1970 FE5 'Cuda Build

[anlauto]

I've used tons of AMD glass, never an issue...just wish I could still get it 

[1970Cuda]

Hey thanks anlauto for your feedback and also for your write-up on installing the door glass. That was really the ticket. The shop manual isn't all that clear () - IMO - but definitely your real-world-experience was for sure. And great to hear that it's a good quality product too - from what I saw/experienced on installing it, it was an excellent re-pop. 

I went through Ed M. and he was able to secure it for me after a few months of backorder. Such a hassle still to get parts ....

[1970Cuda]

"1970" Deluxe Seat Belt Restoration

Background:

Unfortunately, my project car did not come with any seats or seat belts. And as everyone knows, interior components – apparently seats and seat belts in particular – have become very expensive. Fortunately, I was at able to track down (at Spring Fling this year in Southern CA) a set of "1971" (not 1970) Deluxe seat belts. The 1970 Deluxe seat belts are impossible to locate. While my project car did not come with Deluxe seat belts, they look so much better than the standard fare (see editor's comment below).

After searching around for a competent and honest seat belt restorer, I settled on "Sharon's Web" out of Texas. I received a quote for the complete disassembly and restoration of the 1971s, along with the correct 1970 retractors (traded for my 1971s). I had a number of emails back and forth, with numerous questions, etc., and the representative was very pleasant and patient.

The result? They turned out fabulous – including the correct labels. See picture of the results. (Note that I am not connected with this business in any way.) I would highly recommend this company.

Editor's Note:

I had actually found a set of standard 1970 seat belts at the Fall Fling car show in 2021, and provided it to a restorer for refurbishing. Unfortunately, they were either lost or something happened, and I was not able to contact the business. Lesson learned: Always take pictures of the item before they leave my hands.

[1970Cuda]

Update:

I am posting a few pictures on my door and window alignment as I am struggling with getting the window to align with the door weather stripping (rail). I have reviewed a lot of the threads here and haven't seen anything specific as to my question. Re: The door looks to be close on alignment, and I have read and followed the instructions on aligning the window a few times in the service manual, but it seems that it is still too close (inboard) to the roof top/weather strip rail (inboard vs. outboard). And it looks like the front of the door is further misaligned than the the rear part of the window.

The only thing that makes sense to me is that perhaps the door is too inboard on the front when the hinge attaches to the door top and needs to be moved outboard, meaning away from the vehicle.

I am guessing that the window felts are not used to assist with the windows alignment.

Any ideas or suggestions would be great. See pics.

[usraptor]

It's hard to tell by your pics but the gap at the rear of your door does appear to be obsessive.  Is the front fender installed?  In the second pic it doesn't appear to be.  If not then it's really going to be hard to get your gaps/door adjustment correct.  If I'm reading your post correctly the door glass is to tight (inboard) at the top where it contacts the door window gasket??  It's been a while since I did the glass in my car but if I remember correctly, there are three bolts on the bottom of the door frame that attach to the window regulator.   If you loosen these bolts, and any other bolts that are connected to the regulator,  you can move the regulator assembly, via a slot,  either towards the outside of the car or inwards towards the interior.  If the glass is tight at the top, move the regulator/bolts towards the interior of the car and the top of the glass should pull back from the gasket.  Below are some links to various posts that describes the installation of the glass and adjustment. 
http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=74301.0
https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/1968-plymouth-barracuda-side-glass-regulators-and-window-alignment/
https://forum.e-bodies.org/body-shop/5/cuda-door-and-side-window-replacement/371/

Hopefully Alan will chime in.  He is the resident expert on door glass installation and adjustment and knows far more on this subject than I do. Good luck! 

[anlauto]

Just seeing this now, but I agree, my first thoughts go to the three bolts on the bottom of the door, they control the in and out position of the top of the glass when rolled up.

[1970Cuda]

Hi usraptor and Alan,

Once again, you two are awesome in providing me guidance on all things 'Cuda. 

A couple of quick follow-ups. First, you are correct, and I don't have either fender on the car. And you are also correct, the glass in too inboard (re: to close to the weatherstrip rail), even though I have "maxed out" the outboard adjustment. (Starting with the adjustment (from the manual) of the front track like it says (fore an aft window adjustment to the "A" pillar), and then moving on to the bottom of the track and rear track bolts (inboard/outboard.)

