1969 2DR HT Window Lowered Beltline | Ford Thunderbird forum club group 1955-2005 models

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1969 2DR HT Window Lowered Beltline

RichV13

RichV13

Gold Member
Reaction score
2
Thunderbird Year
1969
In the information in my manuals and what I've seen by way of similar work in YT videos, in order to replace the outer beltline weatherstrip, you need to remove a stop and lower the window below the beltline.

I have removed the stop and my window is bottoming out on the guide retainers. The glass is perfectly blocking access to the screws attaching the beltline weatherstrip.

Any suggestions short of pulling the glass? By the way the procedure for pulling the glass indicates that you need to remove the beltline weatherstrip.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks,

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Hi.Rich. I don't have an answer to help you, but I'm restoring my 69 T_bird 2 port. Can you tell me where you bought the weatherstrip kit?Thanks. Eber
 
Eber said:
Hi.Rich. I don't have an answer to help you, but I'm restoring my 69 T_bird 2 port. Can you tell me where you bought the weatherstrip kit?Thanks. Eber
Click to expand...
Eber,

You likely have figured out by now that no one has the weatherstrip that was exact match for this era T-Bird. I bought what I hoped would be close for the roof rail and the doors.

The Roof Rail was from Classic Industries 51222NP specified on site for Mustang $36.99/pair.
The Door Frame WS also came from Classic Industries 20530FG specified on site for Mustang $30.99/pair.
The Beltline Weatherstrip for front doors and rear quarter was purchased on Ebay, but the package was Repops $154.95 for the 8 pc kit. TBIRDHQ shows in stock for $159.95.
Door Window Rear Weatherstrip purchased from Dennis Carpenter D0LY-65214A14-PR $59.95. I also bought Trunk Seal WS on this same order C3AZ-6243720-A for $26.95.

First off, be prepared for a lot of teardown if you want to undertake the Beltline replacement or if you plan to do any window alignment work. I have the entire rear interior removed from the vehicle and sitting on tables in my garage at the moment. In order to remove the soft trim panel from the rear quarters you need to remove the armrests then pull the rear seat cushion and back as well as the rear interior trim rearward of the window. To get the steel quarter trim removed, you'll need to take out the center armrest as well as the package tray behind and above the rear seat back.

The outboard beltline is attached to the body by screws. The inboard beltline is attached to the trim panel with staples.

The kit I bought for the Beltline Repair has rear quarter pieces likely sized for the landau with the blind quarter as the pieces are a bit long and will need to be cut down.

You'll need to remove the front door armrest and door trim panel including finish covers to get to the front door beltlines. I ran into an issue on my driver side, where the window would not go down below the beltline, therefore I cannot access the screws attaching it to the door. I believe the only way to get to it is to remove the glass which I mentioned in my post.

I had moderate success with the door window to quarter seal. There is a screw at the very bottom of this strip, I could not get the window to come up high enough to access the strip, but the strip eventually pulled off. I got the new one in with the aid of silicone spray. It looks good and seals well to the quarter glass.

I have installed the driver side roof rail weather strip. It fits reasonably well and was a little longer than needed, so I trimmed to fit at the rear quarter area. I have an issue that the rear quarter window is pitching upwards when closing and digging into the new soft rubber (see my other post). I have not adjusted the front window to eliminate all of the gaps just yet, but I may be close.

I am going to bail on replacing the beltline on the front doors for now. I will get the quarters done, because I don't want to gut the interior again. It's much easier to go after the doors at a later date.

If I can adjust the quarter window to stop digging into the roof rail rubber, I'll be very happy, if not, I'll carefully close the window and discourage the rare rear seat occupant from opening the windows.

I have not yet tried the door weatherstrip, that one should not require any disassembly other than removing the screws from the end caps. If I find it too long, I'll cut and splice as needed.

I hope this has helped you. Best wishes in sourcing the parts and making decisions on what you want to tackle. If I had the luxury of a dedicated garage space to spread out, I would likely keep pushing, but I am staring at a rapidly advancing calendar and want to get the car put back together sooner or later.

