Project Ruth.

[Anders]

Hi all.
As I am planning to give my baby a new paint this year, and will do it all by myself in my garage, I guess I will end up with millions of questions and issues. So I thought I better start a separate thread, so I can keep everything under one umbrella. At this moment, I have taking the windows, bumpers, emblems off, and only have the window in the passanger side doors to do. Next big question to made my mind up on is when to take the engine & tranny out as I like to paint there as well. Iīm in the middle of if I should by myself a lift or not, as it will make the grinding, painting and buffing way easier if I donīt need to lay down on the floor to do that. Will be useful for any future service as well. Finacially, it just donīt come at the right time. But does it ever?...
First question for our experts here on the forum is this: After taking out the window on the left door, and the little vent window as well ( Man, that was a tough job! ) I found a crack in the frame for the vent window. See picture. Does anyone know if itīs possible to weld or solder this material? If I donīt need to buy new stuff Iīm happy as I want to keep as much as possible from the original car.

[simplyconnected]

Anders, this crack is hidden under the belt line. The glass liminate is bubbling. I would remove and replace the glass by using propane heat, re-align the vent window frame and weld the crack. It looks like this crack was caused by pulling the door shut by using the window frame instead of pulling the inner door handle.

Penetration is the key to a successful weld. The crack needs to be ground to a 'vee' on both sides, then welded using mild steel. In places like this, I like to 'lap weld' a slightly larger piece of steel over the newly welded crack. This spreads the stress away from the weld and it makes the area thicker.

Although not 'pure stock', you can buy tempered glass which is solid, but the same thickness as your original glass. New cars use tempored glass. Being solid, it cannot bubble and comes in clear or a few tint colors.

I suggest you pull your engine before painting. I pull my engine and trans together, but you can do it separately. To me, the engine is much easier to marry outside the vehicle.

To prepare, pull the hood off and set it aside. Hoist your car off the suspension with solid jack stands holding up the frame members in all four corners. Before getting under the car, give it a good shake to make sure it is stable.

Use equipment that is quality and substantial because your life depends on it. I would NOT try pulling the engine by myself. If anything goes wrong you want help to be near. This work has been safely done millions of times. There is no reason why anyone should take unnecessary chances. Be safe so we can enjoy our hobby together, Anders. - Dave

[Anders]

Thanks alot Dave, as usual
The glass will be changed. One door glass have a crack since I got the car. I have already bought new from Larrys when I was in USA in November. I does not look like laminated as original, but a one thick piece My car should original have the green as itīs a AC car, but I bought clear ( even though the front and rear are green ) only for the reason that I will have a Red interior and and want as little the green glass changes the color impression from booth outside but also inside while driving. Clear will give me a better red colour. I will not try to take out the engine myself no. I will use the same bunch of friends as last time the engine was out. Regarding the weld, I am very eager to learn more. Shall I MIG, TIG or weld it with gas? I read somewhere that pure zinc can be a good choise to weld ( solder ) with. I donīt know. What kind of alloy is there in this frame?

[Dakota Boy]

I'm concerned that your cracked piece may be "pot-metal", and very hard to repair.

hopefully I'm wrong.

[simplyconnected]

Now that I look at the pictures closer, Dakota Boy may be right.


If this gusset is pot metal it is made of zinc which cannot be welded. Zinc is easy to cast and used for emblems and script; pieces that are not used for strength, but more for complex form.

To be honest, none of my classic Ford cars used pot metal in any of the channels. So, I didn't think this piece would be different. Pot metal castings break much easier than steel and I am very surprised to see it used in this location.

If fabrication of this piece becomes too difficult from steel, you may need original replacements from our vendors. (God Bless them.) Having said that and after looking closer at these pictures, I do not recommend repairing pot metal, but it should be replaced with steel.

