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General Information => Troubleshooting => Topic started by: ORCoaster on October 21, 2011, 09:33:31 pm
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I have leaking wing windows in the 81 VW Rabbit. I tried to get some new seals but they were for the non-opening windows which are not the same size. I have the chance to buy a couple of doors from a 1984 convertible and it has the bolt on type windows. What I need to know is if they are a direct replacement? Can I just take them off and reinstall on my car with the solid bar over and around the window. I looks to me that they are close and that the roll down window is larger or is it just my imagination?
Anyone replace their wing windows with a swap like this? Might be my only chance to get windows that work and don't leak. Wow what a concept!
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direct..... old non bolt style.. use silicone to glue it shut and no longer leaks..
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I have the passenger side glued right now and the drivers side is screwed down from the inside with a flange and screw combo. What I really want is windows on hinges that work. I grew up with the wing window thing, and I like the air to come through the cab. I don't smoke so that is not the reason I want the wind to go through. It is the diesel smell. Or is it the bean diet?
I think I will go look at these doors just the same. There are mirrors and windows in good shape and who knows the price might just be about the same as trying to get these from a junk yard. Which I haven't seen yet. Direct swap, did someone hit the easy button this time?
Thanks ;D
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i too grew up in them when they were new.. LOL... but i can honestly say.. my 2nd car, a 81 diesel ls.. is the ONLY one that had them.. they were failed glue in kind in 90.. and i went to solid.. ive never seeked out a set of bolt in kind for any of the rest.. solid kind have always worked for me..
they fun to take out.. the hings down inside the door sux.. so play with the cabby ones so you learn how to get them out... shave your head first to keep from pulling hairs..
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the cabby doors gotta be different..
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Not Cabby doors, convertible as in Soft top Cabriolet? Does not have steel top and back around windows. About 40 a door is asking price. I can't use the doors but the mirrors and windows might be worth the effort.
CRSMP5, Can't Remember Shi? MP5 not sure on that. Anyway I have had the hinges out of my 81 a few times trying to get all kinds of glue to stick to the windows again. Finally gave up as do all others. Compound curves, stress on the hinges and just an el sucko design. So when I see these bolt ins and the handles are on the seals look good I figured what the heck go look. Will be a few days until I can do that.
I know that there is a pop rivet or two to driill, the hex head down the rubber gasket to loosen, and the plastic tabs to push on either side to get the plastic piece out the bottom. Door panel and all that needs to come off and when putting it all back together I need a bit of slickery stuff to get the gaskets in the channel correctly. I think antifreeze works best.
Shave my head? (http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j475/Orcoaster/DSCN7221.jpg)
That has already been taken care of long ago. Kids, life's trials and genetics combined to keep it pretty clean up there.
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cabby = convert... caddy = truck.. :P still same vent... dawn dish detergent.. just direct no water..
crs = initals..... mp5 = different hobby... much more $$ and noisy... but im one of the few who had one at 21... back when they costed lots less then to do it now.. can buy a new tdi for starting price now.. but its still fun :D
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cabby = convert I knew that! I just CRS.
MP5 as in shoot'em up MP5? Oh, yeah, noisy.
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yep... best investment i ever made... 3k way way back then is over 20k now.. only so many public can own.. so each year price goes up.. best part is.. the more you use it does not affect value..
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The vent windows are a direct fit into an 81 caddy from an 84 cabby! If they are original the 84 cabby should have the through bolt style vents and as such 40 a door is a great deal! A pair of them on ebay easily fetch's $100! Also the mirrors will swap. The large door glass will not as its cabby specific.
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are you talkin bout the front door quarter windows? do yours open? i'd love to have them operate like a 1988 f150! know what i mean? are yours like that?
man what i'd give to get my little vent windows to open!
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are you talkin bout the front door quarter windows? do yours open? i'd love to have them operate like a 1988 f150! know what i mean? are yours like that?
man what i'd give to get my little vent windows to open!
Yes the front 1/4 windows, with the hinges that don't stay glued on with anything I or others have tried. I too like to turn them out all the way and have the wind just howl into the cab. Maybe some like A/C but my car has it not, nor did any others until the wife's Toyota. I just like the hot air to cool me down. By drinking as I drive. Yeah, keep it legal buddy.
So yes I am trying to make the windows work once again. Maybe tomorrow night I will have two doors I can start to canabalize.
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so your vehicle does haz them! now i have to find a way to make mine do that!
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I am not sure you can. The gaskets I originally ordered were solid and they fit a Jetta. Did the Jetta ever have wing windows that open? I think not.
So a pair of doors sells for 100 or a pair of bolt in windows? I am waiting on the call to go look tomorrow. Need to get this done as rain cometh and with no garage to work in this could be delayed.
BigVWman, A fellow Michigander? eh ya? I have a rabbit not the caddy or cabby but these look to be the same sized windows. Ya? You Betcha?
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The straight dope on vent windows:
Murrican made vehicle with bolt in vent glass have different positions for the holes than their German made counterparts (Cabby, Jetta vs Rabbit)
No Rabbit in the US with bolt in vent windows has compatible glass with German made cars.
No German made car (Jetta Cabby) has compatible glass with US made cars.
The framework is interchangable between the Cabby and Murrican made cars. The seals are NOT.