Thanks,

Rich
 
Hi. Rich. Guy I have no words to thank you for the help and very valuable. Thank you so much
The repair shop is finishing up the bodywork, but I was worried about the rubbers.
Your help was 10.
One question: does the ebay kit (NEW 1968-1971 Thunderbird 2 Door Hardtop Window Felt Beltline Weatherstrip - Set) not come with rear window caulking? or would the rear window caulking be another piece? Thank you again. Eber/Brazil

Moderator note: do not posts photos as PDF files. Use JPG.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Eber said:
Hi. Rich. Guy I have no words to thank you for the help and very valuable. Thank you so much
The repair shop is finishing up the bodywork, but I was worried about the rubbers.
Your help was 10.
One question: does the ebay kit (NEW 1968-1971 Thunderbird 2 Door Hardtop Window Felt Beltline Weatherstrip - Set) not come with rear window caulking? or would the rear window caulking be another piece? Thank you again. Eber/Brazil
Click to expand...
The beltline weatherstrip set comes with the 8 pieces Driver Side Door Inboard and Outboard, Passenger Side Door Inboard and Outboard, Driver Side Rear Quarter Inboard and Outboard and Passenger Side Rear Quarter Inboard and Outboard. There is a small bag of staples for use when attaching the beltline member to the inboard trim panel. You may have these held in by screws and it is my intention to replace the staples with screws. There was no caulking as you inquired about. I bought adhesive at the local auto parts store to secure the roof rail rubber into the channel.
 
Weatherstrip Update!
I have replaced the following: DS/PS Roof Rail using Mustang part from Classic Industries 51222NP for $36.99. It fit very well in the channel. As you approach the rear quarter area, it gets cut to a length sufficient to hold it position. It's like pushing a wet noodle into the rear quarter area. The A-pillar mount is the most radically different from the original stock. I did land it with a screw, but I also bought some EPDM rubber to make a larger landing pad to fill the gap by the door. I bought a 12"x12" square of 1/2" thick Ultra Soft from McMaster-Carr 93725K182 for $40.40. I'll have enough left over to last a lifetime. I used an adhesive readily available from your local auto parts store to secure the weatherstrip in the channel.

I also replaced the weatherstrip on the rear of the front glass that seals to the rear quarter glass. This wad obtained from Dennis Carpenter D0LY-65214A14-PR $59.95. This slides on, but the retaining screw hole did not align with the existing body hole.
Finally, I replaced the Beltline weatherstrip inside the doors/quarter. This is a tricky one to find, sometimes TBirdHQ will have it, othertimes it will be a hunt. I got mine off of Ebay that was actually RePop product, I paid $164.25.
Things I encountered that made this overhaul challenging: The front windows did not lower enough, even with the lower stop removed to access the outboard beltline strip screws. I had to remove the pivot bolt from the regulator and carefully lower the glass to the bottom of the door interior. There are adjustment points for tilt on the bottom of the door that were painted over
?
as well as for the upper stop at the rear of the door. All glass required some level of adjustment. To adjust the rear quarter glass, I had to remove the entirety of the rear interior, seat cushion, seat backs, arm rests, interior soft trim, steel trim, package tray shelf.
The DS rear quarter window was digging into the new softer roof rail weatherstrip, once the above interior components were removed, the glass adjustment was very easy.

The rear quarter beltline components had to be trimmed to size, this was done easily with a hacksaw. The four interior beltline pieces that attach to trim panels were originally secured by staples, I have now secured them with small screws.
This was a lot more work than I had envisioned. I only had some evenings or weekends in which the weather was favorable to put the car in the driveway to work on it. This ended up taking about 3 weeks with work here and there. I had to park my daily car in the driveway as I had multiple tables set up in my garage spot for all of the various interior components that I removed. I'm very happy this is done. I did also purchase door mount weatherstripping, but have not yet taken the time to attempt to install it. I also found this as a Mustang part from Classic Industries 20530FG for $30.99.
The roof rail was a risk, I might have been out the $37 and I might still be out the $31 for the door weatherstrip. When I thought I had found door weatherstrip earlier in the year, it was $400 and my order was cancelled the following day. I've spent $70 on dumber things.
Very important, if you want to undertake this type of project,

I strongly recommend having a set of shop manuals available. The parts manual with illustrated views is also highly recommended. I would also recommend taking pictures prior to removing a group of fasteners.
 
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