Reproduction Parts for 1916-1964 Chevrolet Passenger Cars & 1918-1987 Chevrolet & GMC Trucks


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I am replacing my windshield divider. My replacement part lacks the predrilled holes of the original. I have a Master Deluxe model, do I need these holes? How critical is the distance between the top and bottom of the divider where it is welded in place. Can I be too high or too low in locating the divider? Any pointers are appreciated. Nice to learn from you guys rather than from the school of hard knocks! The pictures show my concerns.

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]
SEE the predrilled holes at the top and bottom of the divider
[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]

Since the part seems to be prone to rust I think I will sandblast it and put a coat of Por-15 on it? Also what center rubber pieces will I need to purchase for the Master Deluxe set up. Chev's of the 40's lists a Windshield Center Rubber Division with holes (part # 4122594B) and also the complete Windshield Rubber for windshields without molding (part # 4116250E). I assume I do not need the rubber channel for holding the exterior center molding?

Thanks, Mike


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[Linked Image from vccachat.org]This is an update of my original post with followup questions. I am pre-fitting my windshield rubber pieces that I purchased from Steele. The following pictures I hope will explain what sequence I need to follow to install the glass, rubber seals, and stainless divider. Please remember I have a Master Deluxe so do not need to deal with the stainless surrounding the windshield.

My overall intent is to follow the installation directions in my 41 body manual, and the advice from previous posts. My first concern is how to reattach the stainless on my center windshield divider. Do I need to glue the rubber shown in the 2nd picture in place? I think I could get the stainless to fit over it by screwing in the inside center garnish piece to hold the rubber while I install the stainless? Could I wait until I have the glass all installed and then put the stainless on? This is contrary to the advice provided in the 46-47 shop manual as stated in the 4th picture. My interest in doing the stainless last is so I could put extra sealer in the top and bottom areas which might be prone to water leaks? Can anyone explain the pros and cons of this?

My ultimate goal will be to post additional advice to make this a job a lot of us can feel comfortable doing ourselves.

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]
My new, metal, vertical windshield divider.

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]
The rubber for holding the stainless in place. I think I cut it too short so will stretch it. Or should I not worry how short the center seal channel is at the top and bottom?[/b]

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]
This shows the back of the the rubber piece used for mounting the stainless.

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]
Advice provided in the 46-47 shop manual.

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]
Stainless trim resting on rubber sealing channel.

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]
Rubber window weatherstrip resting on pinch weld to determine overall fit.

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]
Overall fit at top and bottom of center divide before stretching rubber. I don't know how easy it is to align the stainless then later work the ends of the large weather seal under the stainless? Notice how short the rubber vertical divider is. Did I cut too much off? I could stretch it?





Thanks, Mike

Last edited by Mike Buller; 04/25/20 02:00 PM.

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Did you receive a instruction sheet from Steele with the rubber? Also, what products did you buy to install, sealers, etc.? Steele also has very good tech support as they do this type work at there location. I called and talked to them before I started. Nice folks!



Russell #38868
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Hi Russell,

The Steele directions do recommend sealers, but their were no directions on installing the center windshield rubber divide channel. I appreciate your recommendation to give them a call.

Thanks, Mike

P.S. Hoping to hear from Latigo. Anyone know if he is up yet?


Mike 41 Chevy
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Mike, I have done two, a 1940 Special Deluxe and a 1948 Fleetmaster. Both had the stainless trim so the rubbers were slightly different than your Master which has the lip that goes over the pinch weld. I don't remember whether or not my division bars had the holes you mention, but can see no reason why they are necessary. Maybe they were just to locate the originals at the factory. As far as the up/down position of the bar itself goes, the only thing that does is locate the inside division bar cover that holds the rear view mirror. Since there are little covers for each end I think you probably have a little leeway there. My old division bar was still in place so I took an accurate measurement of the old one before cutting it out, and located the new one in the same location. Regarding your question about the length of the division bar rubber: The main purpose of this rubber is to secure the stainless verticle trim piece. I think it should hold the trim in place even if it is a little short. The question is, will it leak water? The fact that almost every one of these cars has a rusted out division bar shows there is obviously some water leakage into this area even if installed perfectly. Now, with a little gap at the ends, will this allow water to flow through at a rate that will allow it to leak inside onto the dash? I don't know. Maybe it will just run in at the top and right back out at the bottom, and cause no problem. Stretching it might work, but it might just shrink back into its original length over time. My own feeling is that this is such a pain in the axx job I would not want to have to redo it. I think I would rather have the center rubber a little too long, put some sealer on it, and scrunch it up into place where it might have a better chance of sealing. If water gets between the rubber and stainless trim it wont hurt anything, but you don't want water to collect between the rubber and the division bar itself. Your idea to POR will probably help, but the original division bars were painted at the same time as the car body, and still rusted out over time.

