Installing Power Windows
By James W. Lindsay
project was! I made a few mistakes before this project was over, but I'll only bore you with some of the more exciting ones. If you want to install this kit in a pre '67 car, read this article very carefully so that you know what you are getting yourself in to!
This all started because I wanted to use a custom dash from "Innovations in Fiberglass". Fine. I make the special order through my local VWFLAPS, along with picking up a one-piece window kit, a pair of new window regulators, and a new set of sashes. But when the dash finally came and I test-fitted it inside my car, the window crank handles wouldn't clear the ends of the dash! What was I going to do? I couldn't really modify the mounting locations for the regulators, and "reshaping" the dash was not a project I really wanted to take on. "Oh, well," I said to myself, "I might as well install a set of power windows". That way, I don't need the space necessary to operate the window cranks. (To be honest, I did plan on installing power windows some day, I just figured it would be later instead of sooner.)
I considered several kits, most of which looked identical to the one that AutoLoc sells. These kits all use the original factory regulators and slip a gear assembly over the crank spline to operate the glass (envision a bicycle chain set-up with the motor at one end and the crank spline at the other and you'll get the idea). Unfortunately, they require great big ugly plastic caps to cover up the crank spline gear thingy, leaving much to be desired with regards to aesthetics. They do offer large optional switch pods that fit over top of the gear assembly, but I wanted a cleaner look.
So I opted for the Barrett Enterprises kit instead. This kit does not use VW window regulators but their own vertical track style set-up instead. The kit was more expensive, but if you need to buy a set of new '65-'68 VW window regulators anyways (eg: for a one-piece window kit), The final cost for installing power windows in a Bug then becomes only about $100 more than the cost of a set of regulators and some fancy window cranks. Unfortunately, the instructions are very poor and the kit apparently doesn't fit in earlier (pre '67) cars without a lot of undocumented modifications (although I would figure it fits later cars with vent windows intact much better). Hence the reason for this article. Instructions for installing one-piece windows in pre '65 cars using manual window regulators can be found here.
Here's a list of some of the things you'll need or have access to...
The first thing I immediately noticed when I tried to fit this kit into the doors of my car was the fact that the motor needed to sit between the door skin and the vertical stamping near the bottom of the door. This was quickly solved by a more pressing need to move the whole assembly backwards (more about that in a moment). Some other areas of sheetmetal needed to be flattened out as well, to allow the unit to sit flush instead of rocking back and forth on high points. Finally, the upper mounting stud for the guide track was lined up almost perfectly with the door latch actuator rod, requiring relocation as well. Sigh.
Since the kit was apparently better designed for use in a car with vent windows, the vertical run track is tilted at an angle. This is because it is supposed to use the run channel attached to the vent wing frame to guide the glass up and down. Since I was using one-piece windows I needed to make the glass move straight up and down, using the rearward run channel to guide the glass. This required drilling a new hole in the square plate on the new power window regulator that the stock VW sash bolted to, in order to reposition it perfectly perpendicular (ie: 90 degrees) with the guide track. This was relatively easy to do, involving only a square, a centerpunch, and a ¼" drill bit. This angle isn't that critical, since there is a modest amount of slop in the mechanism anyways (see picture at left).
By pivoting the mounting point where the sash bolts to the power window regulator, the entire mechanism needed to be pivoted inside the door as well. This required fabricating a new mount securing the motor (the picture above shows the new mount in place, with the old mount beside it for comparison). This mount doesn't have to be terribly strong, since it is only securing the motor, but I chose to make mine out of some spare steel stock I had lying around (aluminum would do just as well). You will want to make sure that the motor is still mounted securely, so that the assembly doesn't flex too much when you slam the doors closed. The new mount uses the lower of two available holes just behind and beneath the inner door release handle. The bottom end of the mount uses the slot at the very bottom of the inner door sheetmetal, allowing some fore & aft movement to make everything line up properly. If you are installing this kit in a later model Beetle, use the mounting locations on the included instructions instead.
At this point I ran into my first major problem. Apparently, the upper mounting stud on the guide track lined up directly beneath the door latch actuator rod! There was no way to use this mounting location without interfering with the actuator rod. So I ended up drilling out the spot welds that secured the stud tab to the guide track and enlarging the top-most hole in the guide track to function as a new upper mounting point. Removing the tab also partially solved another problem— that of not enough space between the glass and the inner door skin to fit the power window regulator track!
Removing the tab provided some room, but I needed extra insurance that the glass wouldn't begin scraping against the regulator track as the glass moved up & down. I also didn't need the glass bumping up against the track when I slammed the doors, possibly resulting in myself wasting part of an afternoon installing a new pane of glass! So I had to make a slight modification...
