Project Old School-Building Out the Doors

Ever Since Project Old School's inception, there were plans to fit the truck with one-piece glass. I knew this would be difficult, given the triangular shape of the opening. The reason is that unless the window is all the way up in the channel or all the way down, there is no support to keep the glass from flopping around, or, worse yet, falling out and breaking. No Limit Engineering in San Berdoo advertises the glass, so I made the call to shop owner Rob MacGregor to get the skinny.

In addition to installing kits at the shop, Rob offers a kit in rough form. In addition to the glass itself, he modifies a kit from Specialty Power Windows to use specifically with '64-66 GM trucks. This is not simply a plug-and-play deal, though. Several areas of the door need to be trimmed to make room for the larger glass. Also the channel off of the old wing window needs to be modified for reuse as well. So if you just can't see cutting into a perfectly good door, then one-piece glass may not be in your future.

Since Old School was finally going to have door glass, I was finally going to have to install some kind of solenoid system. For this, AutoLoc came to the rescue with their complete shaved door handle kit with remote door poppers. Also, since this is Old School we're talking about, I could never in good conscience have power window switches in plain view. AutoLoc helped me out in this department as well with their new Electronic Window Crank Switch. This way, my high-tech doors will still be sporting the stock crank! To celebrate this, I picked up the new door and window cranks along with new door seals and check links from Brothers Trucks in Corona.

Again, this is no easy job, even though Rob and the crew at No Limit make it look easy. It would not take much to completely ruin a door during this buildup. But in my opinion, the clean look of the one-piece glass is worth all the work.

The No Limit glass is as nice...        read full caption The No Limit glass is as nice as it comes. It's available in clear or tinted and can be used for both power and manual systems. Looking at the shape of the glass, you can easily see why there is a support issue when the window is partially down.

No Limit modifies this universal...        read full caption No Limit modifies this universal street rod kit from Specialty Power Windows for use in the '64-66 GM trucks. These kits are especially nice because of the sliding roller track that the glass rides on.

With glass, there will be...        read full caption With glass, there will be no more easy access into the truck. I ordered a shaved door handle kit and keyless entry system from AutoLoc. This includes 75lb solenoids, poppers, an emergency button, relays, a transmitter, and two of their cool new remotes.

Time to start cutting. This...        read full caption Time to start cutting. This area is where the inner structure is spot-welded to the inner skin--so each weld must be drilled out. Once the inner skin is free, this area needs to be cut open for access to the inner structure.

Now you can see the inner...        read full caption Now you can see the inner structure that must be trimmed out.

We made quick work of it with...        read full caption We made quick work of it with the plasma cutter.

It was a pretty large chunk...        read full caption It was a pretty large chunk of metal that needed to be cleared out of the way, and it could've been done with a die grinder--but it would've taken some time.

The doors were gutted a long...        read full caption The doors were gutted a long time ago. Unfortunately, they were gutted a little too much. The vent channels will be reused so they need to be modified. Since mine was long gone, along with the rear channel support, I had to make a run to a salvage yard. An hour and twenty bucks later, here they are.

Only the bare channel is needed...        read full caption Only the bare channel is needed from the wing assembly. So all of the rivets were drilled out.

Then the channel was cut down...        read full caption Then the channel was cut down to the height of the inside of the door.

Since this channel was being...        read full caption Since this channel was being relocated to the front of the door, new mounting tabs had to be fabricated as well. They were marked and drilled out.

Nuts were welded to the tab...        read full caption Nuts were welded to the tab to make it easier to install and remove.

Now the tabs were ready to...        read full caption Now the tabs were ready to be tacked to the channel. But we didn't know exactly where yet.

Here is the key component...        read full caption Here is the key component to supporting the triangle-shaped glass when it is partially down. Rob welded these extensions onto the bottom of the glass channel. It's like adding six more inches of glass to the bottom, helping to support the tapered glass up top.

The new piece was then test-fit...        read full caption The new piece was then test-fit in-between the two channels.

With the proper width determined,...        read full caption With the proper width determined, the tab was marked and tacked in place.

The other major modification...        read full caption The other major modification to the power window kit was cutting down the main track to the proper height of the truck's door.

Rob also tacked the stop back...        read full caption Rob also tacked the stop back on the top edge of the track.

The channel of choice is this...        read full caption The channel of choice is this soft-style stuff that's available at most trim shops. It's a lot softer than the standard stainless-trim type.

However, we still gave it...        read full caption However, we still gave it some relief cuts to help it bend better in the tight corners.