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iagree With everything. One thing to remember, the strip is two pieces of metal and the crimps to captive the nuts. Their is no way to completely cover between the two pieces or under the bends or the nuts. The slightest moisture in and, rust starts.


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I finished my installation about a month ago but have procrastinated on updating you with my results. I did install the stainless after successfully installing the front glass and did it with the engine and front sheetmetal off the car. It is much easier to muscle the stainless in place with out straddling the engine/hood/fenders. I also was helped a lot by the above post of Latigo's.

Most of the pictures show green tape on my division stainless. I spent several hours wet sanding the stainless and then buffing it so I used the tape to protect my work. I also was careful to use some thick electrical tape to protect my paint job at the top and bottom of the window opening where the stainless can easily scratch the paint. You also want to use padding to cover the top of the firewall where you might drop a tool.

Make sure you check the width of your stainless if you are replacing it with another new piece or have welded in a new division piece. My 41 stainless piece was wider than one I had taken off of a 47.

It is not easy to get the stainlees over the rubber that holds it in place. To cheat a little I trimmed a little off of each end so that the rubber did not quite fit over the metal division piece about an inch from the top and bottom. When I was ready to start I put a heavy coat of straight Baby Shampoo on the rubber. Next I worked the right side of the stainless into its rubber groove. I started at the top and worked down. Even this was a challenge to make sure you get the stainless seated the entire length of the rubber groove. Now reapply your soap to the left side and begin pushing the stainless to the left and the groove it fits in. I found I was not strong enough to work the stainless in place so beginning at the top I used an old feeler gauge and slide it under the top of the stainless on the left side, about 3 inches from the top. I could now push the stainless more easily into the groove. I then moved my gauge about 2-4 more inches down and pushed more of the stainless in place. I continued the routine until I had worked all the stainless into the groove.

Try to concentrate on pushing the stainless to the left and not straight down. Pushing it down may bend the center division piece so the glass/weatherstrip fits poorly.

With the stainless in place rinse the soap from the rubber and after a few days apply sealer at the top and bottom under the stainless.

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]

[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]

Good luck, Mike




Last edited by Mike Buller; 01/06/16 11:07 PM.

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I should also mention that I used a small thin bladed putty knife (1") to massage irregularities between the stainless and rubber groove. Mostly I was just pushing into the rubber groove to get the stainless to seat better. If you are worried about scratching the stainless put a piece of painter's tape over the blade of the putty knife.

I would not install the interior division metal strip (the part that holds the mirror) until you have finished mounting the stainless and then I would not tighten the screws. Let everything shift gradually into its natural place. In fact compressing the rubber components would make it harder to work the stainless into its groove. You should however have prefit everything to check the length of the stainless screws, and see if the screw holes all lineup and thread properly. Chevs of the 40's sells the proper stainless screws. The screws are a little shorter, and the heads are a little larger than those found at your local ACE Hardware.

Thanks, Mike

P.S. I would not be in a hurry to tighten the garnish on your front or rear windows. Maybe even wait until your car has set in the sun or been driven a little. It could be kind of like wearing too small of a belt?

Last edited by Mike Buller; 01/09/16 09:33 AM.