My body craftsman who installed the quarter panels, trunk pan, etc., and painted the car said I should align the doors to the quarter panels first and then the fenders, as the quarters are fixed positions. I was thinking that could be enough for the glass - but since this is my first glass install, door alignment, I must be mistaken. So today I went ahead and re-adjusted one door again (LH side, not shown) and dialed that in pretty well. (I re-read the door alignment guidelines in the shop manual and it was pretty straight forward.)

Also, I did read the excellent door and window alignment write-up on this site a couple of times and I guess I need to read it again because obviously I must have missed something. RE: https://forum.e-bodies.org/body-shop/5/cuda-door-and-side-window-replacement/371/.  (Thanks for taking the time to post those others; I will read those too!)

I will try the adjustment on the glass again, following both the shop manual instructions and also Alan's suggestion on his posts too.

I had two other questions, if you don't mind.

1. There isn't any adjustment for the weatherstip metal rail, correct (meaning moving it further inboard)?
2. I read in the manual (pg. 23-110) and tried to adjust the rear "... regulator idler pivot bracket up or down ... ." but that did not give me much more "outboard" movement in my glass. Q: The front of the regulator doesn't have any affect on the window adjustment correct? I didn't see anything in the manual on that.

If nothing else I am getting an education on 'Cuda window and door alignment.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day weekend. And another big thanks for responding to my questions.

[usraptor]

Re question #1, there isn't any adjustment in the weatherstrip metal rail to my knowledge.
Re question #2, I can't answer that as I'm not that versed in the window adjustment.  Hopefully Alan can answer for you.
Good luck 

[1970Cuda]

Happy Fall 2022 everyone ... hopefully everyone is enjoying working on their projects the first weekend of Fall.

usraptor: I really appreciate the answers to my questions (like almost never ending questions from me it seems). And I concur with one of your comment - sometimes I wonder why I ever started this project? But for me, that's only in times of frustration. I guess I'm learning like crazy.

So I did follow both your and Alan's suggestions and was able to figure out my issue with the door window alignment, and it was as you all hinted at, my door alignment was off (specifically the bottom alignment to the rocker). Once I corrected that, the window glass did align much better to the weather strip and rail. I still have some more adjustment to go, but it's much, much closer. Thanks again.

However, now I am somewhat flummoxed by the quarter windows, as in installing the new glass in the frame. I read Alan's answers to someone in the now classic thread (https://forum.e-bodies.org/body-shop/5/cuda-door-and-side-window-replacement/371/15), but as I look at my window, the only rivets that I see to remove are the ones in the picture that I've circled. However, those aren't standard "cold" rivets. And I definitely don't want to remove anything that I can't replace. 

I was told by Ed (The Mopar Shop) where I purchased my glass and quarter window setting tape, that I should use a heat gun to melt/soften the old rubber setting tape so that I can remove the old glass and tape. But I don't know if that means I also need to take out the rivets. And how or what would I replace those with? 

I have read the shop manual a few different times, and there isn't anything in it that I see about actually putting in new glass in the old frame. I have also looked for videos and can't find anything. (Another member mentioned that a video on both the door glass and quarter glass would be awesome, and I couldn't agree more.) We should pay someone to demo this for us novices - I would be glad to chip in to have an awesome video of that. (Like Cody's whole series on rebuilding steering columns, which is awesome!). Any suggestions on how you or someone else did it would be awesome.

[usraptor]

Sorry for the late response.  Been involved in several projects and haven't been checking in very often.  Hopefully, you've found the answer to your question by now.  Unfortunately, I'm no help on this question as I haven't  replaced my quarter window glass, yet. Mine is also scratched and is on my to do list.  However, since I always roll all the windows down at car shows, it hasn't been a top priority.  I'll be interested in what you find out regarding whether it's necessary to remove the rivets for when the time comes to replace my quarter glass.

[1970Cuda]

Hi usraptor,

Thanks for your response and I really appreciate your feedback and comments. Unfortunately, I haven't really found a great solution yet for removing the quarter windows from their respective frames, but I did find a way (finally) to remove them. It's certainly not elegant by any means, and while I have asked at least dozen people who know e-bodies fairly well, most say they don't do it. Which is weird, because if a person is replacing clear glass with tinted, one has to change all of it.

I tried a heat gun, and that was useless. That's what one person recommended. Another said try and use a light mallet, but that just got me nervous about breaking the glass. (One person said just break the glass, but that seemed somewhat crude and also dangerous.)

