Help with window regulators

JOES31

JOES31

Senior Member
Since I am putting a new complete Lebarron Bonney interior in my 31 Tudor I thought it would be smart to replace all the window regulators. I purchased new ones and installed them. Now for some odd reason on the two rear window regulators I cannot get the handle to clamp down. I am using new handles. It seems the square shaft in not long enough. I checked on line and it seems everyone carries the same reproduction regulators. The front ones are fine but the rear regulators don't seem to fit as forward on the inside of the panel to get the shaft far enough out to put the escution and handle on. Did the rear regulators have a longer shaft? Of course because I replaced the old ones with new ones I threw the old ones out. Broke one of my old time rules.

Anyone have any experience with this problem and a fix before I start grinding and fitting?
 
the regulators are the same front and back. sometimes with the new interiors the panels are thicker and you have to either cut away some of the spring or leave them out. are you using the handles that pin on or set screw. sometimes the reproduction handles need a little filing in the holes
 
1930 coupe said:
Number 1 rule when working on Model A's.

NEVER put a reproduction part on a model A just to say it has new parts.
Reproduction parts almost never fit or look as good as original parts.

Only put reproduction parts on as a last resort when you cannot find or cannot make the original parts work.
Click to expand...

Never truer words have been written!
 
I installed my originals back into my Tudor and left the springs off the rear quarter panels.

And not to jump on the pig pile, but just to emphasize the point for others new to the hobby: never throw away an original part. If you don't want it, find someone who does.
 
Yes
I am a beginner to an auto this old. Repo parts for 60's and 70's cars are much better. I can use either the pins or set screw.

The old operators were really rough and hard to use so I thought I would make an improvement. They work really well except for the handles fitting. When I got them installed and all was good I disposed of the old ones. They were really bad. Next time I will just make the parts I need and replace them. The shafts on these need to be at least 1/4" longer. Something I didn't check. I could make new shafts and fit them.

I could machine a sleeve over the repo units and tig them on, or grind down the mushrooms on the interior of the panel and take the spacers down a bit. That might give me the length. That would be easier than machining a new shaft. I just drilled and tapped the handle in a spot that won't show and that might give me the room to tighten it up before I spend a day reworking the new units. Just looking for the easiest way.

I tried the pins but I presume the hole in the square shaft is drilled to far forward. I just thought someone might have replaced a rear regulator and had a workable solution before I start re-engineering. I am not used to these rinkey dinky parts. I know better now!
 
Joe, the easiest way, if that's what you really want, would be to call Bert's in Denver and buy two good originals, and sell the repros. As a person new to these truly antique vehicles, it's worthwhile to adopt an attitude of "restoration" rather than "replacing" or "improving". There are important distinctions between these attitudes.
 
Thanks Ray,

Now that I know there is a place with some OEM parts I'll check Bert's first. I am just so used to going down to Mercedes and getting NOS parts for 25 to 50 year old Mercedes and never having issues with them.

I will now assume all of the repo parts for Ford Model A's are all junk and stay away from them. I assumed because they have the Ford licensing logo on them they were actually a quality part. I assumed wrong. I should have known better when it said Ford on it, a lesson I learned from purchasing the only Ford car I ever had other than this 31, a new 1986 Ford Tarus wagon. Had it towed sixteen times in one year before I traded it in for a Mercedes and never looked back.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I appreciate it.

Joe
 
not all the repo parts are junk, there are good parts out there
you just have to know who sells them. Ask here when in doubt.

Bob
 
I agree with 1930 coupe, most repro parts aren't very good. I have seen a number of people buy many new repro parts for their cars, but they don't look so good and probably don't fit all they well also. My feeling is to use original parts if at all possible and repros as a last resort if you have to.
Rusty Nelson
 
Do the repro regulator shafts have a slit diagnally in the square shaft?

And do the repro handles have a very pointed setscrew that enters the slit to spred the square shaft apart?

If yes to both questions, are you installing the handles so the setscrew enters the slit?
 
No. The new regulators do not have a slit. Either did the originals. The handle set screws do have a pin point.

I got the regulators to work by taking down the spacers and eliminating the spring behind the panels. The new Lebarron panels are thicker.

Anyways I got it done and it works well.
 
JOES31 said:
No. The new regulators do not have a slit. Either did the originals. The handle set screws do have a pin point.

I got the regulators to work by taking down the spacers and eliminating the spring behind the panels. The new Lebarron panels are thicker.

Anyways I got it done and it works well.
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Glad to hear you got it to work!! Could have been a pain the *** to fix.

How did the interior install work out (besides the windows)?
 
Here's one tip for getting the handles on when using those springs behind the panel: be sure that the spring can be compressed completely flat, with no part of the coil resting on top of any other part. I needed to use some repro springs, and they needed about 1-1/2 turns cut off from the inside, plus some tweaking of the shape to allow them to lie flat.

Doug
 
Remember. "Aftermarket" means "almost" fits. I work on alot of different cars and the repo parts are mostly junk. I'd rather rebuild and original part if I can. It may be more work but alot less grief. Mind you I got a set of Zinc runningboard trim for a 30 A from a gentleman in California and they were excellent. They fit they way they were suppose to. Mind you I got a set from a distributor and they weren't even close. They ended in the garbage!!

The Old Tinbasher
 
I have a question on window regulators for a 29 TudorSedan. I have had 2 of them and both we're missing back window regulators and both cars did not have holes for the regulator handle. Were regulators an option back in the day? Thanks for your help
 
Good original regulators are very hard to find anywhere for the drivers side. When I did my 31 tudor, I ended up using repro regulators on the drivers side. I ended up having to bend the arms on the regulators for them to work. I used a LeBarron Bonney interior and I had to leave off the springs under the interior panels to get the handles on , on both sides, even the passenger side with original regulators. The repro window cranks and door handles aren't that great either. Thank goodness that parts are available even if some need to be fitted. I paid over a hundred dollars for a pair of original inside handles for my roadster with original plating and was lucky to find them.
 
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Spokes said:
I have a question on window regulators for a 29 TudorSedan. I have had 2 of them and both we're missing back window regulators and both cars did not have holes for the regulator handle. Were regulators an option back in the day? Thanks for your help
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Here's a picture of a club member's 1929 Tudor that I took 2 days ago.
I can't understand the steel panel not having a handle hole, or was the entire panel missing?:confused:
 

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