This is the job that nobody...        read full caption This is the job that nobody wants. Rob carefully pounded the channel onto the glass with a strip of cork in- between. The excess cork was then trimmed with a razor blade.

The front of the glass was...        read full caption The front of the glass was dropped in first and then was maneuvered into position. We slid it up into the channel and held it in place with masking tape while we bolted up the motor.

This roller setup is what...        read full caption This roller setup is what gives Specialty Power Windows their smooth operation. This piece simply bolted to the bottom of the glass track with two nuts.

Now Rob dropped the motor...        read full caption Now Rob dropped the motor in through the access hole. The two mounting holes had already been marked and drilled as per the directions.

The two bolts attached the...        read full caption The two bolts attached the track and motor to the inner skin.

This trick spring and grommets...        read full caption This trick spring and grommets were actually the conduit that was supplied for the door wiring to run through. Once you drill the two holes, everything simply pops into place.

Since I was anticipating this...        read full caption Since I was anticipating this install, I purposely left the four wires for the power doors and windows hanging out of the harness so they would be easy to run now. Rob ran four wires into each door to handle both the window switches and the solenoids.

The AutoLoc electronic power...        read full caption The AutoLoc electronic power window switches are simple to hook up. The up and down side each get a power, a ground, and a wire from the motor. That's it.

We mounted the switch temporarily...        read full caption We mounted the switch temporarily and gave it a go. It takes a while for the channel to soften up and settle into place, but overall the glass went up and down very smoothly.

Onto the solenoids. First,...        read full caption Onto the solenoids. First, the door latches were removed from the doors.

Since the latch needed to...        read full caption Since the latch needed to be pulled out to open, and the solenoid had to be mounted down, Rob made up these tubes for the solenoid cable to run through.

They were tacked to the inside...        read full caption They were tacked to the inside of the door latch, and the cable was threaded into place.

To properly mount the solenoid,...        read full caption To properly mount the solenoid, we had to cut one more access hole in the door.

Using the mounting bracket,...        read full caption Using the mounting bracket, we marked the holes in the bottom corner where we would be mounting the solenoid.

Rob welded nuts onto the back...        read full caption Rob welded nuts onto the back of the mounting bracket to make this step a little easier.

The cable was cut to length,...        read full caption The cable was cut to length, looped through the solenoid, and then crimped.

The solenoid simply runs off...        read full caption The solenoid simply runs off of a power and a ground.

Four bolts were used to attach...        read full caption Four bolts were used to attach the solenoid permanently. We did go back and replace the bolts with stainless button heads, though.

The relays and transmitter...        read full caption The relays and transmitter were mounted under the dash. The transmitter will perform up to six functions; that's why you see so many wires. Other than a power and a ground, we only needed one wire running to the supplied relay to pop each door.

AutoLoc makes this really...        read full caption AutoLoc makes this really nice billet door popper. Once the new door weather stripping was in place, however, the doors jumped wide open when we hit the button. We'll add the popper in later if the rubber settles, though.

I didn't think it would be...        read full caption I didn't think it would be very smart of me to publish exactly where I installed the emergency button. But it is in place, and it works off of a wire from the relay and a ground.

Rob then went to work on the...        read full caption Rob then went to work on the window felts. He first cut them to length and contoured the corners to give them a factory look.

He then applied an even layer...        read full caption He then applied an even layer of black weather-strip adhesive.

After letting the adhesive...        read full caption After letting the adhesive set-up for a few minutes, Rob worked each felt into place.

Before wrapping everything...        read full caption Before wrapping everything up, I did a little shopping at Brothers Trucks in Corona. There I got the new door weatherstrips and door and window cranks that include cool new seals that fit behind them. My check links were broken, so I picked up a pair of them as well.

The new weatherstrip popped...        read full caption The new weatherstrip popped into place in no time flat. The cab was so much quieter on the ride home; I actually heard my phone ringing for the first time while driving Old School.

We drilled the three holes...        read full caption We drilled the three holes for the crank switch and then tacked the access panel back into place.

The new chrome cranks and...        read full caption The new chrome cranks and door panel screws really added a nice touch. The finished product looks just as clean and old school as ever.

But it's what's underneath...        read full caption But it's what's underneath that counts. A simple touch of the cranks sends the glass up and down faster than you can say, "It's hot in here; roll down the window."

It was a lot more work than...        read full caption It was a lot more work than I expected. But hey, if it was easy, everyone would have one-piece windows on these trucks.