Folks, I've seen some jacked up stuff before, but I believe these windows & door frames were designed in an alternate universe! I now have over 35 hours in my passenger side door, a good portion of which was spent trying to adjust my power window guide! This shouldn't be, so I decided to poke around a bit. Here is what I've found out; the side window glass matches the curvature of the window opening. The window regulator curvature matches the window curvature. So why so difficult to adjust?
First off, the window regulator must be pulled in to allow the window to meet the weatherstrip at the hardtop window opening. If the bottom of the window doesn't touch the weatherstrip, this is a problem. Mine didn't come close, so I cut a section from the upper door frame tube to allow the window to meet the weatherstrip.
The real problem arises when the window is lowered. Because both the window and the regulator have the same radius, both radius center lines must coincide. Ours do not. This is why the window wants to move outward as it lowers. If you do manage to get your window to seal in the up position, it will not be even close in any other position. This also causes the window to catch the hard top if lowered below the door weatherstrip and attempt to raise the window! Bad!
If the two curved planes represented by the window and the regulator were to be brought into coincidence, the lower end of the regulator would end up inward of the lower door frame tube. This would fix the problem but necessitate a complete redesign of the door frame. We all know this won't happen.
Now for the good news! I've successfully added a second guide rail on the forward edge of the window glass. I scavenged a rail from my donor car & repurposed it. I ordered some felt window channel guide for the inside of the metal channel to protect the glass, and added edge trim to prevent the glass rubbing any of the channel. With the angle set at 14 degrees, same as the regulator, I made brackets for in/out, fore/aft adjustment. Next I removed most of the arch from the regulator by lightly working it with my press.
There's more...the slop in the regulator carriage. It is all over the map! To fix this, I made some bronze wear shoes to give more stability to the carrier. Two shoes on the aft side, one towards the front. A good slather of white lithium grease and finally I have a window that feels solid, raises and lowers as one should. Whew!
Now, I like a challenge. I also like a project. When I think of a kit, I think about something where the engineering has been done to accommodate the supplied parts. With this kit, it seems like the engineering work was left for the builder. Mounting and adjusting a window mechanism shouldn't take the better part of a week!
I'd like to hear what some of the rest of you have done to address this glaring problem!