Based on a little sleuthing and trial and error, I thought about a chemical way to soften the old setting tape and removing the old glass. What I found was that Acetone would dissolve the old rubber-based tape enough to remove the window. Definitely one needs to do this outside and also use a respirator. Also, removing the old rubber requires the use of a mechanical tool (to get in between the glass and the frame.) With both of these tools I was able to finally remove the window.

Now it's a matter of cleaning the frame well and inserting the new setting tape and window in place and polishing the stainless on the window. (I will use a good layer of tape on the window so that I don't scratch it when polishing the stainless frame.)

If you find a better way to perform this laborious process let me know. That's the only way I have found to remove the old quarter glass. Again, thanks for your response. 

[1970Cuda]

Hi all ... I want to posit another approach for replacing quarter window glass ....

From my very limited experience, the suggestions given to me were not successful. It was suggested using a heat gun to remove the old setting tape (which had no affect), and also removing the rivets on the vertical stabilizer and separating the glass from it. (I decided not to perform this because I do not have those special rivets and the tool to install them.)

What I tried and was ultimately successful using to remove the old glass and setting tape, and also cleaning the support and then reinstalling the new setting tape/new glass was the following process.

1.   Remove the quarter window glass from the vehicle.
2.   Remove the quarter glass window seal that runs up the vertical stabilizer.
3.   Use Acetone (in a well-ventilated area with a respirator) - the old setting tape will be softened.
4.   Use a sharp utility knife to scrape the old tape from the quarter glass housing and stabilizer.
5.   Mark and measure the glass position before removing it so that the replacement glass can we properly set.
6.   Clean and polish the vertical stabilizer and clean the housing thoroughly of old tape.
7.   Install the window, using the setting tape and using a heat gun (around 440 degrees F), soften the tape so that the glass and tape are affixed to the housing.
8.   Perform the same for the vertical stabilizer with the setting tape. Note: Do not run the setting tape completely to the top of the glass. The new quarter glass to door window seal needs to be installed in the stabilizer, on top of the glass.
9.   Install the vertical stabilizer seal using adhesive and ensuring that it also affixed to the "groove" on the stabilizer.
10.   Using painters tape, cover the quarter glass before installing it in the vehicle. This will prevent scratches on the glass.
11.   Install the up-stop on the glass.
12.   Install the glass and adjust.

As always, take many pictures, and when you think you have taken plenty, take a few more. You can see the results below.

[usraptor]

Congrats on figuring this out.  I bookmarked this for future reference for when I finally get around to replacing mine.  Can I ask where you got your glass and how happy you were with it?  Seems like I recently read a post where people were not happy with AMD glass and preferred OER?  Maybe you already said but I had hand surgery this AM and I'm still a little loopy, 

[1970Cuda]

Thanks usraptor, I appreciate the kind words. It was trial and error somewhat and I really asked a lot of people for advice and even called a person who specialized in installing glass into older vehicles. In the end, I lucked into a solution.

I purchased my glass from Ed at "The Mopar Shop" in Madera, CA. I like to support local and small businesses. But I did purchase one quarter window glass (RH side) from Year One, only because it was on close out and on sale. I only used AMD glass and it was a best spotty. I actually was going to use ECS glass, but the price was way, way more than I expected. Actually only the RH side door glass has an incorrect curvature. The driver's side - arguably the most important IMO - fits perfectly and adjusts really well. From my perspective it was a cost analysis. If a person is going to drive it a lot, then maybe better glass is appropriate or a person is doing a points car. But the AMD glass has the Chrysler logo, so that's good enough for me. And really I don't think I am going to have a bunch of people ridding in my car who are going to want to roll up and down the windows. But definitely I think having it all new looks better and it functions perfectly fine.

One of my concerns was about plumbness on the vertical support. I was careful about the glass placement into the frame, but even with good measurements, it would be easy to be off on this measurement.

Also, if you want any more gory details on what I did to install the qtr. glass let me know and we can talk directly. And good luck on your hand surgery healing and rehab. Surgery is never fun.

[1970Cuda]

So I'm finally getting some time to work on my dash installation and need a little advice (again). I purchased a replacement speaker from Classic Industries (4" X 10"), and I'm not actually sure how the new speaker is installed. When I read the shop manual there are two sentences on removing/installing the speaker - remove the grill and then remove the speaker/disconnect the wire (connector).

I actually have two speakers - a replacement from Radio Shack (old) and a new one from Classic Industries. The question I have is do I trim the opening to fit the new speaker into the opening or how have people accomplished the installation? Does it drop in from the top or underneath the dash pad? The Class Ind. is a lot deeper and I'm sure better sound than the original. Any suggestions would be great.