What I ended up doing was cutting a square section of the inner door skin (marked here with white masking tape) out of the door to allow the vertical track to sit flush against the surrounding sheetmetal. Structural integrity wasn't compromised and I felt much better knowing now that I had extra clearance between the glass and the track. The cutting only took a few minutes using a rotary dremel tool and a cut-off wheel attachment. You will probably want to place a small ½" patch of adhesive-backed foam weatherstripping on the vertical track that shows through the cut opening, to prevent the door latch actuator rod (highlighted in blue) from rattling against it (you may want to add a few more pieces in other places while you are at it). Lubricate the surface of the foam pads with a bit of grease so that the actuator rod slides over them a little easier.
Finally, I had to secure the bottom edge of the glass to the window sashes. Normally you would wrap a piece of thin cork around the bottom edge of the glass and gently pound the sash over it onto the glass, before lowering the entire works into the door from above. This works fine if you think you can fit the metal sash down through the sealing strips at the bottom of the window opening (or if the sealing strips are not installed), but you may find that you do not have enough room. The solution is to glue the sash to the glass while both pieces are inside the door. I used Goop™ adhesive (available at most FLAPS, DIY, and hardware stores) because of its incredible strength and flexibility. You can use tape or a friend to hold the glass up temporarily while you apply the adhesive into the sash channel (you'll need about half a tube per sash). If you have some thick (1-2mm) rubber or cardboard handy, cut a few strips 1 inch wide and insert one at each end of the sash so that they form a "U" in the channel (this is to create a slight gap surrounding the glass so that the adhesive can bond to it on all three sides). Don't apply too much near the vertical track guide or the excess may ooze out and foul things up (you may want to do this with the sash out of the door to reduce the chances of making a mess). Wrap a bit of masking tape around the ends to prevent the Goop™ from escaping and carefully lower the bottom edge of the glass down into the sash— keeping the rear edge of the glass firmly in the rear run channel. Be sure to cover up the motor with a rag so that any excess Goop™ doesn't drip down on top of it. Power the window up (using some wire and a car battery) to set the glass in place and let the Goop™ set up over night— preferably 24 hours. If the glass doesn't seem to fit perfectly afterwards after testing the motors, you should be able to align the glass better by either slotting the holes in the doorskin or disconnecting the window from the square plate on the regulator and slotting the sash holes slightly.
Once the Goop™ has fully dried test the operation of the windows. Be careful at this point, and power the window down a bit at a time. If your installation is anything like mine, you may notice that the glass wants to catch on the welded nuts on the inside of the doorskin behind the inner door latch release handle. To combat this, I ended up fabricating a 1/8" thick aluminum spacer to fit between the square plate on the regulator and the part that attaches to the window sash. This pitches the bottom of the glass out slightly so that it does not catch on those nuts when you power the windows down (you may need a second shim if 1/8" isn't enough). Additionally, I installed a 10mm tall nylon foot on the inside of each doorskin. These feet are found on the undersides of most home electronics devices to prevent scuffing of whatever you are resting them on and are available at most electronic supply stores (ie: not Radio Shack). The ones I used have a recessed hole in them so that they can be mounted with a small machine screw (I used the mounting hole directly above the one used by the upper motor mount bracket). This foot pushes up against the glass firmly when the window is part way down, preventing the glass from hitting those welded nuts when you slam the door closed. If you can't find feet that are 10mm (3/8") tall, you will have to make up the difference with washers (this measurement worked for me but your doors may be slightly different— go slow and check your progress periodically!). Once in place the feet do not interfere with window operation, and the glass only begins to make contact after the bottom edge is well below my recommended mounting location (meaning that the glass does not try to shear off the foot as it goes down, but rubs up against it instead).
Finally, use a few "zap-straps" to secure the white plastic tubes inside both doors as shown in the Barrett Enterprises instructions. Now you can begin worrying about wiring up the switches and power wires. Again, use the Barrett Enterprises instructions for this step. The electrical wiring and switch layout was quite straight forward so I won't bother including it here (you just have to decide exactly where you would like to place the switches, and go from there). The kit comes with a total of six switches (in two different styles), allowing you to position two switches on the driver's door and one on the passenger door (just like factory power windows in a two-door car). One set of the switches are mounted inside plastic molded pods that you can mount (flush) to your door panels, while the other set is designed to be inset into the door or console (requiring space directly behind them in order to mount them flush). This latter set comes with one switch bezel that houses two switches and one with only one. If you need extras of these bezels, or the switches that go with them, they are all factory original equipment in power window-equipped 1990 VW Corrados (and possibly other years as well). The switch and bezel on the left side of the picture are the Corrado-style, while the smaller bezel in the lower right is from a late eighties Sirocco.
Later, I'll discuss installing one of AutoLoc's Express One-Touch Window Controller kits. These kits provide the one-touch down feature that is available for the driver's window on many new cars equipped with power windows, allowing a single click to scroll the window all the way down automatically (it also features one-touch up as well). The AutoLoc kits also have provisions for hooking them up to an alarm system (for remote window operation) or a rain sensor (parked your car with the windows/sunroof down and it starts to rain? No problem!).
