Corvette door handle installation

Make sure the through-the-glass studs are tight before putting the window back in. Install the vertical tracks now before the door outer seal strips are installed. The rear guide roller bearing assembly has already been installed into the rear track. The window regulator and motor are installed as an assembly. We are using part L stainless steel regulator for long, trouble-free operation. A new motor was in order so we used an item L new motor.

The L suffix denotes left door. Many of the replacements require welding nuts to the regulator. GM used rivets on cars and they were always loose. The bolts are preferred over the rivets, as they keep the door in good shape. Before we go any further with glass installation, we need to install the outer seal strip and stainless trim. Originally, they were the only replacements available. Today, Corvette Central has the correct replacements with proper flocked material, correct beading and fit.

The strips have pop-in retainers with two phillips head screws front and rear to hold them in place. Here we have the proper outside seal strip being installed.

These strips are an integral part of window sealing. They should fit close to the glass to keep water out of the door. The strips also keep tension on the glass to prevent rattling on the outside. It is much easier to replace these seals with the glass out of the way. If the stops are removed, they can be replaced with the glass in place let the glass down as low as it will go.

These are the screws that hold the stainless trim to the door before the outside seal strips are installed. Apply wax under the trim to prevent corrosion. This is the right way to paint your car no paint line where the trim meets the door. Another phillips head screw at the rear for the stainless trim. We painted our project car stainless trim black.

The horizontal track to which the door glass connects is installed. Pushing the track on to the rollers can be difficult watch your fingers. Front roller shown. The rear roller is slightly more difficult to secure. Wiggle the track while pushing on it. Once the door glass track is in place, the small horizontal track that controls glass front-rear tilt is installed.

We usually try to put the screws back at their witness marks from the previous adjustment. If there are multiple witness marks, we start in the middle of the adjustment.

The glass can be now installed, starting with the front roller bearing. Exercise caution as the protruding stud of the front roller bearing can catch on the seal strip and tear it. Carefully lower the glass into position. The front vertical track is left loose in the door to allow it to get as far away as possible.

Watch the front glass-to-track stud as it goes past the outside seal strip. It gets tight between the seal strip and door opening on the inside. The front door glass stud has an access hole for nut installation. These are the front vertical track adjustment points. The pick is on the screws that allow fore and aft movement of the glass.

The small screwdriver adjusts glass tilt at the top. The glass anti-rattle cushion is on front of the vertical track adjuster. Put enough pressure on the anti-rattle cushions to keep the glass off the track until setting the fore, aft and tilt of the glass. This has the adjuster at the front. If the door gaps are even, but the window is too far forward, open up the slots to allow more movement.

The door itself requires some machining to let the adjuster plate move far enough. It is possible to slot the window to horizontal track holes and move the glass. The front roller bearing is riding in the vertical track, so it does not matter where the glass is moved on the horizontal track. This is the compromise we discussed earlier: you have to give a little here and there to make the glass fit and seal properly. The door has a slot to allow some movement fore and aft. We adjust the track so that the window does not bind at the lowest position after all the other adjustments are made.

Our rear vertical track has in-and-out tilt adjustment only. We have found that the tilt adjustment must coincide somewhat closely with the front tilt adjustment. Too much difference causes binding during glass up and down operation.

However, minor changes can be made. Does the glass need to be higher in the front or rear? Set the glass height with the upper stops. Once that has been determined, watch the glass as it approaches the stops. If the rear is going to come to the stop sooner, move the tilt track accordingly. Do the opposite at the front stop. The glass will be binding during the last bit of operation if this adjustment is not correct. This is the rear glass upper limit stop.

Adjust it so the glass is not buried into the weatherstrip. When positioned too high, the glass catches on the weatherstrip and tears it. The front vertical track has a similar stop that controls upward travel.

The lower stop requires a large phillips head screwdriver for adjustment. Have the glass stop even with the top of the outside seal strip. The glass tilt adjustment may require that the front or rear stop be adjusted differently to coincide with the glass tilt as it comes to its lowest point.

Once all of our other adjustments are made, the anti-rattle cushions are set so that they have light tension on the glass. The outside of the glass should also have light tension at the outside seal strip. We find them either too loose or tight, causing the window to bind during operation. It is definitely easier to service door locks and latched when window glass is already removed. As there is not an easy way to lubricate them periodically, they usually only get serviced after they stop working.

The linkages are also prone to wear from lack of lubricating, so it is best to remove and clean them for inspection. Replace the worn anti-rattle grommets to keep the doors quiet on rough roads. All of the retaining clips are available from Corvette Central.

GM used a really nifty clip that allows you to push the rod into the clip. The trick is figuring out how to remove the rod from the clip. Stiff lock linkages make it difficult to lock or unlock your Corvette. The outside door lock cylinder has a tendency to wear at the lever, making it difficult to unlock. In these photos, we have sourced a complete set of lock cylinders. These really unique pliers make it easy to remove or replace the door lock cylinder retaining clip. Be sure the clip goes under the tabs on the lock cylinder and not outside of it.

