some A$$ hole smashed my passenger side window out of my 1982 firebird. how hard is it to change it or should i get another complete used door?

 

Glass is so easy to do!
NOT GETTING CUT IS DIFFICULT!
Strip off inside panel, vacuum out at car wash, then assemble with the glass.
It's easy.
Pain in the butt, but easy.
Try doing wing windows on old 60's cars!
Or Rabbits! Oh, that's easy, put in plexigalss & watch the fun as they try to break it (again!)

------------------
Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

The window's attached to a "sash panel"; a piece of metal riveted to the glass. The upper rollers of the window regulator ride in the bottom of the sash. I don't believe there's a way to remove the sash from the regulator without also removing the regulator from the door. There are four large rivets that hold the regulator to the door; smack out the center with a hammer & punch, then drill them out. If your rivets spin (like mine did) with the drill, you can split them apart with a hammer & chisel- they're only aluminum.

The window & sash should slide out of the -front- top of the door. You'll also need to remove the triangular fill panel from the front of the door. Before removing pieces like that, take some spray paint (or white-out), and paint around the bolts, so the paint gets on the door- that way you'll have an exact circle to put your door back together with. All of the bolts you see are adjustable; you need to restore that same adjustment or you'll have a helluva time trying to get the window to close right.

When you put the regulator back on the door, don't do what I first did, and use rivets. After a few years, my rivets all fatigued from the stress, and snapped, leaving me with a window that wouldn't close. I went to a local hardware store and got some short bolts, some lockwashers, and some nuts. I used red loctite on the screws when I put the regulator back on- and I've had no problems since.

The work's not complicated, it's just a pain in the *** . If your current door is in bad condition, you might just want to get a good door out of a junkyard and be done with it. You could also replace just the glass, but you'll need to hunt down those special rivets GM used (as well as the correct rivet gun)- you won't find that at Home Depot!

You could always bring your car and a new window to a glass shop...

Oh- 82-84 door internals are different than that of 85-up doors. That's not too big a deal, since the door frames are exactly the same, and all the same bolt holes exist from 82-92. I have '84 doors on my '86, since my '86 doors were shot. I moved my power window regulator (and thus, the whole door internals) from the '86 door to the '84 door- what a pain!

------------------
-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

thank you. ill use your ideas.

 

Thanks Tom for that education.
Seems door have advanced since I've changed glass a bit ago.
IF ya change doors, be sure to also change the door lock cylinders, too!
That is still a slide clip on the lock cylinder, right?
PS those DOORS ARE HEAVY!
You need a small floor jack for this job to hold door up in air while you attach it.

------------------
Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA