The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Three window to five window? This is so briliant, I scare myself LOL

I jsut emailed someone who asked how to do this. I think what I came up with is so briliant, I wanted to share it with the Stovebolt page. :)This is how I would do it. And I must tell you I think it is quite ingenious.

I would cut with a die grinder with a cut off wheel about an inch away from the corner windows on the five window cab. Make sure that you are on the flat area. So make it about an inch outside the rounded area. Let me make myself clear. We are talking a cut with a 1/32nd inch wide cut off wheel that is going around the outside of the corner windows up on the flat area about an inch or so. Make this a nice even cut using masking tape as a guide.
Then separate the inner metal panel from the five window cab. You could do that by grinding out the spot welds using a cut off wheel on a die grinder. Or drill them out with a spot weld driller. On the rear center window you could drill or grind them out on the outside being you will not be using that roof. On the bottom and sides at the door post you can do the same. Just make a cut up the post on the inside of the door jamb. Then from the inside where the headliner would go and down under the inner metal panel so that you can remove the metal panel WITH the outer window area that you previously cut out. Now, grind or drill the spot welds on the inside of the post to remove that metal off the inner panel.
You now should have the inner panel (actually, panels, it is made of three pieces with a seam going between each window) just as Chevy had made to install inside the cab, but with the ring of outer sheet metal around the corner windows.

DO NOT cut those spot welds around the corner windows, leave the ring of the outer skin on the. Now, make a pattern of the holes where you cut the corner windows out of the five window cab. Transfer the pattern to the three window cab and make a line ABOUT ONE INCH INSIDE OF IT. In other words, make the hole about one inch smaller around than the first one you cut. Now, remove the inner metal panels on the three window. This will be done all on the inside of the cab drilling or grinding so as to cut the welds without any damage of the back of the cab. Remember, you won't be using the panels so you can destroy that panel. Once it is out, trial fit the five window panel. When you have it fitting well you can screw it in or clamp it till you trim the holes around the windows. I suggest that you have it screwed in VERY well so it doesn't move. Trim the holes so they are about only 3/8" or so smaller than the piece around the outside of the quarter windows that you cut off the cab (that is still attached to the inner panel).

You now are ready to prepare the panel for welding. You can put a flange on the edge of the hole so the metal is flush, but I think that I would just let it stay the way it is, the inner panel will flex enough to take up the .030 inch or so in extra metal.

There you go, I think this would be an awesome way to get the job done.

Very clever, I like it.

I know that some of this may be a little foggy so I thought I would post a few photos to clear it up.
The photo of the window is showing how you would cut around the window. This is a VERY rough line, you would spend more time and make a nicer line to cut. That area around the window with the wavy lines would stay on the inner panel when it is removed.
The other photo is of one of these panels that I have removed. This is of course a three window, but the five window would come out the same. The only difference being that little piece of the outer skin of the corner window in the other photo would be hanging on to this panel. You then would remove the inner panel of the three window and cut the holes in the back of the cab where the windows will go. Cut them small at first then trimming them down after the fivewindow inner panel has been trial fit. Install the five window inner panel and weld the lip of the corner window around the hole you have cut in the three window cab. The Center window will stay the same. You just drill out the spot welds as I have done here on this panel. Then spot weld or plug weld the five window panel around the center of the three window cab just as Chevy did it all those years ago.

[img]http://members.aol.com/goodstuff53/window.jpg[/img]

[img]http://members.aol.com/goodstuff53/rearpanel.jpg[/img]

With all this talk about turning 3's into 5's let me ask about the glass. Where does one get good, clear curved windows for the corners? Are these available new somewhere? All that I have seen in salvage yards are pitted, fogged or scratched.

PRW

As far as I know, new cab corner windows are not being produced. Used ones are available through Chevy Duty, etc. If you can find used ones with only minor scratches (that won't catch your finger nail) you could always get a glass polishing kit--Eastwood has one that I used to take minor pits and scratches out of the windshield of my '56. Takes some time but works as long as you don't have to buff too deep.

Good luck.

I have seen numerous good curved windows for these cabs. . . seems like at least a couple of pairs a month on ebay. I pick them up for $25 - $45 / pair when no one else bids. MT has knowledge of repops in clear and two levels of tint. in other words . . . keep your eyes open for them and you will be surprised at how many pairs you will come up with in only a few months time. Good luck!