Our Project had an aftermarket alarm installed, so we used spacers to take the place of the door lock cylinder switches. The door lock cylinder switches activate the alarm. They would have been sandwiched between the cylinder and the lever. The door handle has two nuts holding the handle in place. If the glass is in place, it is easier to have the window all the way down to access the nuts.

It is easier to remove the linkage adjuster now, as opposed to removing the rod out of the handle. Exterior paint damage can result during the ensuing struggle. The pictured clip is an anti-rattle device. Make sure you orient the linkage this way. Any penetrating lube will work. The grease is sufficient to lube the mechanism, but penetrant really gets down into the pivot points. The latch is installed with screws, the correct pieces for cars. Same treatment on our Corvette linkage assemblies.

If necessary, we can replace the worn anti-rattle grommets with item This is the door lock linkage out of the door and the approximate way it is installed in the door. Here we are using our Big Daddy riveter to set the rivets. Many of the tool wholesalers have these rivet guns at reasonable prices.

Our inside door release handle was broken from abuse. Push the linkage retaining clip onto the lever. This clip is sized differently from any of the other clips in the door. Be careful with this clip, as it is tough to find. This early inside door release mechanism is very tough. However, like any mechanical component, they should be cleaned and greased periodically. Some of these door release mechanisms get damaged when the handle is being installed. The mechanism has two pot-metal ribs that help hold the handle in position.

Do not force the handle, as the ribs can be broken. GM used these clips from the early days until the C4. The clip has a small tab that prevents the clip from moving off the lever. In this application, the clip must move upward by lifting the end of the clip. Once the clip is lifted high enough, it can be pushed upward. Once the clip is up, the linkage rod slips out.

Here the clip is beginning to release the linkage rod end. Move the clips up and slip the linkage out without losing the clip off the lever. Here the clip is up all the way, positioned to allow the linkage rod end out. This may seem like a lot of time spent on a minor subject. If you have to remove one of these clips from a lever that is somewhat hidden in the door, you can appreciate how to remove one of these clips correctly.

The clips are tougher than you think and other things get damaged and possibly the rods get bent and then bind. We replace all of these clips when we restore any door. These are easy clips to deal with they pop off the rod end with little effort. These clips come in right and left hand because of there rotation limitations.

We have them in both right and left hand item is left hand are right hand. These door lock rod grommets item are often forgotten, causing aggravating rattles. If you have all the other items out of the door you may want to remove the outside rear view mirror to replace the gasket or clean under it. Certainly the best way to paint the door properly is to remove the mirror. As you can see the outside seal strip and stainless steel trim pieces are removed from the door. These pieces do not have to come off to access the mirror retaining nuts but the glass does have to be out of the way.

Like usual the stud came out with the nut. Like this mirror both studs and nuts came out the same way. Remember to put the gasket with the high side to the top. The gasket is often installed with the high side at the bottom then the mirror just about hits the window. Here you have a few choices: replace the entire regulator assembly?

Repair your original? Swap your motor onto a fresh regulator? Whatever direction you take, Corvette Central has the parts that you will need. Remember: if the window does not consistently stop in the same position, it will cause leaks.

If the gear itself is replaced, the other pivots can be worn and most likely are. Patching can be aggravating sure the window goes up and down do you want to deal with leaks and poor fitting glass? This regulator has loose rollers and worn gear teeth. The window would not close fully, and the gears were slipping. The lift assist spring was also broken, making this window open at high speed. We went for a total overhaul on this regulator. Our high speed die grinder was used to grind off the end of the roller stud.

The new roller was held in place with the old assist spring stop pin. Then we carefully peened the end of the roller stud to stake it in place.

A hydraulic press would also do the job but the hammer did a fine job. We had to grind off the pins holding the gear to the regulator arm like we did with the roller.

Our ball peen hammer worked fine staking the pins to the regulator. This is our rear strut rod shock mount remover tool. It worked perfectly holding the center pivot pin in place for the staking. The regulator stationary plate is set onto the pivot pin for staking. If you use the hammer try to avoid missing the pin multiple times during the staking process.

Check frequently to make sure you get the pin tight but not too tight causing it to bind. A piece of double D steering shaft worked well for the staking process in the hydraulic press. As with the hammer, check and make sure the plate moves easily. Avoid overtightening. The assist spring is installed. A coating of grease prevents corrosion and noises as the spring loads and unloads. The regulator is ready for the motor installation. The spring must be installed so that the assist is for up operation.

This is the driver side door regulator with the spring winding correctly installed. Actually, I will go into it. I wonder if there is a way to "hot wire" the window to roll it down and back up. Thanks, and I am sure you'll figure it out pretty easily once you start taking things apart. As far as your window goes, there are tons of YouTube videos on how to hot wire it, like this one Please share your thoughts.

I was very fortunate to find a replacement exterior door handle in excellent condition at the NCRS Winter Regional swap meet. I had purchased a cheap China-made repop a few years ago which looked worse than my original door handle.

Not cosmetically, of course, since it was brand new, but aesthetically since the door flap was down like in the case of a broken door handle spring. They are made by Trim Parts. The original door handle on my '76 Stingray is scratched and pitted beyond repair, which ironically, you cannot do as you would have to literally break the assembly in order to take it apart. Unknown March 10,