When welding, it is very important to keep heat far away from the channels and rubber parts. That usually means dis-assembling the pieces first, then welding the parts before reassembly. It really doesn't matter whether your welds used Micro Inert Gas or Tungsten. - Dave

[partsetal]

Anders,
If this vent piece has good chrome on the outside and you want to use it, I would fabricate a plate that would go around the boss and cover as much area as possible and screw or rivet it to another piece on the other side. This would prevent the crack getting any bigger and give you added strength. Be careful that this added bulk will still fit the opening.
On the other hand, if the chrome is bad and you will have it replated, get another one.
Carl

[Anders]

Anders,
If this vent piece has good chrome on the outside and you want to use it, I would fabricate a plate that would go around the boss and cover as much area as possible and screw or rivet it to another piece on the other side. This would prevent the crack getting any bigger and give you added strength. Be careful that this added bulk will still fit the opening.
On the other hand, if the chrome is bad and you will have it replated, get another one.
Carl

Yeah, Thatīs what I also though could be a good way of saving it. The chrome seems to be alright, but I will take a closer look.

[Anders]

Is there any "right" way to take out the door windows? I needed to unscrew a lot of bolts and screws in one, so the whole mecanism incl. the motor for the electric window is now loose and stucked inside. I have no clue what so ever how to put it back to be honest. It was very hard to get out the front forward roller, and how to get it back? Perhaps cutting up a big hole on the inside of the door... How they put it together in Wixom is beyond my capacity. Waaay beyond.

[Dakota Boy]

The arms ("window regulator" mechanism) that make the window go up and down need to be removed by releasing the rollers from the window's frame.

There will be three rollers for each window. Pull the little wire clips, and then the rollers can be removed from the pins on the window regulator arms. Then you can pull the whole device out the large opening at the bottom of the door.

Consider throwing away your old rollers and replacing with solid brass units (especially for the rear quarter windows). They are available now through another member here on this site.

I did all this window work back in the winter of 2009-2010, and if I could do it back then when I was a newbie with these old cars, you can do it too.

[Anders]

The arms ("window regulator" mechanism) that make the window go up and down need to be removed by releasing the rollers from the window's frame.

There will be three rollers for each window. Pull the little wire clips, and then the rollers can be removed from the pins on the window regulator arms. Then you can pull the whole device out the large opening at the bottom of the door.

Consider throwing away your old rollers and replacing with solid brass units (especially for the rear quarter windows). They are available now through another member here on this site.

I did all this window work back in the winter of 2009-2010, and if I could do it back then when I was a newbie with these old cars, you can do it too.

Thanks for your help guys! Much appreciated I could reach 2 rollers quite easy. But never the front one. In order to do that, I have the whole mecanism thing loose and drag most of it up ( and out from the door ) with the window to be able to reach it. Thatīs why Iīm totally baffled about how to put it back, the day the door is with new and shiny paint... Regarding the rollers, yes, I saw that someone is doing them. ( What thread was that?) EDIT: Found it here: http://www.squarebirds.org/vbulletin...ad.php?t=14295
However, so far, all except one looks OK. But I need to clean the ones from the front windows before I am 100% sure. But I might concider bying the new ones. The only problem I see is that this new rollers dont comes with the stainless collar. Itīs one of them that look bad on mine

[Dakota Boy]

The bevelled washer can be obtained with the inferior teflon/plastic roller sets available from the t-bird parts houses.

Keep the metal parts, and throw away that white teflon junk.

And yes, working on these window mechanisms is a real frustrating and time-consuming endeavor. But you'll be happy when you're done!

[Anders]

The bevelled washer can be obtained with the inferior teflon/plastic roller sets available from the t-bird parts houses.

Keep the metal parts, and throw away that white teflon junk.

And yes, working on these window mechanisms is a real frustrating and time-consuming endeavor. But you'll be happy when you're done!

Would it work to have the washer / collar made in brass as well? I have a lathe, so that part, I can do myself.

[Dakota Boy]

I suppose it would... but it would be pretty thin.

[Anders]

I suppose it would... but it would be pretty thin.

I though of having the section more like a triangle. With a little grove for the spring. The tension will be slightly stronger than the original, but maybe okay?

[Dakota Boy]

I'm not exactly following your thoughts here, but I will say that the door windows are way more "forgiving" than the rear quarter windows.

Any "slop" in the quarter window assembly, and there will be troubles for sure.

FYI = I only have the brass rollers in the rear quarter windows, and the original factory rollers in my door windows.