The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Doors 48 window channel

The new product that replaces the old metal top channel,
Does it secure with small screws or just glue?
When shaping it to fit the door frame it really wants to kink or buckle when making the 90 degree bend at the rear of the door, any tricks?

Jim,

You and jimbo 24 are are the same path. Watch this thread and you should get an answer soon......

The PO of my truck used weather strip adhesive and seems to be holding just fine. Some have used small screws too. The corners of the window channel on my truck take a slow continuous bend through the corners. I can see where this is problematic. I'm sure an experienced voice will jump into the discussion with some solutions.

It does tend to kink, but once you get it into place, you can get the kinks out with a big screw driver. The congregations in the metal makes this possible. I use tiny screws where ever they are needed.
Carl

OK, here is how it worked out for me.
First door had the problem of the fixed (hinge side) lower channel broken off. Had found it in the bottom when I stripped the doors for painting.
Cleaned it up and bent up a piece of the same gauge sheet metal in the break so that it was a channel that fit snugly over the outside of the original, about 3" long. JB Quick to hold it in place. Drilled a clearance hole for a #6 screw in the flange where the spot welds used to be and dry fitted it in place. Was able to just fit a cordless drill through the lower hole, and some pain and strain drilled the thread hole in the support for a #6 sheet metal screw.
Removed everything, JB weld in the rest of the support channel and back of the flange and assembled it.

The window channel is formable and bendable, but it is not flexible. Once I thought of it like copper tube and not molding, things went well.
I straightened out the kinks with pliers and started with a straight piece.
Started on the hinge side. Bent it gently and stuck both ends down inside the door. Slid the hinge side down the track and under the tab. put a #4 flat head SS shee tmetal screw just below the start of the first bend (#43 drill, 1/8" hole in the new channel).
Found the best way to form the bends smoothly was to take a piece of wood the thickness of the glass frame and about 1" wide and round the corners just a bit. Use the stick to press the new channel into the form of the corners against the door frame. It forms well and by pushing on the bottom of the inside of the channel, it is less likely to kink or roll over to 1 side.
Once I got the rear bend as good as it was going to get,I lifted the channel out of the door enough to slide it down latch side track and under the tab. The piece was a bit too long and caused it to bow out of the track. Removed it from the door and cut about 3/8" off, now fits fine.Re-installed it, then slid the window frame into place. Installed the inner window molding (inner felt wiper installed with the same #4 screws instead of messing with staples)and pushed the window to the top the check fit. Lowered the window and added one screw in the top somewhere around the middle (look before you start, some places better to drill than others), and one part way down on the back.
Done. Have to admit it isn't perfect. Because it twists a bit from being worked, the reveal is not even all the way around.