Of course there are plenty of reasons to convert to power windows, including the appeal of owning a fully loaded car, or just looking cool in general. Beyond the convenience factor, installing power windows into a car that’s almost half a century old can help eliminate a few hurdles.
Using our ’64 Chevelle two-door hardtop—a car that came to us with the doors half-gutted—as an example, we can offer the first tip. Try to start with an intact door complete with all of its innards. Intact means all of the parts you’ll need to reuse are in place, and factory adjustments can be marked and noted before disassembly. Otherwise you’ll be playing the “try to figure it out game.” If so, don’t worry, the game’s instructions can be found in either a parts or shop manual, we used both. The next tip is: Don’t buy junk—by junk, we mean inferior parts that don’t fit and aren’t worth the labor to put them in. Some excellent power window kits are on the market, and Electric-Life is one of the brands that offers a high-quality system. For our ’64 Chevelle we installed Electric-Life’s GM87-K kit engineered to fit ’64-67 Chevelles and El Caminos. The kit comes with minimal instructions, but it does mention the three different positions for adjusting the down stop. We unscrewed the bolt, and placed it at the top position.
Remember it’s always a good idea to test one’s progress as a project moves along. It’s that old check twice, install once philosophy. For instance we ran 12V juice to the window motors to ensure the windows operated properly (up and down) before we installed the door panels. Also it’s a good idea one knows for sure what they’ve identified as up and down in the wiring, and making sure the switch isn’t reversed.
Before you begin to pull everything apart, be sure to mark the factory adjustment, and you should do just fine. Another thing, should the windows flunk the garden hose test after you’ve completed the job, don’t worry, these cars tend to be a little tough to get the correct fit the first time. It might take a little tinkering, but you will get things to seal up.
[01] We decided the cleanest...
[01] We decided the cleanest way to route the power window wiring harness from the body to the doors was to use GM’s original design. The doors needed to be removed in order to drill out the holes.
[02] On non-power window cars,...
[02] On non-power window cars, there are factory indents in the doorjambs, and door fronts indexing where the hole saw should be centered.
[03] Note how the repop rubber...
[03] Note how the repop rubber lends a factory look to our custom install. A little spray lube on the wires and they slid right through. We made sure the wires were run long enough to reach the window motors.
[04] It’s easiest to install...
[04] It’s easiest to install the power window kits with the doors on the car. We refitted the doors, and removed the door panels.
[05] Before removing the door...
[05] Before removing the door glass, it was necessary to unbolt and remove the vent-window assemblies.
[06] Next, we removed the...
[06] Next, we removed the window regulators, and lifted the window glass from the doors.
[07] The original door glass...
[07] The original door glass was severely scratched, so this was the perfect time to swap them out with a fresh set from Auto Metal Direct (AMD offers a choice between clear or tinted glass). The first step was to mark where the original glass was mounted in the channel with tape.
[08] We then used a wood block...
[08] We then used a wood block with a mallet, working front to rear to knock the channel free from the glass.
[09] There are three thicknesses...
[09] There are three thicknesses of setting tape available: thin, medium, and thick. We found thick setting tape worked best.
[10] Held in place on the...
[10] Held in place on the outside, this photo illustrates how well Electric-Life’s power window mechanisms align with the four factory boltholes in the door.
[11] With the door shell empty,...
[11] With the door shell empty, the power window mechanism was lowered into place at a 45-degree angle.
[12] Next, one of the front...
[12] Next, one of the front mounting bolts was installed to hold the mechanism in place. This allowed it to be lifted high enough to extend the arms through the top of the door.
[13] The window was then attached...
[13] The window was then attached to the arms and lowered into place.
[14] It was necessary to jiggle...
[14] It was necessary to jiggle the vent window assembly front to rear to drop it into place, initially, alongside of the window, and then working the door glass into the vent window channel. Next, the rear window channel was bolted down.
[15] Stock GM chrome switches...
[15] Stock GM chrome switches are available; we opted for Electric-Life’s BMW style. The front side of the door panel was marked and cut with a utility knife. Note: the placement of the power window switch fits into a recessed pocket in the door. All that was left to do was hook up the wiring.