VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 41 Spec Deluxe Back Glass and Moulding Install

After posting in the new chat area as my first post, it was suggested I repeat my questions here in hopes a few more people will see it. After 10 years I am finally into the assembly stage of resurrecting my 41 Special Deluxe two door sedan. Of course it wasn't going to take this long, but my 1934 Chev took almost 16 years to complete. You all know this is a hobby and labor of love.

I am having trouble installing the back glass and stainless reveal moulding and it appears other have too but I have not seen how others have solved their problem after searching previous posts. I also have consulted the shop manual and while this has helped I still have questions and difficulty.

My understanding is I first install the pinch weld rubber seal I have from COT40's around the pinch weld seam in the window opening. I then push the reveal molding onto the rubber seal so it fits into the reveal channel and the inner lip of the moulding fits into inner rubber lip. It would be great to have somebody confirm this is the process for the first step.

The problem seems to be the reveal moulding channel is so tightly pinched together I do not see how the rubber seal can ever fit into it. Do I somehow try to pry the moulding channel open more without damaging the stainless? Also even if it went on I do not think it will slide back far enough on the pinch weld to cover the pinch weld up thereby leaving a fair sized gap between the moulding and car body. I think the pinch weld rubber seal will take up so much room in the moulding it will not fit back far enough. Is this normal?

If I did get the reveal moulding on satisfactory I understand the next step is to take the second piece of rubber from COT40's and install it around the glass. I then set this in the window opening from the inside of the car after applying sealant to the pinch rubber seal I previously installed. There is no rubber lip on this second rubber seal around the glass. It is all held in place by the garnish moulding. Sound right? It seems the challenge here is to push or compress the glass and rubber seal enough to get the garnish moulding screw holes to line up. Does that seem about right?

Gene mentioned in my previous post that the replacement pinch weld rubber seal is not an exact match to the original. Is this part of my problem getting started? Is it an option to not use the pinch weld rubber seal and simply fill the reveal moulding with sealant and "glue" the moulding to the pinch weld? I believe this is how it is done in the 1940 shop manual. This sounds like a problem the next time you want to remove the moulding however.

This is long enough for this post. I appreciate your reading through it and offering any suggestions. I assume this will apply to the windshield when I get to that point.

I don't have a '41 or experience with installing windows in them. I have installed glass in earlier and later Chevrolets. I have always installed the glass in the rubber seal and then installed the glass with rubber in the opening. I understand from your post that there is a metal molding the fits into the rubber seal on the outside. If so that must be installed first, then the glass then install them both into the opening. I fit a small rope or large string around the depression around the seal, lubricate the rubber, start installing by pushing the seal into the opening as much as I can. Then push on the glass and have an assistant slowly pull the lip of the seal over the pinch weld using the rope to pull it up and over. I have done some by myself but it is not recommended. It might be possible to install the seal and then the glass but I am sure it will be much more difficult. (I use my feet if pushing from the inside or hand in glove if outside against glass). In the case with the metal insert the seal, insert and glass has to be installed from the outside.

Thanks for the reply Chipper. The only rubber piece that has a lip to fit over the window opening is the pinch weld seal and it is such a small piece with a small lip that a rope or even a wire would not work. I think this is all unique to the Special Deluxe with this chrome reveal moulding. In any other application I think your suggestion is exactly how I have heard others do it. Unless I am still missing something here.

I did take a look again last night and am getting more convinced that I need to open the reveal moulding channel up more, otherwise it is never going to fit over the pinch weld and rubber seal.

I am anticipating needing assistance when putting the glass piece in or will be using both hands and feet to push it into the opening.

Thanks again, hopefully others with experience with a 41 special deluxe will chime in.

Try this
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/fisher/1946_47/files/46fisher173.jpg

I would like to add to this, http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/fisher/1946_47/files/46fisher173.jpg

I have done a couple of these. Be sure the rubber is in the correct position, just like the picture above. The rubber must be slipped over the pinch weld first, and then the reveal molding is pressed over the rubber into position. It is difficult, so I recommend coating the rubber with boiled linseed oil. This will allow you to get the molding in place and it will stay slippery for a long time to enable you to adjust everything to a proper fit. After a month or two the BLO will get stickier and stickier and hold the molding in place. When installing the glass, use plenty of sealer. I use 3M bedding and glazing compound. It remains flexible and seals well. It is a messy job and clean up takes longer than the installation. I have found WD 40 works good for clean up, and 3M also makes a cleaning solvent for this job.

I am glad someone with actual experience installing these windows has posted the procedure he has used. The rest of us were just trying to help and not let the subject languish and have people assume that we were not interested in replying or ignoring someone needing help.

Latigo, thank you very much for the reply and picture. The diagram is much clearer than what I can see in the shop manual and it does confirm how I thought the pinch weld rubber and reveal moulding are to be installed. I will try the boiled linseed oil suggestion. Hopefully it will make the difference in getting the moulding to slip over the rubber seal as shown, which seems to be my problem.

I will be making another attempt before the weekend and report back.

Reporting back on some success after working on it several hours this weekend. After several attempts the reveal moulding is on the car. Latigo's suggestion of using boiled linseed oil was helpful and provided lubrication for the moulding to slip over the pinch weld rubber seal. It was also pretty clear I needed to open up the channel of the moulding that must have been pinched shut somehow. It was not going on without this. I carefully managed to open it with damaging the stainless moulding.

I still need to set the back glass into the opening. On that note the rubber piece that goes around the window glass is not the same on each side. I am wondering if there is a outer and inner side. One side of the rubber is longer than other and extends onto the glass further. Also one side of the rubber has ridges along it, similar to the ridges on the pinch weld rubber seal that now faces inside the car.

I will need to apply sealer between the two pieces of rubber when I install the window glass. Either the longer side of the glass rubber is on the outside of the back window in which case the ridges will be towards the garnish moulding side on the inside. Or the ridge side matches up to the ridge side of the pinch weld rubber on the inside of the window, in which case the longer side on the glass is now on the inside of the window (and looks kinda funny from the outside). Boy I bet a picture would help. My rubber piece does not quite look like the picture in the link that Latigo shared.

I would normally make my best guess, but I have heard so much about these windows leaking I want to get this right.

The best sealer to use when installing the back glass is the 3M bedding and glazing compound I mentioned in my first post. It will squeeze into the gaps when you tighten the molding, and it remains flexible. It is messy though and requires a lot of clean up. I don't know what to tell you about the window rubber. I don't remember mine being different from one side to the other. If I had to guess, I would say the side with the grooves should go towarde the car body rather than the molding.