The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors I can't get my cab windlace on... ugh

After an hour and a half of trying to get the cab windlace on my '50 pickup, I finally gave up. I usually will not admit defeat with anything, but this did it.

I have the kind of windlace retainer that doesn't use adhesive- it's just a "u" shaped groove.

The groove is clean (it was media blasted) and painted (very little paint in the groove). It only had two crimps in it, which I straightened out.

It is installing at about one inch per twenty minutes... I have tried pure dish soap, very soapy water, installing dry.... but it's simply not going in next to the dash, even though I trimmed it at he dash edge.

I'm sure they didn't spend this much time at the factory.. I have nylon window installing tools that I have been using, along with a couple of screwdrivers. The only thing that seems to work is to apply very soapy water on it, and apply a sizable amount of force against the top of the windlace as I pry one tiny piece of the rubble into the metal groove at a time. Worked fine until I got up next to the dash, and then I cannot get any pressure behind the windlace in that area.

Any tips or tricks will be greatly appreciated!

Dave
Is your windlace new and the rubber supple?
I had a recent similar experience installing a windshield rubber gasket. Despite reading numerous testimonials praising Steele Rubber products, I trudged onward using the new gasket a previous owner bought. Finally, got the thing installed and about 10 days later discovered it has split. A Steele replacement was ordered and it installed in less than an 45 minutes. Soapy water or other similar was not needed, only the plastic pry tool.
My lesson learned was to bite the bullet, pay the extra for a quality product and save hours of frustration and wasted time.

Take a short piece of the excess windlace (they give you extra) and give it a test run through the full length the channel. This will show you where the tight spots are. You can use a screwdriver to open up the channel. Don't overdo it or the windlace will pop out later.
Get some Astroglide (less embarrassing to buy than K-Y).

Interesting.... I have seen two methods for installing the windlace- pulling it through with lubricant, and laying it next to the channel and stuffing it in the groove a little bit at a time.

Sparky, it is a new windlace, although not from Steele. It does not appear to be oversized at all (unlike my driver side vent seal, which will not fit at all). If I contour to fail with this windlace, I will pick up another from Steele.

Carl, I was thinking the opposite- that Astroglide would be more embarrassing...lol Great idea using an extra piece to find the tight spots. I wonder what the factory used to slide it in- Dapper Dan?

Thank you both- this gives me more to work with.

I second 52Carl's advice on using a short length of windlace, just an inch or two long. You will discover there are 5 or 6 pinch spots on each side and you should open them up with a screwdriver or other tool. I think at the factory the channel was wide open, easy to slide in the windlace, and then after it was in place, a half dozen wacks with a mallet it was secured. If you don't find all the pinch spots you will never get it in. My experience is with a 50 Chevy COE built in Kansas City.

Also, there is a gap in the channel at the top rear, so start one end at the top rear to go down the backside and the other end start forward. It also helps to have another pair of hands to push/pull the windlace through and keep it lubed with that lubricant I know you keep in the medicine cabinet.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

Kent

Don't just lube the channel part. When it comes to the flap that will go past the dash, put a little lube there.

In another lifetime, when I was an electrician's helper, one of the first things I was taught on a circuit run was that, if I was on one end pushing the wire in to the conduit, while the other guy was pulling the fish, the job would be so much easier than one guy just pulling the fish.

As you are pulling one one end, push the rubber in on the other end. You might be twisting your body a little while you're reaching in the door opening, But pushing definitely helps. If it gets stuck, stop, find out why, address and continue. If you gave to remove to start over, do that!

Always keep in your mind that, if some guy or two in the factory could install this rubber all day long, you can certainly do this one off job. That factory guy wasn't born knowing how to do this. The only thing he has on you is that, he got better and faster by doing it all day long, day after day, job after job.

Excellent post by Mark. Thanks

Thanks for all the tips guys- I managed to get the driver side windlace in by myself...pulling and pushing and guiding, and now my hands are killing me...! I used pliers to pull down on the end of it (the end I was going to trim off). Hope these things outlive me, because I never want to do it again- I'd rather do four windshields than another windlace!

It really would go faster with four hands, but I've only got two right now. You guys were right about small imperfections in the channel holding things up. When I do the passenger side, I'm going to invest some serious time inspecting and prepping the channel before I start.

I just finished my install. I pressed it in all the way around. Tried to slide it but didn't think it was going to slide through the corners.

My method was to use a flathead screwdriver. If you press the rubber in with the screwdriver at an angle that is around 45 degrees to the slot. It goes right in without too much trouble. I started pressing it in at an angle closer to perpendicular with the slot but that was actually not the best angle of attack.

Still not the most fun

Don

When I did mine, I slid in the front track, slid in the back track, then pressed in the top track.

