have been cut wrong somewhere along its life?

Alvin,

That's a real possibility, the glass is in a steel frame and is also new repo. I have an old glass and frame I will try this week. Between the door, glass, channel and vent window assembly (all repo) there is a fittment issue...something is just not the right.

I did put Syl-Glide on the channel felt, it helped some, but the window hitting the top rear of the door before it's all the way up is a different issue. To many varriables...

Mike B

Ok, my doors are done. I ended up buying new channel from Restoration Specialties and Supply in Windber, PA...Channel #10E "Old Style" and it is WAY better than the channel from Classic Parts America. The RSS channel felt is not as thick as what CPA sold me and I believe it is a little wider giving the glass frame less friction.

Hope this helps the next guy...

Mike B

I bought the anti rattle kit from LMC for my 58 and it was so tight the window actually got stuck inside and would not budge. I took the dogs hair clippers and gave one side of the channel a hair cut. Just shaved the cats hair down a bit and now it works like a brand new window. Just enough drag for a tight fit going up and down using one hand.