This boils down to if you want bolt in windows on your murrican made car, you need to take into consideration trim level on the car and model. If the car came with chrome trim, you must only use chrome trim seal that come from the model you are using the glass AND frame from. Otherwise it will look bad and not match up with the rest of the seals on the door.
Hardtops can use both style frame, but the glass is not interchangable between murrican made models and German made models.
There is one poprivet that will need drilling to remove the support guide from the door.
Yes, Jettas DID come with opening wing windows.
I am sure there is something I forgot..
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Tis true you need to keep them as a unit, but if his seals were bad he would likely be using them as unit anyway. The rivet and screw location is the same as i have done this many times both ways solids to vents, glued vents to solids etc. The trim on the exterior depends on trim level of each car if his has chrome and cabby has chrome etc! Yes the functional drilled vent windows alone go for over $100 a pair on ebay! They are getting rarer to find and are fairly sought after! Yep a native Michigander eh, headed back for the winter anyway!
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Man I hope these fit, otherwise I just bought two heavy pieces of metal and 4 pieces of glass. I will move some pics to photobucket and link later.
The gentleman had a little bit of everything. I would have liked to go for the rear tail lights but his were short and mine are long across the back. I thought he said it was all off an 84 cabby. I am going to try and get the drivers wing window out tonight so I can install it this weekend.
Bolt through windows with working locking handles. I hope they stay that way. Seals look good as well. I also was given a steering wheel and a wiper motor for doing business with the man. I like the feel of the wheel better than the stock one but it is still bigger than my legs want it to be. I know so tough to be tall right?
http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j475/Orcoaster/Cabbyinsidedriver.jpg
http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j475/Orcoaster/Cabbyinsidepass.jpg
http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j475/Orcoaster/driver_doorcabby.jpg
http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j475/Orcoaster/Passengerdoorcabby.jpg
Anyone need big glass and rest of the metal frame? I saw an ebay ad and they wanted 160 for the door and 60 for the glass. I could go a bit cheaper.
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Cabby seals will not fit a hardtop, IIRC.
plus, that chrome trim is cabby only, so if the seals DO fit (which I doubt) you will need chrome trim from a hardtop car. Also, the roll up windows are cabby only and will not fit a hardtop. The window regulators are completely different.
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I think the wing windows should have been sold only in dry climates. I think they leaked from the factory and are inherently a bad design. Let us know if it works, I need to replace my drivers side door sometime soon and could make the switch then.
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Got the drivers side apart just now. Silver chrome strip runs full length of the roll down window so I am not sure this will work. I may be able to get the seals to swap on the wing window alone. Have to wait until I get back home this weekend to find out. The mounting of the wings in the hinges is kind of different. A cone shaped deal that hugs into a washer that the bolt passes through. All hardware in good shape and the seals look plenty clean and flexible.
I see the different roll down mechanism. Not that flimsy cable deal on my machine. Solid x bars in there. Be nice to swap them but the windows are different sizes. I am wondering on the rubber seal that goes on the outside of the roll down. I just bought new ones for my car and I can't see how these are going to work. Like I said reserved judgment until I can compare back home. I am not about to pull the window off here and then drive it 225 miles with it not working correct. That would drive me nuts. Oh I already am.
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the problem with the trim and the outside window scrapers is that on hte hardtop, they curve up along the window frame in the rear. On the softtop, they just go straight and end. The problem with the seals on the vent windows on the softtop is that they end too short to meet the upper seal on the hard top. Should be short by about 17mm. this will leave a big gap.
If I am incorrect, please feel free to correct me. It has been a long time since I worked on this conversion..
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I was able to get the chrome trim that goes along the window scrapers off and I think the windows are the same size. It was dark but I held one against the other and they sure looked close. Nowhere near 17 mm of difference. I will get the originals off and do some side by side comparisons and see what up. I have to be able to get both the rubber seal and the metal frame to swap as the frame holds the upper hinge and there is a bracket on the bottom that holds the plastic anchor for the shaft that comes off the bottom of the window, the hinge pin one might say.
But I am encouraged that this will work. Going to do the drivers side this weekend and the passenger next. I didn't have time to pull both windows before returning south.
Later
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To get the metal frame out you have the Phillips screw at the top right around where that big rubber blob is! then the rivet on the inside behind the door panel, after that it is a twisty wrestling match to get the assembly out but it will come!
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OH YEAH on the wrestling match. But I found that if I rolled the window up a bit and took that nut off the bottom of the track that allowed the window itself to be pulled back towards the door latch about an inch or a bit more. That gets the window out of the track and then you can unbolt the bottom of the track with another 10 mm bolt and pull it straight up and out the top.
So I did get it out and I will do the same with the passenger side in short order now that I have solved the puzzle.
thanks
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So I was thinking if I could reverse the doors operation (suicide style) I could just prop the door open for some air circulation. Have like a latch to keep it from opening too far.
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Nah. Look over in the Upgrades section, I show the swap out there. Just keep looking for some of those bolt through windows and frames. I was told I got a deal for the price I paid. I rolled home and to work with them open and loved it when I couldn't see any water from the rain last night on the floorboards. I currently have the carpet out just in case Mr. Murphy comes to visit. Again! ;D