Front Window Frame HELL Restoration

[Jerry]

[rmcgoldrick]

I had to drill right through the rivets to get mine off (from the outside). Use a drill bit a few sizes smaller than the diameter of the rivet. Eventually they'll collapse and you can hammer them out. Yes, you can definitely buy new rivets but I found the small bolt and nylock nut much easier. I bought mine from https://www.customandcommercial.com
Don't forget they get almost completely covered by the rubbers once it is all reassembled

[thom]

I'm in a similar boat right now: I took the frame apart and had them blasted, but I removed the wing latch strike things and had them chromed, and now I'm trying to figure out the best way to re-attach them. I actually thought about brazing them onto the frame.

And somehow someone had really mangled this one in the past, but I'm confused, because it didn't look like it had ever been apart before, and the seal looked original. Could it have been that someone screwed it up at the factory? Or maybe a really early dealer repair.

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-Thom
1956 Single Cab
1957 Porsche 356A Sunroof
1957 23-Window Deluxe
1957 Mercedes Westfalia single cab
1963 Unimog 404
1965 E-Type

[BarryL]

[thom]

[ryans65]

I used a pop rivet in each hole that I then struck to make flat so the seal fit, still working fine after several years. The wolfsburg west latches on the other hand have broken twice.

[BarryL]

[thom]

All hackage aside - what's the best way to proceed in re-attaching these guys?
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-Thom
1956 Single Cab
1957 Porsche 356A Sunroof
1957 23-Window Deluxe
1957 Mercedes Westfalia single cab
1963 Unimog 404
1965 E-Type

[Stocknazi]

Are the holes in the frame opened up?

If not source some original size rivets and buck them back into the frame. Or make some one-off rivets that are larger in size if needed.
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WANTED:
58 Westfalia cabinet knobs (3 needed), roof rack, and (7) privy tent poles (silver painted).

"When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty."
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

Thomas Jefferson

[thom]

[Stocknazi]

[pondoras box]

Get an old pair of vise grips and grind the griping teeth of the jaws. drill a divot into one side of the jaws to allow for a large ball bearing to sit in the divot.

Put the proper rivet in place and tighten the vise grips down with the ball bearing in the divot and against the side of the rivet that crushes. Now apply pressure to the vise grips to get the rivet to start crushing. Be very careful if you use too small of a ball bearing when the rivet crushes it goes quick and can cause the ball bearing to come out quickly.

Once the that happens you now completely flatten the rivet using only the modified vise grips and it will look and act like the factory did it.

Sounds complicated but its actually really easy once you try it. I never damaged a window frame or even ruin a rivet. 100% success rate with this method and I've done well over 15 window frames. This method works for the vent window also.
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Looking for anything from Hal Casey Motors out of Hamburg New York, from license plate surrounds to matchbooks.

1961 23 Window (Bobo)
1965 11 Window (Zelda). https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=563183
1965 13 Window (Lucas)
1957 Oval ragtop
1960 hardtop
1964 hardtop
1965 hardtop (Arschloch)
1973 standard bug (Dirty Gertie)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=804912
1988 Cabriolet VR6 conversion

[BulliBill]

Back when I did a discussion thread here on the restoration of my April of 1959 Double Cab I covered how I did my vent window assembly and the assembly of both my cab door window assemblies. Check that out, as it might assist you too. Lots of photos and descriptions...

Here is the first page of the entire DC restoration thread:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=545000

Here is a link to the pages (pages 35-36) that might help you out on the cab window assembly:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...;start=680

If I can do it, you can do it too! Take your time and be patient! Walk away from it if things get weird, take a beer break, and try it again a little later. And enjoy and use my "baby powder" solution.

Bill Bowman
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I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[mcque]

Happy Easter All,

Redoing factory windows, and the lower horizontal bar that both glasses windows sit on I cannot remove (pointing at in picture).

I'm pointing at the nuts (?) and have no idea how to remove these without damage. I can't identify them. better to ask than to break lol

!

[BarryL]

Aren't there Phillips flat head screws that come out on the other side of your finger?

[EverettB]

Yes, there are tiny slotted screws on the other side with nuts where you are pointing.

Are the nuts already removed or rounded off?
I can't see nuts in that photo.

They are so tiny and they get frozen that a bunch of times the screws just snapped when I tried to take them apart.
They are regular metric screws/nuts available from the hardware store though so easy to replace if they break.
_________________
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[mcque]

Ah, thanks for the input guys. I went back with a magnifying glass and could now see what you described. 2 teeny screws, and 2 3 or 4 mm nuts.

I appreciate the help on this, its alot better than breaking off something that wasn't meant to be broken off.

[mcque]

At wolfsburg west

LOWER CHANNEL SCREWS, secures lower channel to window frame, fits all Buses through 1967, does both sides N109800

$4.53