The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Doors vent window division bar

Hello current working on 1954 3100 door glass removed vent window . Cleaned repainted have got new rubber seals and divison bar or called run post. the old divison bar was riveted too the back of vent window thru the divison bar felt were door glass rides any advise or tricks replacing these items THANK YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Most vendors have the rivets for these. They can be peened over easily by putting a piece of 3/16 bar stock in a vise to set the run channel over and act as an anvil, then use a roll pin punch if you have one or a starting punch and ball pein to set them. An extra pair of hands to steady everything is helpful. John

The Filling Station sells the whole set of rivets, including the pivot rivet along with a setting tool. That's the way to go rather than trying to jury rig something to peen them over.
Vent window rivet kit

Are you talking about the felt runner which the door glass rides in? I don't use anything to hold that in place. I just make sure that it is perfectly straight. New ones fit the groove pretty snug. Mine is a '52 and I don't recall any rivets there.

Those are the type rivets I was referring to. The run channel can be glued in but I prefer to rivet. The vent frame does have to be securely riveted to the division bar. Pop rivets will sort of work, but they are usually a tad loose. The punch the Filling Station shows looks like it will hold up better than the ones that came with the kits I've used before.

52 Carl

I have replaced the side windows on a 51 with new glass. Seems to be the same thickness as the old glass. The old felt runners were really bad so I also replaced the felt runner in the division bar that runs the entire depth of the door. Have done this three times with different parts from different vendors. They all seem to be too small. Very tight on the glass. As you know getting the vent window assy in with the glass rolled down is a bear. I have gotten the vent window assy to mount properly with all the screws etc and the external rubber correct but I have not had any luck with any of the felts used. They all seem too tight. Very tight to roll up and down. Tried them on the bench and can hardly slide the glass thru them. Any tricks to this...

I used Classic Parts for my 51 (but 53 doors) and they fit very well. I used the rivet tool and it turned out.

Not sure if we are talking about the same parts. What you describe is it on the vent window side of the division bar? this is the piece that uses rivets.
I am having problems with the 32 inch piece on the main window side of the division bar. I have tried 4 different suppliers with no good results. The glass is 1/4 (.250) thick and when the "felt strip" is installed it closes down some. The glass hardly fits at all and can not slide. It appears that the glass is too thick. If I measure the thickness of the glass in the vent window it is (.234) thick. A full 1/64 of an inch thinner (.015) then the main window. I am stuck.... Do I have the wrong glass?

Roy, you are correct. The old USA glass was 1/4. The Chinese glass is 6 MM. (.236 with tolerance). It's not the glass thickness that is your problem. I suspect the distance across the opening/across the run channels is "squeezing" the glass too tight. You have to be sure the channels are tightly "seated" against the division bar and the door on the other side. You have to study your installation of those run channels. Also those rivets everyone is talking about could maybe stick out on the side window side and cause the run channel to squeeze side window.

That's not the problem. If I have the vent assy on the bench (Not in the door) with the felt runner mounted in the division bar. I can not pass a piece of glass thru the felt track. Like the glass is too thick. The rivets are below flush so they are not the problem. It is like either the felt track is too narrow or the glass is too thick.
Has anybody used the tracks from STEELE ?

Roy, I hate to continue on this because you have Hijacked the thread. This is not kosher because it starts two different streams of conversation. Cross talk, confusion and distracts from the original posters question. Please start your own post.

Steele is top of the line. You may have ordered wrong or they delivered wrong. However I see something weird on their site. You can order the run channel in "bulk" and it is said to be for sides and top. A person could interpret that to mean both sides and top. Which wold include division bar? It says order the 6' if using without vent window, Don't know what that means. Anyway it is .625 wide.

Their actual division bar run channel is .437 wide. That is a big difference. I don't have an AD truck so this may make sense. Or not. Don't know, just FYI. You mention 32" so that means you did order the division bar run channel and I guess you also ordered the bulk run channel.

Why are you focusing on Steele if you purchased from 4 different vendors?



If you purchased run channel from 4 different vendors and none works, you have something bad wrong. 1/4 glass is OK. So that leaves a bend or wrong division bar..or you didn't remove the old one completely and left the old metal in there.

See you on the flip side.

Bartamos, 1950 and earlier were a one piece window, no vent wing. And the Steele description actually doesn't make sense as the earlier glass had their own frames? It would only make sense if somebody was eliminating the vent wing to put a one piece glass conversion.

Where did you get your glass? I am betting bartamos' last nickel that your glass is too thick. Four vendors can't be wrong when no one else is having the same issue.

My windows barely moved after installing original windows with new channels. I thought that the winders would break when trying to crank them up and down. After spraying the channels with silicone spray, they moved much easier!

1. Quote from Roy: "The glass is 1/4 (.250) thick and when the "felt strip" is installed it closes down some."

2. You are correct that four vendors can't be wrong.........so hence my "two bit" explanation about division bar being damaged or old run channel not removed.

3. Gord is right about glass being tight after a window restore. It will loosen up after awhile but this is hard to imagine: From Roy: "If I have the vent assy on the bench (Not in the door) with the felt runner mounted in the division bar. I can not pass a piece of glass thru the felt track."

4. For now I will have to lean towards Gord's comment as I have had this also...but.....but.........Reserve the right to be right in no. 2.