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I have kind of talked myself out of reinstalling my sunvisor after finishing my installation of the stainless vertical divide. My main concern is how the Fulton would be attached to the stainless. I just do not think the stainless would hold up to the pressure of holding down the sunvisor. As you can see in my picture a bolt was used to hold the stainless to the inside garnish. I am reluctant to drill a hole through my new stainless to keep it from popping off when the car is driven! I would strongly recommend that if you are going to attach a visor to the stainless you put a bolt through it attaching it to the inside garnish. If you are hesitant to do that then be careful to monitor the condition of the stainless. Any sign of it lifting out of the channel holding it should be a warning of bad things to come.


[Linked Image from i1321.photobucket.com]

Last edited by Mike Buller; 02/06/16 11:07 PM.

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Hi Mike, the winter is gone and now its time to keep going. And here is my first question, how did you weld your divider. Did you drill holes and then weld it together with zhe window frame? Mine doesn' fix at the moment. Should i cut out the little peace at the top too? Pictures will follow


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Here are the Pictures
https://flic.kr/s/aHskSkFGjm


Greetings André
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Hi Andre,

My best advice is to try to get the new piece to be even with the window opening. If you align it to fit inside the window opening you end up with the surfaces too far apart for the rubber to mat well. Looking carefully at your old welded area you will see it is about 1/16 to 1/32 of an inch behind the window opening. The replacement piece is two pieces of metal. I would cut the thin outer piece about 1/2" off at the top and bottom so it aligns with the outed edge of the window opening. Then I would remove all the old center piece on the inside at the top and bottom. Then weld the new piece in as tightly as possible to the inside of the window opening. It will make a big difference if you are not careful and end up with the center divide not even with the outside surface of the window opening.

My mistake was having the entire center divide welded on the inside of my window. Causing about 1/8th of an inch of difference in the outer surface of my window and the center divide. This made for a real challenge for me when I installed my glass and stainless trim.

Best wishes,
Mike

P.S. I have the entire exterior of my car finished and am now working on the interior. We have had a mild winter so hope to test drive the car at the end of the month.


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For the top one think you are right and i have to cut the outer one, but the bottom i should´t cut. But it must come closer to the frame. You can see it on the pictures. I put some old pictures into the album
https://flic.kr/s/aHskSkFGjm

Last edited by Alligator; 03/11/17 08:24 PM.

Greetings André
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Hi Mike,
i did it! Today i weld the divider yay Many Days i thought about the best way to weld than i would do what you say. Cut out the thin outer piece and get it closer to the window opening.
[Linked Image from c1.staticflickr.com][Linked Image from c1.staticflickr.com][Linked Image from c1.staticflickr.com]

Had to cut off some metall inside the frame, but than its fits well.

[Linked Image from c1.staticflickr.com]

The top could weld with a Spot welder but at the bottom can´t get there, so i weld "classic" too.

[Linked Image from c1.staticflickr.com][Linked Image from c1.staticflickr.com]


The only one thing i don´t know, what should i do with the inside cut at the Window frame??

[Linked Image from c1.staticflickr.com]

More Pictures
https://flic.kr/s/aHskSkFGjm

Last edited by Alligator; 04/11/17 12:10 PM.

Greetings André
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Hi Andre,

Awesome pictures, I don't see the inside cut as being much of a problem. You already have the outside welded so strength issues should not be a concern, although you could weld the inside slits shut. You also should not be worried about the slits showing because the garnish and rubber weatherstrip will cover the area. So I see your only problem possibly being moisture if the weatherstrip leaks? To solve this you could use some seam sealer, JB-Weld, or body putty to return the area to its original contour.

Just want to compliment you on all the pictures you post. Some of us will need to do the repairs you are doing. Your pictures take a lot of the guess work out of the process.

Best wishes, Mike

P.S. My wife and I are headed to Germany in May. Can't wait to enjoy European hostility, and see old friends. Frankfurt, Oldenburg, Kassel, Mannheim, Lucerne, Innsbruck, Munich, Salzburg, Melk, Vienna.


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Hi Mike, yes the only Problem is the leaking,but When I look at the Manual l have to seal the wheatherstrip anyway. First I thought about welding this cut...

Mike, glad to hear, that you are in Germany again. Would you meet Stefanand his bluewale again? And by the way, l hope you mean the German Hospitality wel2

Last edited by Alligator; 04/12/17 04:42 PM.

