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Brothers Trucks 1955-1959 Door Weather Stripping Installation

Staff Writer Staff Writer
03/01/2016

Brothers Trucks 1955-1959 Door Weather Stripping Installation

Staff Writer Staff Writer
03/01/2016
tech
Brothers Trucks Tech
Brothers Trucks
Interior

Hereโ€™s typical glass channel wear in the vent window divide bar.

The rattles caused by the worn channel lining were no longer endurable.

Close examination reveals more rattle space on both sides of the driverโ€™s window glass.

The passenger door had lost its upper vent-window pivot post and gained an air gap.

The original weatherstrip was badly cracked. Installed by wire clips, this is where annoying wind whistles originate.

Before removing anything, photograph the original fit. A digital camera works well for this task.

The first step in this rubber renovation is removing and saving these two small clips on each door.

Easily made from an old saw blade, this handy tool quickly pops the retaining clips out.

Our one big mistake was laying the rubber in a place like this. Read on to see why.

Our one big mistake was laying the rubber in a place like this. Read on to see why.

The new weatherstrip uses plastic prongs in place of the wire clips. Just pop โ€™em in.

Halfway around the door, we realized the rubber was on the inside of the hinges. Glad we made our handy tool. Be sure to start like this, not like above.

IMPORTANT NOTE โ€“ The replacement seals can be installed on door in two different ways/directions. Only one way is correct and will create a proper seal against the cab. The other way may โ€œlookโ€ correct but will not properly seal against the cab, leaving room for air and other elements to leak. The picture above illustrates the incorrect way to install the seal. Note that the big lip of the seal is against the door lip, leaving a โ€œflatโ€ looking seal. The CORRECT installation will have the large lip of the seal facing inwards towards the cab.

Remove the door handles and window cranks by simply removing the screws under them.

Remove the upper inner door molding with two screws and pull-away two clips.

Remove the 16 screws holding the inner door panel in place.

The door latch has to come out to get the linkage bar out of the way.

Reach down inside the door and pop out the rubber lower window stop. The glass can then drop deeper into the door.

Removing these two screws will release the bottom of the vent window division bar.

The lower window felts must come out to remove the vent window bar. They pop out.

Now pull out the flexible window channel. There shouldnโ€™t be anything holding it in.

The vent window frame is held in place by four hard-to-spot screws.

No matter how we tried, the vent window wasnโ€™t coming out. The bottom bracket wouldnโ€™t come through the door slot.

Once we removed the two screws holding the door glass in, the glass slid up and out of the door.

The vent window and divider bar assembly now was turned 90 degrees and removed.

This combination scribe/pick was perfect for removing the old felt from the divider bar channel.

The vent window frame must come apart to replace the seal. Drill out four rivets.

The vent window frame must come apart to replace the seal. Drill out four rivets.

The vent window seals now pull free of the channel theyโ€™re forced into.

Choose the seal most closely matching the original. The newer seals are slightly different.

Spray the vent window frame channel liberally with silicon. (Youโ€™ll appreciate this tip.)

We rounded the tip of our pick and pulled the rubber into the channel

We got creative here. With two flat spots ground on a nail head, we welded it to the frame for a new pivot post. The drip-line coupler will be the bushing.

The Army calls it field expedience. We call it truckinโ€™ ingenuity.

We spread the frame slightly to reinstall the vent window channel.

The seal on the division bar was restored by drilling out and replacing four rivets. Rivet the vent window assembly back on the division bar.

To install the new felt in the division bar channel, remove only the center backing paperโ€ฆ

โ€ฆthen press the felt tightly into place and pull the side strips out.

Now is a good time to lubricate all the mechanisms. This extendable 3-in-1 lube makes it easy.

Install the vent assembly and door glass together, fitting the glass into the channel.

The door glass channel needed a few relief cuts to make the necessary bend.

The channel could now be dropped into the door. Form the corner with a box-end wrench.

The bottom door glass felts are best trimmed to fit using a cut-off wheel.

Add a dab of petroleum jelly to the pop nubs on the felt and they pop in tight

With the door glass dropped all the way, pop the two felts in with a taped screwdriver.

The two lower felts should line up with the outer edges of the channel felt like so.

Crank the window up and reinstall the bottom stop using a screw and lock nut and viola! Youโ€™re done.

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