How To Replace Side Window Post Coupe 1964-67 Pontiac GTO

Brought to you by 1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet.

Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. I hope this how-to video helps you out, and next time you need parts for your vehicle, think of 1AAuto.com. Thanks.

In this video, we'll be putting a front side window into a '65 Pontiac GTO 2-door sedan or Sport Coupe as they're called. The tools you'll need are some white grease, Phillips head screwdriver, flat head screwdriver and a 7/16"? socket with a ratchet or a wrench. This procedure is the same for any '64 to '72 GM A body as far as the window goes. Obviously, for different years, different models, the procedure for installing the door panel will vary.

Here today, we're working on our '65 GTO. What happened is, there's a track here attached to the window and this part of the track is spot welded to another piece of metal. The spot welds rusted out so we took it apart, took this track off and then had it welded back on. Now we're ready to put the window back in. First thing here, you can see I've got my window, my door's all apart, there's no trim on the outside, and my vent window is out. My window regulator is still in. The first thing I'm going to want to do is remove . there's a track on the inside of my window, I'm going to remove this track so I can move my regulator around a little bit. Here's I use a 7/16"? wrench to just remove the two bolts that hold that inner track on and that allows me to move one of the arms of the regulator freely.

Before I install my window I'm going to take a good amount of white grease and put it right along this track so that it slides nice and easy. Now I'm going to take my window, put it on the outside of the vehicle, make sure that these rollers are in good shape which they are, slide it under this first one, slide that forward, and then back onto the second roller, and make sure it goes on. Once it's in this position, what I can do is reach in here, and put this back in place a little bit. As long as I'm holding onto this, it's not going to go anywhere. I'm just going to put a bolt on here and put a bolt on here. They're not tight yet.

Now push the window in a little bit and roll it down, hold it up in place. You can actually slide it back into the rear channel, slide it down. You want to have your bottom stop out and you want to put the window down as far as you can. I can tell by the way that this window is tilted here, this adjustment here tilts the window back and forth. I can see where it was before. Do a little preliminarily adjustment, we want the window pretty much level in here. We'll more fine tune it when we're done later in the process. Put the window down, again, kind of pushing it back, making sure it's in the track. The window is down and it's back in the track correctly.

Now with the window in, you're going to want to put your outer molding back on. On this car, it goes down on and then there are series of little Phillips screws that go and hold it. I'm going to fast forward as I just put those screws in. It helps if you put a little bit of glue on the tip of screwdriver or if you have a magnetic tip screwdriver that holds the screws onto the screwdriver while you put them into place and then tighten them up.

Check to make sure that this bolt here is nice and tight. A lot of times they'll rust out and the threads will wear out. Put it down in. Once you get it in, you can reach in, make sure that the vent window is inside your window in there and, just slide it forward and put it back in. Make sure you get the window inside there and you can quickly take your channel window strip. It should have a, basically, a 45 degree notch out of it, that lets it go in there.

At this point, you can bring your window up, make sure it slides into the channel right there. Now you want to use a long, coarse thread screw that goes throug, basically, the sill and into the frame of the vent window. The screws for the upper part of the vent window are kind of pan head and they are a fine thread screw. Here, again, I'll fast forward as I put in those three screws that hold the top of the vent window.

Once you get the vent window, the last bolt is down here and this is in an adjustment. It adjusts the track back and forth. When you turn it clockwise you bring the lower part of the track closer; counterclockwise is further away. You, basically, just want to reach in there, pinch, make sure that the window is, basically, right in the center and move the track away a little bit.

Now you just have a nice big flanged bolt and washer, put it right on there, use a 7/16"? wrench and just watch, make sure that this doesn't turn at all as your tightening it up. Now your window should go up nice and free. Now I'm rolling the window up and you check the gap at the top as it closes. The back is closing a little sooner than the front so I'm going to loosen up this and I'm going to drop this down until it is nice and even, hold it, just work it back and forth a little bit, tighten it up. Bring it up. All right, it looks good. Now bring it down just a hair more here. It closes nice and tight. It comes down, and it comes nice and smooth.

First, I'm going to use a handle removal tool and take these off. Before you put the door panel on, you need to put a water shield on. This is very important, this goes and protects your door panel from the water. Not much water gets in here but when it does you don't want it to get on the back of your door panel since the door panel is cardboard and they'll just deteriorate very quickly. A couple of notes, you want to put a sealant on here and this is kind of a 3M strip caulk that I put on here. You can use any kind of thick latex caulk, you don't want something, you don't want an adhesive but you want something that will come apart later but is waterproof. Very important, what you want to do is have it slope nice and gradual right down into here that way if water does come through here it has a nice path, even path and goes down in. They didn't take a lot of care when they did these things at the factory and sometimes you'll see it's wavy and stuff. This car actually had a big dip down here so water could get held down there. Then, do the same thing over here, make sure you have a nice gradual plane for the water to come right down and go into the holes here.

To put this water shield on, you want to loosen your molding here. I'll speed it up here, you loosen the five screws that hold that top molding in, slip the water shield up in between the inner door panel and that molding and then tighten those screws back up. That, basically, holds the top of the water shield. Then you want to start sticking it to the caulking that you put on the front and rear as well as make sure that the bottom goes down and into the slit that is along the bottom of the door to direct any water back inside the door.

Now you're ready to put the door panel on. Make sure you have these clips, three on the front, two on the back. There is a larger spring that goes on and you can actually kind of get it in behind and twist it on so it stays in place. Then, put your door panel up into place, up into this molding. It should fit in there nice and snug. I'm just going to look behind make sure my clips are lined up pretty well and then you have this little cone shaped spring and reach up. Put that here on the door pull section. You want to make sure that the springs are lined up on your door panel. Then just guide your pins in place, you might just have to adjust them up a little bit.

Now if you're putting new panels on, you'll want a sharp tool like this because you'll need to be able to find . and generally, probably, what you'll want to do is, actually, put the screws in the bottom in first. That way you can press the panel against the head of the screw and make a hole in the door panel. I'm just going to make sure my holes are lined up here, I'm pretty sure they are.

I'm going to fast forward and explain what I meant. When you have a new panel, they don't come with the holes for those screws. Basically, when these cars were put together at the factory, those screws were self-drilling screws. They just had a machine, they stuck the screws into the door panel and then they drilled themselves into the metal and held the door panel. If you want to put the screws in the same place that your car has holes, put the screws in, start mounting the door panel and then once you get to this point, you press the door panel against the screw and you, basically, will make an indent where the Phillips head is and that's where you can put the hole in the door panel. You take the door panel back off, make the holes for the screws and then reinstall the door panel, obviously, with the screws not in place and use those holes. Basically, you'll, probably, want an awl or some type of sharp tool so that you can line up the holes with the holes in the door and then put the screws in.

Now here I'm putting the armrest base on with the two large, coarse thread, Phillips screws. Here, again, I'd recommend having a long sharp tool like an awl to locate the screw holes. Actually, the best bet is to get one in and then locate the screw hole on the other one and then press it in and then tighten them both up.

For the handles, just make sure the clips are on. These are little, basically, bushings so they don't wear against the door panels. Push them on. Do the same thing down here, make sure the clip is on, on the bushing, make sure one more time that spring is in the right spot and these things should go in nice and straight

We hope this video helps you out. Brought to you by www.1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet. Please feel free to call us toll-free, 888-844-3393. We're the company that's here for you on the Internet and in person.