Greetings André
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Hi Andre,

I don't recommend you put seam sealer on when installing your weatherstrip. It would be an almost unmanageable mess. I would apply the seam sealer after the weatherstrip and stainless is installed. I have posted a couple of times on the process I used for installing weatherstrip.

I am embarrassed to see I did use the world "hostility." I assume it was a Freudian slip since many of our good European friends do not understand why Americans would vote for our new President? Several years ago we noticed a rather cold reception from the father of one of our host families. Eventually, we discovered he did not understand why we voted for our current President. When we told him we had not he became a much more civil and happy host.

Good luck, Mike


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If you scroll up to my answer to this post you will see that Photobucket has blocked the image I posted. Likewise, it has blocked all the images of my posts since 2012. I have yet to decide what to do, but have sent them over 6 emails asking for them to contact me. I have only received robot responses.

I have only used Photobucket for hosting my pictures to our chat site (1096 pictures using .4 GB of space). This is the email I sent:

I am very disillusioned by Photobucket’s choice to no longer host third party pictures. I use pictures to better explain and understand repair questions. I am a visual learner. I have tried to initiate contact with Photobucket but so far have gotten nothing but a robot response requesting me to annually pay $400 for a one-year license. Here is what I have written:

I have used my Photobucket account for several years for only 3rd party hosting. I post pictures to the VCCA chat site. The site provides information to Chevy car hobbyists and no one benefits financially from my posted pictures. In a year, I post about 100 pictures that are used to explain repair processes used in restoration of historic vehicles. Because of the nature of many of the topics discussed the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words" is true. Especially, for people like me who are visual learners. Please consider other solutions to 3rd party hosting besides a $400 dollar a year fee. Why not grandfather in previous posted pictures, or have a onetime fee for each posted picture. Because of the historic importance of the pictures I post, I would gladly pay $1.00 for each of my 3rd party postings.
Please let me know when you will be erasing my posted pictures from the VCCA web site.

Thanks, Mike Buller
989-832-7634
P.S. Why did you not let me and fellow VCCA posters know several years ago that you did not want us to post photos to the VCCA website? If you would have, we could have made other arrangements. Why did you not email us with a deadline when you intended to impose this change?

Follow up email to Robot response:

Please personally respond to my questions. A generic robot response is not appreciated and belittles the professional standards which I assume Photobucket should wish to convey.

Thanks, Mike

P.S. I am interested in the options others use to post pictures.
I do not want to pay $400 for an annual subscription


Mike 41 Chevy
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Mike, a lot of us are just as upset about the Photobucket Policy Bomb.

Here is a thread where you can vent and learn about some alternatives: Photobucket Cash Grab thread

Dean


Dean 'Rustoholic' Meltz
old and ugly is beautiful!



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After removing Rust and do a little Paint Job with Rust Prevention it was Time for the Final Paint.
Now i would mount the Chrome Molding on the Window Frame. But look at the Pictures, is it possible to get this Molding on the Frame? It is the original and was not damaged at any time. Any more tipps for mounting? In the molding i will do some 3M Sealer

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Last edited by Alligator; 08/24/18 05:12 PM.

Greetings André
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Yes, it is possible to reinstall it. Start in the lower corners and work towards the middle from each side. Then up the vertical sections and across the top. It will slide down over the pinch weld. I started mine lightly all the way around to make sure it was positioned correctly and then tapped it all the way down. I used a light rubber mallet to tap it down. Your choice but waited until my final finish paint was completed and then installed the trim first and then the windshield,


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thanku
The Paint is finished wink

Last edited by Alligator; 08/25/18 06:51 AM.

Greetings André
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Do you have the pinch weld gasket/weather seal that the chrome fits over?


Russell #38868
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No, because the chrome was installed without a gasket, only with sealant, as described in the manual. Look at my flickr link above, there you can see.

Last edited by Alligator; 08/26/18 12:05 AM.

Greetings André
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seal

My manual shows the gasket. My car has the gasket. That is the proper way as far as I know.

instructions

Last edited by ruscar; 08/26/18 08:10 PM.

Russell #38868
'48 4 door Fleetline
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