Power Window Motor and Tracks

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Major System Category: Body (Door)
Task: Install power window motor
Parts: Power window motor and tracks
Prerequisite Tasks:
Additional Costs:
Time Requirement: 4 hours
Date Started: November 19, 2012
Date Completed:  November 19, 2012

There is a right and a left side power window motor and window track. The easiest way to figure this out is to read the labels. At least, one label should still be present. After you figure out the drivers and passenger side motors out, the next challenger is to figure out which end is up on the window tracks. I'm sure this is obvious to some people, but it was a mystery to me.

This is the power window motor. Attached by cable are the window tracks. It  has the form of a floppy hour glass shape. I would check the pulleys where cable runs to make sure they are secure and not chipped. I think that last thing anyone wants to do is to back in here to fix something like that.

The manual says there are two bolts that need to be removed from the top end of tracks. The suggested method is to pound out the bolt by placing it over a socket. The bolts on my tracks were frozen in pace, I and was concerned that pounding on the track might deform something. So I used a cutting wheel and drill to remove the bolts. I've since purchased a Drill Doctor, because cutting out harden bolts has done a real number on many of my bits.

The kit includes brackets to attach the window tracks to the internal frame. I've held off on this until I get a sense for how the window is going to interact with the rest of the door. I have read numerous build logs where the windows refuse to go down all the way. This indeed may happen to me, but I'm going to make a good faith effort to get the window to go all the way down into the door.

The final thing that needs to be done is to re-position one of the cables running out of the motor. What you will notice is that once the motor is attached to the frame the cable going towards the rear window track is awkward. I don't think this is in the manual, so I read it on a build log (I apologize because I don't remember which one it is.). There are five big screws that hold the plate in place for the cables. These screws and plate need to be removed and correct cable needs to be moved one channel upwards. The cable is still going to be tight, but it is workable.

This is the window motor cable system with the plate removed. the cable with the green tab needs to be moved to the next channel. This is a tad intimidating the first time through, because I figured I might really mess things up. If you take your time, it is fairly bullet proof.

The photos in the manual are pretty good about how to attached the motor to the "C" shaped fitting on the brace. The main consideration is leaving space for the glass to descend (width wise). I have approximately 1/2 inch left for the glass to move up and down between the motor and the inside of the door. It seems there is more room on the drivers side door than the passenger side door. Again, it does not appear that doors are symmetrical.

Thie window motor is attached to the internal brace. Note the access plate for the cables faces the sound proofed panel. These screws line up with the brace. Again this is fairly straight forward. What is awkward is the uncertainty of how this all going to work properly. I suspect that the window tracks in the GTM are at much tighter angle than they are inside the Corvette door they came from. I haven't dismantled my Corvette door to find out. I'm not that curious! You can also see the power connect (orange tape) on top of the brace.

The power connector to the motor can be removed. This makes it easier to attach a ground and positive wire to the leads. (Remember, there has to be power to the motor, mirrors and door poppers. This is a good time to get the electrical work down. The wires feed out through an opening cut above the top hinge. Once I have things set, I and going to reinforce the area between the bottom of the power line opening and the top of the hinge slot. The fiber glass is real thin here. I used my 12 volt test battery to check the motor and the tracks. They move real good without any glass installed.

Door Hinge

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Major System Category: Body (Door)
Task: Door hinge
Parts: Door hinge and internal frame
Prerequisite Tasks:
Additional Costs:
Time Requirement: 5 - 6 hours
Date Started: November 11, 2012
Date Completed:  November 14, 2012
The door hinge, the internal frame, power window motor, window tracks and the latch really need to be part of the same discussion. If you just install the hinge without thinking about everything else, then you are going to end up taking everything apart and redoing things anyway. the latch and hinge are on opposite sides of the internal frame. The power window motor and window tracks  happen before and after this section.

Front trim panel for driver's side door. I found it useful to have a table next to the lift  as a work area.

I am going to break things down into multiple sections. The major consideration here is that each of these systems have to worked together. This is what makes the door construction a pain. Unlike so many other things, where you can focus on one item, you will need to keep all of these items in mind as you build the doors:

1. Hinge
2. Power window motor and tracks (not attached)
3. Latch
4. Door poppers (optional component)
5. Shaved Handles (optional component)
6. Side mirrors

Hinge plate set in place so I could get a preliminary placement prior to cutting holes. I added sound proofing to the interior of the door. I would strongly recommend this as the doors seem kind of thin.

The manual makes this entire process sound like a pleasant walk in the park. While there is nothing overly complicated, there is lots of adjustment. Let me repeat that: THERE IS LOTS OF ADJUSTMENT.

The hinge and trim plate set in place on the door. Everything seemed so simple at this point. However, I have read enough on other builder blogs to know this is anything but simple.

The first thing I notice is that the manual makes everything look very simple to fit together. It does fit together, but not easily. If you follow the instructions and measurements, you will be off to a good start.

This is a close up of the hinge plate and the internal frame as they fit inside the door. They are not  bolted together yet. The black metal piece is the window track.

The front door trim panels are smaller than they look in the manual. it is easy to miss them in the sheet metal box. I found a Dremel tool with stiffer cut off wheel to useful in cutting the openings for the hinge plate. Burrs and jagged edges can be smoothed out using a sanding drum. Anything bigger is going to get in the way. These doors are not that large, and it seems they get smaller as systems get installed.

This is a photo much further along in the process for the door build. It shows the  hinge plate and internal frame bolted together. Some of the electrical work is complete and those cables snake out through the opening above the hinge plate.

There are two sets of bolts to work with. The first set connects the hinge plate to the internal frame. (Keep the socket wrench handy, you are going to need it to move things around.) the second set of bolts connect the front of the hinge through the square holes for the trim plate. There is a certain amount of adjustment room for these connections. However, these adjustments become more limited when the latch is attached on the other end of the internal frame.