39 Ford Conv side window fit

M

Mike/NY

Member
A common problem with the 39 Ford Conv Coupe door side windows is a poor fit from the factory. With some cars the windows do not go all the way up, some have a gap between window frame and A-pilar and even a spacer from the factory. Mine do not go all the way up. I know they are adjustable but it does not help, they are adjusted as high as they go but there is still a 1/8 to 1/2 inch gap causing draft. Rubber is the correct type with felt and chrome rubber channels are the originals.

How have others tackled the issue, I heard some have widened the regulator screw holes to allow windows to go up more but will that work?
 
Mike, I'd restored enough of these cars to appreciate your frustration.
The issue you deem a common problem is more often than not due to poor restoration techniques and less of a factory assembly issue.
Every one that I have restored has had at least some moments of ARGGGHHH! when attempting to fit the windows / top assembly.
I have never had the need to remove a regulator stop.
However, I have had to adjust the top, adjust the window regulator & tracks, repeat, repeat and repeat. I doo all of this prior to committing to the top placement. IE prior to tacking permanently in place.
Lots of patience required.
If your top is old and has shrunk, there is a chance you will never achieve the desired result. If the top was not installed properly, again, you will most likely not achieve the desired result.
 
Kube said:
Mike, I'd restored enough of these cars to appreciate your frustration.
The issue you deem a common problem is more often than not due to poor restoration techniques and less of a factory assembly issue.
Every one that I have restored has had at least some moments of ARGGGHHH! when attempting to fit the windows / top assembly.
I have never had the need to remove a regulator stop.
However, I have had to adjust the top, adjust the window regulator & tracks, repeat, repeat and repeat. I doo all of this prior to committing to the top placement. IE prior to tacking permanently in place.
Lots of patience required.
If your top is old and has shrunk, there is a chance you will never achieve the desired result. If the top was not installed properly, again, you will most likely not achieve the desired result.
Click to expand...


Thanks Kube. The other side is better than the other. Top is new LB and fits very well. I had an old timer restore this car and I am pretty sure he got lazy after a long restoration and just did not go all the way. I need to remove the door panel and work on the adjustment but not much I can do to the top anymore. I have talked to other 39 owners and they all seem to have this problem.
 
Mike/NY said:
Thanks Kube. The other side is better than the other. Top is new LB and fits very well. I had an old timer restore this car and I am pretty sure he got lazy after a long restoration and just did not go all the way. I need to remove the door panel and work on the adjustment but not much I can do to the top anymore. I have talked to other 39 owners and they all seem to have this problem.
Click to expand...

Now that I understand this was a kit top, that brings in yet another concern.
Any top "made to fit" is well, made to fit a 'typical" '39 Ford. We all know the quality control was not the same as it is these days. Thus, that "made to fit" may very well not fit your car as well as your neighbor's.
I have installed LB tops and have been for the most part, satisfied. Still, there were more than a couple that required seams to be opened and moved, etc.
In fact, after the first top I got from LB, the subsequent tops were ordered in (mostly) pieces, IE, I'll sew them together.
 
My comments about your '39 top/windows might not apply to your car, in any case I'll make them anyway.
I have a '39 Plym conv cpe that is a Briggs bodied car, the same as a Ford, however, they were built to a higher standard. The Plym bodies is the same as the rest of the DPCD vehicles.
I had a friend that had a '39 Ford conv. cpe, that had window problems, we compared cars, my friends window assembly were very similar to mine. The guide rollers were smaller and the track assembly was slightly different.
I never saw my friends top done so I don't know if he used the same top material flap that my Plym has. I do know that I used '36 Ford windshield and "B" pillar stainless trim with the '36 rubber, the windows seal up to the top header bar perfectly.
My car is a rumble seat car, same as a '39 Ford, I used a rubber seal and bumper stops for a '36-39 Ford, worked perfectly.
 
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