The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Doors Window Channel Bracket - 1947 3104

First, thanks to the Bolter that cut open this door and made the picture available for discussion purposes....

Second, I'm missing the lower portion of the window channel bracket as indicated with the red arrow (about six inches). The window channel actually connects to this bracket.

The window has worked fine for almost ten years; however, it came out of the channel this summer, since it's loose at the bottom. It's not a big job to put it back in, but why not just fix it? Anyone that's had the pleasure of working inside these doors knows how much fun it can be.

Any ideas as to how I might repair this window channel without cutting the door skin open?

This is an old thread but I am currently wresting with the same situation on my 49 3/4 ton. The driver side window popped out of the track. When I removed the window the lower half of the front channel guide was laying in the bottom of the door. The whole thing was originally spot welded together and to the door frame. The U-shaped bracket at the bottom is still spot welded to the frame but the spot weld attaching the channel to the bracket is broken.

I have ordered a replacement assembly from Chevs of the 40s (item# 3685369). It is a bolt together/bolt on kit that includes the channel, the U-shaped bottom bracket and mounting screws. Mounting the top of the channel will be a snap because that area is accessible from the window opening. The bottom part is the problem. Since the bottom bracket is still securely spot welded to the doorframe it would be nice to just bolt the bottom of the channel to it instead of using the replacement bracket from the kit. That bracket is in pretty tight quarters with limited visibility. Has anyone else figured out how to drill holes in that bracket for the channel mounting holes?

baldilocks - I believe the intent with the kit from Chev's of the 40's is to drill out the spot welds holding the original U-shaped channel standoff bracket from the outside front door edge face. Then mount the replacement bracket with screws into the J-nuts supplied for the brackets 4 corners through those same holes. Then you can attach the lower end of the new channel to that bracket with the other J-nuts and screws and upper end as originally designed.

The inside of door access port is definitely not big enough to get most drills and an operators hand in there to try and drill out the original welds between the U-bracket and lower channel piece.

Thanks, Dan. I totally agree. Drilling out the spot welds for the standoff bracket is the only option. I barely had enough room inside the door to grind of the spot welds on what was left of the upper portion of the channel. The spot welds line up pretty well with the holes in the lower bracket in the kit.

BTW, my 49 was originally belonged to my grandma. It's been a labor of love getting it back on the road and keeping it going.

Steve

Steve - Sounds like you got things fixed up. Glad to hear that and the bit of family history of your truck. My '51 was my Grandfathers (who lived his life in Spokane) and even when it gives me grief trying to work on it, I wouldn't give it up for anything. A labor of love indeed!