I got one of them in- a combination of sliding and pressing. Yes, not fun... next time I paint one of these trucks I will mask the channel so that no high-build primer gets in there!

Just did my 50 a couple of months ago it was defiantly difficult but with spreading the crimp areas back out and applying copious amounts of KY personal lubricant to both the channel and on the windlass it was a work out but no more calories burnt up than the other use for KY!!!!

Dang! I'm just getting ready to do this and I was hoping it would be fun and easy!

Started my windlace today. This is a total BS job. I've done headliners, windshield and quarter glass installs and this is the bottom of the friggen barrel. I'm out of swear words and pulled what I had done out and going to regroup another day.

I still have my other side to do, and I cant seem to bite the bullet and just do it...

I installed my winlace about three weeks ago. It certainly is not the most enjoyable job that I have done. I must have been a bit fortunate. Taking the advice of you guys that have done it before was very helpful. A bottle of Dawn dish soap was very helpful. First off, I ran my finger along the track. Feeling for the pinched factory pinch spots.Using a flat tip screwdriver, I widened the pinched spots. First I slid the windlace down the track, at the back of the door. Then, I slid the windlace down the front pillar of the door. It goes against what you want to do, but I found if you pulled it back up the track a couple of inches, that it will then pull back down farther than you were. Also pushing the windlace from the top first will put some slack in it, then pull the slack out. Taking the advice of one Bolter, that said, don't even try to slide the top part into the track. Use a large screwdriver, with at least a 1/2 inch blade on it, to push the top lip of the windlace into the track. Any smaller blade seems to want poke a hole in the windlace, versus pushing into the track. I would say that each side took about an hour. Hope this helps a fellow 53 3100 owner.

Good luck,
Rugo

Good info, will try that tomorrow and report back.
Thanks Rugo

Well using the advice of others produced positive results.
Both Windlace are in.
The short piece of windlace run through the track as a trial is critical, was able to locate several pinch points. As someone else has said, I believe the factory worker after installing it must of rapped a rubber hammer on the rubber in several places along the track dimpling it enough to lock it in.
The other, being to install the rear by sliding it down first then using a wide flat blade screw driver or small pry tool to force the windlace in the track in small increments on the top and front parts of the track.
Trimming the windlace around the dash was required to get it in.
And finally soapy water in a spray bottle was needed.
Still after all that, my thumbs and finger tips are sorer than hell.

Instead of trimming around the dash, I just used more lube and let everything slide past.

I must be a glutton for punishment. I remember doing my windlace twice. Pain in the rear but I wasn't going to let it beat me.

Yeah, it was a test of determination and wits, no doubt. Once in, I felt like King for the day though.

thanks to all for the advice . I will attempt this on my 50 gmc .

Looking back on the entire cab off restoration, 2 jobs really sucked: 1) Windlace installation 2) sideglass in the door

Dang! Back when I did my windlace, I almost fell asleep. It was way too easy. But I will say, I did use the small piece method to run through the entire channel looking for tight spots.

I will add some info I learned the hard way a few months ago in doing the window sweeps on my ‘46, in case it helps. I had to try rubber products from two different vendors, plus use some of the tricks others reported previously. Those tips included cleaning and widening the channel, soapy water, then recrimping the metal using flat nose sheet metal pliers.

I started off using the Steele Rubber product, mostly because I’d had really good success with the windshield gasket and many others have reported the products to be superior. Well, It fit the channel ok, but it was too wide and the windows would not roll up or down effortlessly or smoothly. In fact, the rubber was binding. I had a short segment of the original saved for reference and noticed the width was different. Out of curiosity and mostly frustration, I ordered a replacement kit from Jim Carter’s. There was a .25” width difference between the two products, the JC Rubber is 3/8” wide vs 5/8” for the other. Once installed the windows roll up and down much easier, but the sweeps don’t touch the glass well enough IMO to be particularly effective in sealing out moisture.

Norcal Dave

You've probably resolved the issue by now. I encountered the same time consuming issue installing mine. After a month of 8 hour days I finally got mine on!

Yikes!

My hands were sore by the time I got mine in.

it's a pita for sure! I used Steele seals, and 3M adhesive, then clamped and taped the heck out of my passenger side doorseal. Left it that way overnight just to make sure. And even though I pulled and stretched the corner bend section, about mid summer I looked over there and noticed the rear upper corner had come unglued and was 'folding out' from the corner. the top and back sides were still ok, but a few inches of the corner track had sort of peeled downward with the curve of the door. Not terrible, but not right. All I can think of is how much of a pain it was putting it in, so it sits there like that up in the corner of the cab, like s spider in it's web, staring at me. But the kind of spider that isn't hurting anyone, and isn't noticeable if I don't look higher than my line of vision. Maybe next Spring???