C4 Corvette Window Seals

Glistening Sills

How to replace window sills on C4 Corvettes.

It’s a nice sunny afternoon, so you’re out enjoying the weather and washing your C4. After you’re done, you notice how great your Corvette looks. But as it begins to dry, you notice the horrible condition of the original window sills. Cracked and splitting, they make your dream machine look more like an aged Mazda.

Fortunately, however, these ugly sills can be replaced. Installing new window sills is a project that can be accomplished with some time and patience. The procedure actually looks more difficult than it really is, so be confident that you don’t have to be a mechanic to do this. Guiding you each step of the way, we’ll show you how it is done. You will only need some common hand tools and a pop-rivet gun (these are found at any auto store and are fairly inexpensive), along with 3/16 aluminum rivets with a shank no longer than 3/8-inch. Plan on about 30 minutes per door.
	01: Once you have rolled your window down and disconnected the battery, remove the four Phillips screws from the speaker grill in the door panel. If your car does not have the Bose stereo, you can skip this step entirely.
	02: The arrows point out the screws that attach the door panel. You will need to remove all of them.
	03: Use a small flat-bladed screwdriver to remove the lock switch slide. With the door unlocked, pry the end of the slide outward and it should pop off. Once the slide is off, you will need to lock the door manually and push the lock rod up and out of the way of the door handle trim. Now you can remove the door panel by lifting it up. Once separated from the door, unplug the wires and set the door panel aside.
	04: Remove the door weatherstrip, front and rear, using a 7mm socket.

	05: Once you have the screw out, pry up the weatherstrip with a putty knife, making sure that you do not rip the weatherstrip. You only need to pry up enough of the weatherstrip to allow access to the rivets.
	06: Use a 10mm socket to loosen, but not remove, the anti-rattle felts.
	07: Using extreme caution, drill out the rivets that retain the window sill. Don’t worry about drilling the entire rivet out for now; just get the head off. We’ll worry about the remainder later.
	08: Use a small screwdriver to pry between the clip and the window sill. Do not pry against the door as this can damage the door or the paint. What we are trying to accomplish is to break the clips away from the rubber sill. Once the clips are broken loose, the sill can be removed and discarded. Needle nose pliers can be utilized to remove the clips by lifting them straight up. You can then use a small punch to push what is left of the rivets through the door.

09: Install the new window sill, pushing the new clips into the same holes the old ones were in, then rivet the window sill. You’ll need 3/16-inch aluminum rivets with a shank that is at least 5/16 but no longer than a 3/8. Using your rivet gun, install the three rivets. After the rivets are installed, reinstall the screw in the front and rear weatherstrip pads. Now is also the time to set the anti-rattle felts back in place.

10: Retrieve the door panel, reconnect the wiring, and reinstall the door panel. Make note of the lip that the top edge of the panel needs to clip over. Once the panel is in, this lip it will fall right into place on the door. You can go ahead and attach the door panel in the reverse order that you removed it. Once the door panel is on, you can reconnect your ground cable and you are done.

	GLISTENING SILLS: HOW TO REPLACE WINDOW SEALS ON C4 CORVETTES SOURCE: Zip Products, Inc. 8067 Fast Lane Mechanicsville, VA 23111 (800) 962-9632 PARTS LIST: 84-96 Corvette Door Window Seals Text and images by Justin Abbott.