The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Windlace Installation

I;m having problems installing wind lace in a chev 49 1/2T cab. I can't get the rubber into the channel. It looks like the rubber wind lace should slip into the channel and slide around - not a chance of that. I can get perhaps 12 in to slip in but that's it. What do you use to compress the wind lace "t" to push into the channel. any help or suggestion would be appreciated thank you in advance Chevhelper

hi helper......ive been there too, lots of soapy water,,wd-40 ,,or some other slippery stuff. lay it out in the sun for a while,, an extra set of hands helps alot too.(cuss words and patience)

Make sure the factory crimps in the channels that held it in place are opened up. I put the windlace through the top portion first with both ends hanging down and then looped the ends up and pulled them down to the floor boards from the open spaces towards the top. This makes so you are not trying to pull through two 90 degree bends. Good luck.

I opened up the channel a little larger than factory. I took a bolt with a head on it that was a little larger than the channel. Then take a hammer and pound on the bolts stem with the head in the slot. The head of the bolt will force the channel to widen. Slip your windlace in and then go back and crimp a few places to make sure the windlace doesn't pop out. Take a look at my site with the '51. You can't tell that I widened the track. The other way was way to much for me. Cecil...........

Also found it helped to cut a bevel on the rubber parts that slide into the channel. Or at least it seemed to help!

I unscrewed the retainer strips then removed and derusted, primed and painted them. They were pretty rusted on my old 49 gmc anyway.
Then I laid them on the ground, clamped the windlace to the retainers with spring clamps. Then I drilled the windlace through the screw holes, and screwed it onto the retainers, working all the way around the retainers with the clamps. The rubber held the screws in place, and it was easy to screw the whole assembly back into the door frames. The only minor thing to watch for was allowing for right spacing between the front and back retainers for the headliner retainer brackets.

You could also use some sort of silicone spray to help lubricate the channel. That and a lot of good old elbow grease and you got it in. Just be sure to have all your painting done before using silicone.