Hi Guys,

After a long time off the road I have finished the repair work on my 60 plymouth's rear window well. So much rust the roof wasn't actually attached to the car! My first attempts at body work and it's ok in my opinion. Not perfect, but better than the mess that was there.

Now I need to try and get the glass back in. I have replacement seal from Gary Goers, though it is for a two door coupe and needs to be cut and shut in a few places to fit a four door sedan.

Anybody know what the best way to install one of these seals is? Bear in mind that the rear window lips are not the best in the world (a little wavey). Is it a good idea to use some form of sealant in addition to the strip (to compensate for the pitting/waves in the lip)?

All help and advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance guys!

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1960 Plymouth Belvedere 4 door sedan
Stock 60 225
Push button 3 speed Torqueflite
Right Hooker

What an awsome reply! Thanks Danny!

Seems strange you put the window in the seal first, the OEM manual says the other way round. Should make cutting the seal to length and adding that little extra from the old seal a lot easier though.

Quick question about the rope trick. At the bottom of my window, the glass is at a very acute angle to the rear deck. Am I likely to have any problems getting the seal to pull over the lip here?


I have thought about getting the sealant into the gap, so I bought some lengths of brass tube and silicone hose. I should be able to get somthing together that is narrow and stiff enough to fit under the seal, and allow a fairly neat application. I'll post how it goes with this set up when I am done.

Thanks a lot for the reply,
60 Ply

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1960 Plymouth Belvedere 4 door sedan
Stock 60 225
Push button 3 speed Torqueflite
Right Hooker

Well... I’ve never installed a window in a 60 Plymouth so your manual may be correct. It’s easy enough to try it both ways and they may know something I’m not thinking about. I’d go by the manual if you can.


When you set the window into there you put the bottom lip inside first, or as much of it as you can. Then gravity works with you pulling the glass down as you work up the sides.

It may look hopeless but as you work around the sides it usually just falls in. Be careful pushing on it unevenly and if it gets half-way in and has to come out, work it out slower than it went in.

Danny

I have been having a rough time getting it in. It does not seem to want to fit at all.

I also tried getting the rubber into the window channel first, but it just wouldn't f****** stay there. It's immensely irritating!!! Should I try and use some fast setting adhesive to 'tack' it in there?

Running out of ideas guys, and it would be nice to get some driving in this summer.

Thanks again guys,
60 Ply

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1960 Plymouth Belvedere 4 door sedan
Stock 60 225
Push button 3 speed Torqueflite
Right Hooker

I helped a friend put a windshield into his Renault back in the 70's . I remember him using liquid silicone lubricant to get everything to slide into place, but the technology could well have changed by now. We had a dial telephones and people always knew where you were when they called your number.

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/6 '67 Barracuda convertible, electronic ignition, 4-OD, street cam, SBP KH discs, 3.55 SG 7.25" 1" t-bars. Bilstein.
340 '67 fastback, Doug Nash 5-speed.
1988 Toyota pickup work truck

The 'slidyness' isn't so much the problem, it's that the thing just doesn't seem to physically fit.

The manual makes no reference to putting the new rubbers in, it seems to assume that they never get removed, and simply says about getting the glass intop the rubber.

Maybe a job I have to call a specialist in to try and sort, which is irritating seeing how much I spent on the damn sealers. That'll be the first job on the car I haven't done myself. Grrr

_________________
1960 Plymouth Belvedere 4 door sedan
Stock 60 225
Push button 3 speed Torqueflite
Right Hooker

Can you measure the glass and the opening, and make sure it is the right size? Maybe you changed the shape slightly during the body work. You and an assistant could hold the window in place without the seal, and maybe use 1/8" spacers? If you have bits of left over seal, you could use a few of those as spacers. I know it sounds obvious, but that's what usually gets me.

I have used the method recommended within the FSM (with the bits of weather strip), and everything is within the (surprisingly broad) tolerances they suggest, a little on the 'loose' side in one area but should still be doable, even easier to be honest.

I'm going to have another go tomorrow, with a few more people around. If I can't get it in with the rope trick I shall try and 'tack' the seal into the window channel using tape and spots of rapid set glue of some kind, then try and get the window in after. At the moment the seal will not hold the shape of the channel without some very strong persuasion.

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1960 Plymouth Belvedere 4 door sedan
Stock 60 225
Push button 3 speed Torqueflite
Right Hooker

It’s possible that it doesn’t fit but they all look like they won’t fit. You can set the glass in the hole with no gasket and see if its way off somewhere. Put some spacers at the bottom to hold the glass centered.

I wish I could read factory manual to see the method you are using. Do you go around the glass with a plastic tool and pry the glass in? You would start (with either method) at the bottom and work the bottom corners in first and simultaneously. As you work up the sides, the gasket may very well pull out some to meet the glass but when it’s all together it should go back in. The trick may be to keep the gasket from coming completely out if you don’t have a rope in it to pull it back in.

When glass company professionals install glass like this they smack and beat on it enough to scare you. The bottom and sides have to be seated or the top won’t go in. It will look like it’s all seated but you might be surprised what a few good smacks will do if you are brave enough. If you get it half-way seated you end up pulling everything wrong and it all pops back out.

Danny

The FSM suggests prying the glass into the seal, but
I can't get the damn seal to stay on the body. The upper corners are not molded into the extrusion, their curve is formed by bending the extrusion, but that takes a fair bit of force and as soon as that force is removed they spring out again, very frustrating. Tape doesn't have enough rubber to grip on to hold it all together unfortunately. I could try wrapping tape round the pillars and the rubber, but would have to cut it apart as soon as the glass was kind of level with it. Worth a shot I guess.

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1960 Plymouth Belvedere 4 door sedan
Stock 60 225
Push button 3 speed Torqueflite
Right Hooker

Has anyone put a gasket in an oven to soften it up, start at say 100F? That's the kind of move I might try. Why I often buy parts twice.

IT'S ON! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!

Well that was a few days of sweat, blood and eventually beers. We got the thing in using the rope trick, but needed a lot of brute force and duct tape, but it's on!

Thanks to all who helped, it's greatly appreciated.

Now how the hell is the chrome trim held in?!?! It seems to just sort of, sit there.

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1960 Plymouth Belvedere 4 door sedan
Stock 60 225
Push button 3 speed Torqueflite
Right Hooker

Yikes. There are some that have to be put into the rubber gasket before the window goes in... Others have clips around the metal part of the window opening to hold the trim.

Do you have a slot/slit/crack in the face of the rubber gasket like THIS?

Danny

I hope not, that type of thing always happens to me. 'Now take out the transmission again and put in another heli-coil.'