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| When your door glass is rolled up, is there a large gap between the door and outside of the glass? Well, Pilgrim, there shouldn’t be. On a Corvette there is a rubber seal that fills this area. It is called the Door Glass Outer Window Seal. It also goes by a more common name of Window Wiper. The purpose of this seal is to keep water out and also gently wipe the outside of the window when it is rolled up or down. This is very helpful in wet or foggy weather. By rolling the window down, the seal will wipe the outside of the glass allowing you to see. Pretty neat, huh? These seals are easily replaced and one call to Zip Products, Inc., 8067 Fast Lane , Mechanicsville, VA 23111(800) 962-9632, will get you all the parts you will need to do the job. The only other thing you will need is a few hand tools and one afternoon. Our Project 77’s outer window seals needed replacement so follow along as we show you how easy it is to do. |
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01: Here you can see that the entire rubber lip of the outer seal is missing. |
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02: Start by removing the door panel. Use a door handle spring removal tool on the window handle and lock knob. |
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03: You will need to use an allen wrench to remove the bezel around the door mirror remote control. Now carefully remove the door panel. |
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04: Loosen the door glass lower stops. This will allow the door glass to go down further into the door. When they are loose, roll the window down so that the top of the glass is below the bottom edge of the outer seal.
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05: Remove the two retaining screws at both ends of the outer seal. |
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06: Use your fingertips to grab the stainless steel bead at the top of the outer seal. Now roll the bead toward the inside of the car and snap the clips out of the door. It is that simple. |
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07: You can now install the new outer seal. Line up the retaining clips and holes. Place your fingers on each side of the clip and snap it into the door. |
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08: I like to install a few screws for added safety. Mark the drill bit with tape as we did here. (You are going into a double panel and you do not want to drill into the outer panel of the door.) Now drill two or three holes and install 8x3/8 phillips pan head screws. When they are installed, the outer seal is secure. |
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09: Before you re-install your door panel, you should make sure that the door glass now fits correctly. Roll your window up and carefully close the door. Check how it aligns with the windshield pillar and the rear door glass weatherstrip. It should be parallel with the windshield pillar and rest against the rear door glass weatherstrip. |
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10: If you need to adjust the glass front or rear, loosen these two bolts. They will allow you to move the glass forward or back. Make a slight adjustment, re-snug the bolts and check the alignment. When you get a good fit, tighten the bolts.
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11: Now check how the glass fits into the weatherstrip at the pillar and roof. If the glass goes inside or outside of the weatherstrip instead of fitting into it, you will have to make another adjustment. |
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12: Loosen the front and rear anti-rattlers before you make any inboard or outboard adjustment. You do not have to remove them but you will want them to be loose. |
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13: To move the door glass inboard or outboard you will have to loosen these bolts. You may only have to adjust the front and not the rear or vice versa, or you may have to adjust both. It just depends on how far the glass is in or out. Remember to adjust a small amount at a time and check the progress after each adjustment. When you have reached the final adjustment and the glass fits against the weatherstrip, then push the anti-rattlers against the glass and tighten them into place. |
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14: The height adjustment is next. These two bolts stop the glass from going up too far. They are called the upper stops. Start by loosening them. Roll the glass up into the roofrail weatherstrip. When you have a good seal between the glass and rubber, tighten these stops into place. Now roll the glass down into the door. Stop the glass just below the outer seal. Now slide the lower glass stops up against the glass rollers. (You do remember these stops from the beginning of the article, don’t you?) Tighten them into place. The lower stops are now set. |
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15: Your glass adjustments should now be set. You can start the re-assembly. You should have a plastic watershield between your door panel and the door. This shield will keep condensation and water from damaging the back of your door panel. If you do not have one, they are easy to make. Take some strip caulking and lay it around the inner edge of the door. |
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16: Now take a common large trash bag and open it out fully. Lay this over the door opening and press the outer edges against the strip caulking. Cut an X at each door, window and lock stud and push it down around the base. Use a razor blade or utility knife and cut off the excess around the door. Voila!! A door panel watershield. |
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17: Here is our Project 77 with the doors assembled and new outer window seals installed. Ready for any foggy or rainy day. |
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THE OUTER SEAL :
68-82 CORVETTE OUTER DOOR GLASS REPLACEMENT
By: Greg Donahue
Photos by: Author
SOURCE:
Zip Products, Inc.
8067 Fast Lane
Mechanicsville, VA 23111
(800) 962-9632
PARTS LIST:
The Author would like to thank Scott Coral of Greg Donahue Collector Car Restorations, Inc. for his assistance with this article.
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