Door Qtr Window Rubber Seal Fitment

[sj21]

Having problems trying to install qtr window glass in doors, with new rubber weather strip. The glass will not seat far enough into the aluminum frame to assemble the rest of the door. Have tried 2 different suppliers for the weather strip. They have no suggestions or won't respond with any help.
Anyone have this problem and have suggestions to overcome it? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

(It's a 1973 JPS, if that makes any difference.)

[Lou Drozdowski]

sj21...
I feel your pain, as I have been down this road. The first question is what supplier did you use, I ordered a full set from R&D that did not work, then got another set from Banks which were better but had to modify to fit.

Since the 1/4 gasket is three pieces...bottom edge,front 45 degree, rear(vertical)...

I'm assuming from your description there may be too much material at the forward miter point...where the bottom edge meets the leading 45 piece. This may be why the glass won't seat properly. Carefully remove some rubber from the lower portion of both pieces where it rests in the frame channels.

By the way...It was a four handed job and a pain in the ass...plenty of fingers a few thin plastic wedges did the trick. Once you get the front in, you can slide the vertical piece last with plenty of lube.




   

[4129R]

I have just done this very job, with a new vertical rubber seal on both doors and new V rubbers on 1 door. 

You need to hold the opening window aluminium frame in place with the 3 pop rivets, so the ally frame is a tight fit to give enough room for the triangular frame to fit.

Fit the 3 rubbers on the glass, then carefully put the frame into the door easing the rubbers inside the door over the fibreglass with a flat blade screwdriver.

When the two thick rubbers are in place externally and more important internally, you can ease the vertical rubber part into place, using a flat blade screwdriver to get the rubber into position. It takes a while, but when you have eased the rubber over the glass properly, the rubber should fit up against the vertical aluminium frame. It takes about 3 up and downs to get the rubber properly in place.

You need to be in the right mood to do this. A lot of patience and a steady hand is essential.

If your car has just been resprayed, the triangular frame might not fit in the sharp end of the fibreglass door. I had to use a file very carefully to remove paint to get the V of the frame to fit in the V of the painted fibreglass. When the frame fits properly and fully flat in the fibreglass, you can start to put the rubbers in.

Banks new rubbers in the V are too big and need trimming. I used big wire cutters to trim the rubber. Check that the V rubbers are actually seating properly in the V ally frame. Mine were about 3mm too high, so no chance of getting the glass in. The glass fitted properly in the rubber, but the rubber did not fit in the ally V frame properly.

P.S. So far 4376R has taken me 13 weeks to build from a bare shell, and I am about to get it moving on its own power. I just need oil pressure and some super-unleaded fuel. E10 is the normal now at the pumps, and I dare not risk using that.

[sj21]

Thanks for the replies.
The first set I ordered from RD Enterprises. The second set were from SJ Sportscars Limited. The second set are better than the first. More pliable and slightly better shape, but still not correct. Attached a couple pics to show what's going on. The glass is just resting in place, in the pics but you can see how far forward it needs to go before the the upright/window frame can be installed behind it.
I did trim the 'V' part of the rubber that is in the aluminum channel, to make sure it wasn't bottoming out and it helped slightly. It's almost like I need to gauge out rubber from the grove where the glass rides. Just trying to figure out a way to make an accurate and consistent cut, the whole length of the grove. 

[RafM]

I've just finished the same job myself and sympathise with your plight.

As someone has already mentioned, if you have new paintwork make sure the V section frame fits into the doorframe properly, you may have to carefully sand out some of the paint.
If the fit is too tight the frame will be pinched and the glass will get pushed backwards slightly no matter what you do. It's difficult to mitre the rubbers at the front of the V, but check this carefully as this can stop the glass seating fully as well.

I fitted the sliding window & frame first, then slid in the quarterlight glass & rubbers (in one piece) I fitted wedges between the sliding window frame and the edge of the quarter glass for a couple of days, this gradually opened the gap up. The final upright rubber can then be carefully eased into place using plenty of soapy water.

The most fundamental problem I found was that the frames fitted too tightly in the doors initially and it took quite a bit of time to sand away excess paint. (my doors were brand new btw)
I've maybe ended up with a less snug fit, but any small gaps around the frames are easy to seal up.

It can be done single handed but plenty of patience required, it's a very frustrating job.

[RafM]

This is my end result before I sealed around the frames.

[4129R]

I've just finished the same job myself and sympathise with your plight.

As someone has already mentioned, if you have new paintwork make sure the V section frame fits into the doorframe properly, you may have to carefully sand out some of the paint.
If the fit is too tight the frame will be pinched and the glass will get pushed backwards slightly no matter what you do. It's difficult to mitre the rubbers at the front of the V, but check this carefully as this can stop the glass seating fully as well.

I fitted the sliding window & frame first, then slid in the quarterlight glass & rubbers (in one piece) I fitted wedges between the sliding window frame and the edge of the quarter glass for a couple of days, this gradually opened the gap up. The final upright rubber can then be carefully eased into place using plenty of soapy water.

The most fundamental problem I found was that the frames fitted too tightly in the doors initially and it took quite a bit of time to sand away excess paint. (my doors were brand new btw)
I've maybe ended up with a less snug fit, but any small gaps around the frames are easy to seal up.

It can be done single handed but plenty of patience required, it's a very frustrating job.

I agree 100%

[SwiftDB4]

Totally agree on new paint not allowing the frame to seat fully. I was worried about removing the excess paint so I made slightly smaller Lexan replacements for the glass and got it all to fit OK. My original glass had scratches so the Lexan was an improvement.

[sj21]

I really appreciate all of the input. Very helpful. I'll get back to it in the next wk or so and see what I can accomplish.