One question on the 3 to 5 window modification. Why remove and relace all three interior panels when the two corner panels are the same in both truck styles? It seems that it would be easier to weld a "corner" window interior panel into the truck then use it to locate the placement for the exterior window frame. Carefully cutout the outside and butt weld the donor window frame in its place.

Glad to hear somebody has had success with used corner glass...but every pair of corner windows I've found at swap meets or on Ebay has at least one piece scratched badly. Polishing can help some, but will cause distortion if you have a deep scratch. So... as part of a major re-furb on my truck, I popped for a brand new set from The Glass House in San Dimas, CA . They are beautiful quality, but pricey at about $275 a pair. They are made in several tints so I was able to match the rest of the cab glass. Very nice folks to deal with, and I like the idea of supporting a vendor willing to make the investment in a product that's never going to be a huge seller. They make a number of other interior products and will send a free catalog on request.

new cab corner windows are availible, but their not cheap. www.streetrodglass.com ph.909-789-8870 $225 or The Glass House 909=592-5099 last I knew theirs was $250. Don't know about street rod glass but the glass shop has it in clear or 2 or 3 tints

sadams, I see your point. The problem is the way the three panels are welded together. These welds are hidden. So you could either do a lap weld along the seam on the edge of the corner panels, or replace the hole thing.
Think about it, what is the difference between drilling out a few dozen more spot welds to remove the inner panels in one piece. As opposed to that weld along the seam of the panel, I feel the spot welds would be much easier. That would also produce a cleaner job. There would be no alignment to speak of, the windows would fall into place, perfectly.

Plus, you can't do much of a butt weld on that window "frame" outside, because the inner panel is there. You can't get behind the weld for any alignment or hammer welding. Besides, the plan I have is for someone else to do it, not me. Some people may have the skills to butt weld something like that, but lap welding is much easier.

Martinsr, I see your point about using the 3 interior panels and it makes sense especially when you have the 5 window donor cab. In my case I am hoping the get the parts shipped in from out of state. And I think that I can do a good job of joining the panels either while the center panel is still in the truck or I will take it out then spot weld all three together.

Since I do my own welding, my plan for the outside frame piece is to weld some tabs on the back side of each frame to help hold them in place then MIG weld the frame in using butt welds. Then grind and bondo the surface. If all goes well this could be easier than replacing the whole cab.

Sadams, if you can get the corner windows and the entire side inner panels shipped from out of state, you could just as easily have the whole rear section of the cab shipped. Have them cut it right below the body line on the rear of the cab and across the center of roof.
If you have to do the sides alone, think about lap welding the inner panel in, that way you won't have to remove the center panel.

Martinsr, Thanks for the help, I'll try and document this project although, it will have to wait until this summer. Thanks again.

Go to the bookstore and get a copy of Tom Brownell's "How to Restore Your Chevrolet Pickup."

On pages 127 - 134 they give a pretty neat procedure on how to make a 5 window cab that sounds pretty reasonable.

After thinking about MARTINSTR's approach, his might be easier if your door gaps are all right, ect.

Martin the pictures you posted are no longer available. Can you email them to me?

Anyone know if anyone has tried this approach?

That was a hundred and fifty years ago (well not really but close) and I have no idea where the photos are or what they were even of.

Brian

I remember now. The first photo was simply of a roof with a line drawn around the window, about an inch or so on the outside of the window "hole". The other photo was the inner panel removed and on the ground. That was all there was to it.

Brian

Corner glass $110/pair here, http://www.bowtiebits.com

I just spent some time studying my 3-window cab, 5-window cab and my 5-window cab back trying to think through what this would really look like if I started cutting.

First thing I see is that my cab back which is from a '47 has some panels my '49 5-window cab does not. Using the '47 will mean some cuts that are not described here. Oh well...

I can see that planning the overlap approach around the corner windows probably simplifies things some. Rather than butt-welding those edges perhaps drilling the outer panel and welding through the hole might be a workable approach.

My thought right now is that I can't really make the donor parts worse than they are as I start. If I am successful cutting loose the parts I need from the '47 donor I could probably expect the rest of the project to be successful also.

Get those first cuts right on the donor and I can decide then if I want to start cutting a good solid cab apart.

I took a bunch of pictures of the '47 cab back and '49 5-window. I'll take more when I actually start on this project. I'm not going to cut anything on the '54 3-window until I'm sure this will work.