VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Vent glass setting tape

Hello.
I'm installing the Chevs of 40's part number 603954C vent glass setting tape on my 40 MDSS. I just installed the first one and it went in very easily. No oil or soap needed. The tape has one side that is sort of a cloth texture and the other side has a semi sticky rubber texture with a peal away plastic cover.
Does the rubbery side go against the glass and the cloth side against the inside vent frame channel? That's what I did.
According to the 40 shop manual, page 23, they recommended coating the inside of the metal channel with motor oil. This oil is supposed to make the channel filler (tape) swell and make a good seal. The original tape had a mixture of cork and rubber. The new tape does not.
I did not put any oil on this installation. Also, the package said "does 2". There's enough to do 4. Should I use double the tape per vent glass?
The tape came with no instructions.

I just noticed the tape does appear to have cork mixed in with the rubber. Should I coat it with some oil so it swells or not?

Thanks,

Curt

Well I figured this out myself. The vent glass tape came with 2 sizes of tape. I needed the larger size, but used the smaller size. I just found that out and it's a bit embarrassing to say the least! I was wondering why they sent so much tape for 2 little vent windows.
Anyway, for those of you who will order the vent glass tape, it comes in 2 sizes so that's a good thing.
:-)
Curt

Glass setting tape comes in several different sizes. For some reason Chev's of the 40's does not carry the right size. Thier setting tape is 1/32" (too loose) and 1/16" (too tight). The correct size is 3/64", right in between. 3/64" is available from "The Filling Station". Thier part number is CV-294C. The old time body men I have talked to use boiled linseed oil to install. It is very slippery and dries very slowly allowing plenty of time to adjust the glass. After a week or so it dries and acts like a glue to hold the glass in place. Some body shops still stock setting tape, so you might find it locally. Cloth side of the tape goes to the outside, rubber side to the glass.

glass setting
Not about vent windows but good reading.

The door glass is relatively easy. The vent window glass is another story. The first one I did the same as cskennedy did in the post above. I ordered the setting tape from Chevs of the 40's. The kit came with two thicknesses. I tried the thin tape and it was obvious it was too thin to hold the glass in place. I tried the thicker tape and found it was so thick that it was almost impossible to get the glass in. I finally made a clamping jig and managed to force the glass into the frame, but it seemed way too tight to me. Once I got it in, I installed the vent assembly into the door and found there was a gap between the edge of the glass and the rubber seal on the division bar. The glass needed to come back out about 1/16" in order to close that gap, but it was so tight with the tape I used that I could not move it. There is an old retired body man in town and I asked him about it. He looked at both thicknesses of tape and said he could tell just by eyeballing it that both were wrong for early Chevy vents. He told me to get a tape right in between the two and to use boiled linseed oil for lubrication. I did as he told me and the glass slipped in with only moderate difficulty. I installed it into the door and found I had about the same gap as before, but with the right tape and the boiled linseed oil, I was able to grip it with a couple of suction cup type dent removers and move it into a perfect fit. After a couple of months the BLO dried and the glass was firmly locked in place. I have since looked at a Fisher body manual and found they do show a 3/64" (.047") tape used.

Thanks for the information.
You're right, the larger size is too thick. But, I already had the not so perfect size and I managed to make it work. If I find out I get the same gap that you got, I'll disassemble the whole thing, order the correct size from the Filling Station and start the fun process all over again. I'll try to find some linseed oil as well.
:-)
Curt