The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Window woes

Took the truck to a local eatery last night on our date night. When I closed the door I heard a loud “clank-thud” so I opened the door to look on the floorboard for what had fallen. I was baffled when there was nothing there. Got home and after getting out I tried to roll up the window and it would only move up about 2 inches. That’s when it dawned me...... that something had fallen off the window mechanism when I had closed the door. Does anyone have an idea about what it was that fell off and how hard it will be to fix? I’ll take off the upper and lower door access panels this evening to give a shot at repairing it. Thanks.

Usually when i slam the door and hear a clank-thud it is the window crank falling off. No so in your case. Hope its something as simple as a clip falling off. Good luck.

That’s exactly what I thought had happened too. Wish it had been that simple. 😆

Betting on the rear track. If I recall correctly, it has a clip at the upper end and a single screw into a bracket at the lower end. Either the screw came out or the bracket broke off and the track will be laying in the bottom of the door. This was the best picture of what I was talking about. tracksIt used to be that everybody sold them.

Greg, I took off the lower door access panel and this is what I found at the bottom of the door. It doesn’t look like the rear track you described, so what is it? It’s actually pretty flimsy and looks like it broke in the middle. Thin metal, and over 68 years rust and constant use contributed to it failing. I have no idea where this part goes or what it’s purpose is.

Looks like window track holder of some sort. Different than mine but I bet your pictures draw a good answer.

That is a jack handle for a Model T. You need to choose your friends more carefully...
Just kidding.
That is the front track. Picture #2 shows the folded over clip which grabs the bottom end of the glass channel.
You are going to have fun reattaching that back into place. One thing that you will have going for you is that the metal fatigued, broke off, and left the corners spot welded to the inside of the inner door sheet metal. This will allow you to find exactly where it goes.
You will need to completely gut the door of most parts which will come off. You should be able to see the 4 spotweld marks on the inner door sheet metal.
I would drill pilot holes for 2 self tapping screws between the pair of spotweld marks for the top and the bottom flanges of the part. Then you can use the the sheet metal screws to hold the part in place so that you can drill four 1/4" holes through the door panel and weld the part to the door panel from the outside of the door.
Working on doors doesn't get much more fun then this.
Carl

Thanks for the good news Carl. I’m encouraged. LOL

Anybody have a blow-up drawing or photo of the inside of a door you could share? I’d like to see what I’m going to be dealing with.

Thanks

You would need Antman with a tiny camera to do that. Maybe someone has a door with the skin removed that they can take a picture, I have a 52 door but it is totally different since it has a vent window.

Spent some time late yesterday afternoon trying to diagnose the problem with my driver side door. I took off the upper and lower door panels to gain access to the inside. With my head in the window opening, and looking straight down, I could see that the corrugated metal strip that goes around the window opening extends down deep into the door, and that the end closest to the door hinges had become entangled in the window scissor mechanism. I was able to untangle it by reaching in with my left hand to move it out and away, and then straight down out of the way of the scissor. I have no intention of trying to reinstall the mysterious metal part that fell out, but for now the window is working just fine. If that corrugated metal piece gets stuck in the scissor again I’ll find a way to just cut it off. I’ll remind myself to be careful each time I roll it up and down. By the way, we had a bad rain storm last night, so I was glad I got it fixed in time!

I think that every stovebolter needs a wireless borescope/camera. I have one that I got for about $25 online. The camera and cable is less than 1/4" in diameter. A guy could easily look inside a door without much trouble. It will connect to a smartphone (teeny picture) or a laptop.

You might find it easier to bolt the part back in to place than trying to weld it. As long as you don't mind seeing bolt heads on the inside of the door. Just because the factory welded it there, doesn't mean you have to.

You should reconsider reinstalling that window guide track. Without it, the front of the window is basically unsupported when rolled down, and eventually, it'll get jammed up. That's my take from looking at the pic that miraclepieco posted.

Well my, my...... thanks to Mr. Miraclepieco I have a *much* better understanding of where that mystery part came from. Since there are two pieces in the picture that look like the one that fell out of my door, and the one in the middle feels to still be intact, I’m going to guess it was the part to the far right that is attached to that corrugated metal strip that serves as a guide channel for the window. That’s probably why the corrugated strip got caught up in the scissor mechanism because it had nothing attached to it to keep it out of the way. I also now understand why that corrugated strip went so deep down in the door. Apparently it is to hold the window steady when it is rolled down. That way it won’t rock back-and-forth. Looks like there is an identical channel on the left side of the window, so I am hoping that will give it enough support to not allow much movement.

Thanks Miraclepieco for the picture. The cutaway view couldn’t have been more perfect!! I’ll be on the lookout for a cheap borescope camera. I can imagine one would come in handy in a few places on my truck, like while underneath the dash when I get ready to install my refurbished gauges.

thank you Miraclepieco for that inside door photo

Spotbiltxo,
what klhansen suggested i also second
there is very little clearance from the glass to the crank arms, and the glass will rattle against the round rivet hinges and leave marks on the glass.
both windows on my truck are damaged in this manner, my channel supports are still in place, however even with just the guide channel felt completely rotted away missing the glass moves enough to hit the assembly and rattle a deep scratched path in the glass over the years.
photos attached, i think i know which rivet in Miraclepieco's photo is responsible too (the mirrored driver side of coarse).
-s

2MT, I agree that the glass can rub on a pivot point and be damaged. In fact, there is already some visible rub related damage that has occurred over the last 68 years prior to this latest door fail. I think an easy solution will be to affix one of those round felt pads you see on furniture so it won’t scratch wood floors, or one of those self-sticking silicone bumpers you put on the inside surface of kitchen drawers or cabinet doors so they don’t bang when you close ‘em. I think either would prevent damage to the window as it wobbles in the door.

I would remove the door and fix it right. The spot welds will be visible on the leading edge of the door where it faces the hinge pillar of the cab. You should be able to place the part in the correct position since the broken off corners are still spot welded to the door. You can hold it in place with a self-tapping screw or two, then drill and weld it from the outside.