VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 1931 windshield regulator

I have taken over assembling a car that was disassembled some 45 years ago. Many pieces are done but I am having a problem to fit the windshield to the crank up mechanism. When I try to raise the window it jams tight and the bottom off the glass trys to move towards the dash. The mechanism is installed vertical but the glass is tilts to the back, so I understand why it jams up. How is there room for the glass to move into the space behind the regulator?

The top of the windshield glass frame should have a couple of loops built in to it. The regulator pins need to fit inside the loops when installed. The regulator knob when turned to the right (clockwise) raises the glass. All the way to the left lowers it. I found it best to have the windshield manually raised about 3/4" before installing the regulator. That made it easier to adjust the regulator so the pins fit into the loops. Good luck and come back and let us know if you are successful or need more help.

Yes I got the pins into the loops but when I raise the window it jams up. As the window raises in the track it also angles back and get driven into the header.

Are the side tracks new? I'm trying to remember if they are Left and Right indexed. I'm getting confused with my Landau which DID have side-specific channels. I think the rubber is indexed, but not the "U" channels.

Next. Are you absolutely sure that the crank mechanism is free? With it out of the car, and the window attached (have a friend hold it steady), can you crank the mechanism all the way? Use the glass as a weight to provide some downward "pull". I'd be very careful about this if you sense the slightest resistance.

Another. Take a piece of steel/aluminum that is about 3" short of the vertical height of the glass. Place it in the channel on each side. See if you can create a straight edge up the front, and up the back of the channel track. You are looking for a bend, or change in angel when the glass needs to move upwards behind the header board.

Try moving the windshield vertically in the track without the regulator attached. It needs to move freely in the track at the same angle as the regulator. Follow Bills method to check the track and regulator.

The rubber tracks are original and have an edge them that is to the inside and looks to me as if the side trim moldings over lap.
With the crank mechanism removed the window slides up freely and the mechanism also works smoothly. But when assembled ( pins in the slots, header bolted to the bracket on each side ) the window can only be raised not even an inch.

The channels need to be lubricated with some Lubriplate or something. There can be no binding side to side either. The pins on the gears need to be fully engaged with the loops on the top of the windshield channel and lubed as well. If the gears are too far out from the windshield edge at any point in it's travel, the right one will usually jump out and cause the problem you are describing. You have to use a flashlight and look up in the space between the windshield and the header board to see the spacing while somebody cranks the windshield up. To adjust the spacing, you have to carefully bend the steel flanges with the threaded bolt holes in or out.

Happy Motoring! - Bill

Also, if you did not take the gears apart, you could have a broken gear in the gear box on the right side. When you crank the gears with the header board out of the car, put some gentle resistance on the right hand gear and see if you get any slip while cranking. Those old pot metal gears all seem to break down. Too many years, too little lubrication/cleaning.

Happy Motoring! - Bill

There's your problem....the header board with the windshield regulator has to be at the same angle as the windshield glass so that the windshield will roll up freely without binding.

Ok junkyard, this I think I understand. But how to get the header board get angled? Did I mess up in bolting it to the flanges with the 1/4 threaded holes on each side? The flanges or brackets are in line with the door post. I did bend them back a little bit so the window can pass by but now a twist ?

The brackets on my car and the wood windshield posts are at slight angle (the same angle as the windshield). That's the way it has to be for the windshield glass to go up and down freely. If the windshield header with the regulator is exactly vertical then the windshield will bind when it is rolled up.

Alrighty, back to the drawing board.

Yep!

You might revisit my idea about using a flat-bar that is about the length of the glass. Use it in the channel as a guide. You can even clamp it and then put a second one on the other side. Then use those as your dimensional limits. This is one of my favorite photos of Chevrolet using templates, jigs and CLAMPS. Ha!!

http://1931chevrolet.com/images/wood/factory-jig.htm

Now-- when I was working the windshield on my Landau, I had a bunch of "fit" challenges. The way that I finally got all of the measurements figured out, was I cut out a piece of 1/4" plastic that was the exact size of my glass. (I could have used plywood, but that's hard to see through.) Then I just used it as a template for all of my other items that I had to cut, glue, trim or mount in the area. This is called a template. I've got two other places where I broke down and "wasted" time to build a template. Gotta tell you that the feeling of "waste" evaporates once I realize how quickly I solved my problems. And of course, you aren't scratching the paint, or glass, by using a template.

Good luck. We're pulling for you.

I think some pictures would help. The two windshield regulator mounting brackets are welding to the car and I believe it would be pretty hard to get them that far out of alignment with the windshield. If for some reason the regulator mechanism isn't mounted correctly to the board, that could change the geometry enough to cause binding. What happens if the regulator board is is put up loosely? Did you check your regulator board mounting screws for the correct length, they could be contacting the windshield frame as it goes up causing the binding if I remember right. What I realized was the screws are too long UNTIL the upholstery goes on. If I remember correctly, my screws contacted my windshield frame and bound it up until I put on the upholstery. DO NOT cut your screws if until it's upholstered.

Where can I see a picture of the way the assembly should look? I do not know if this one has been built right.

I can send you some pics by email. Just send me a PM with your address. Bill

Happy Motoring!

Thanks for all the help. It turns out that when the sheet metal for the window framel was nailed to the corner door post not enough room was left for the windshield at the top. Easy fix, pull the nails, loosen the visor, reset the tin and now the window slides up without binding. Thanks again.