Broken Bracket, Door Clunk, PW, 1970

[Juliet P.]

Just took the inside door panel off. Found one clunk, a broken bracket. I have PW. The AIM wasn't clear on the shape of the bracket or what it holds. The piece I removed was stress fatigued. It was bolted in the lower front with a larger size bolt, right near the forward 2 bolts on the inside metal access panel. We have a Mig welder & a husband who knows how to use one. ;) What did this broken piece attach to? What do I need to do next to get whatever it is out for repair? Do I have to undo the entire PW assy and somehow maneuver that out the access hole? EEgads... Should I just buy a replacement piece or is it worth trying to repair it? The broken piece is about 3 inches long by 2 inches wide and about 1/16 thick with an attached nut in the centered bolt hole. It is shaped sort of like a ribbon S curve and is broken at the top turn of the S.


Also, while I'm working inside the door, the PW are anemic and need cleaning / lubing of the gear components, as do the locks. How do I get at them? How come the screws for the access panels look kinda rusty but the rest of the metal door pieces are fine? What can I use to clean up the screws which won't make them slippery and vibrate back out? I don't want to put rusty screws back in. When I do reassemble the interior trim piece, how do I get those hard plastic velcro thinggies to snap back together? Also, did original factory vapor barrier have a cutout where the manual crank windows were? And did they tape over the hole with black tape for PW optioned cars? Should I reuse the vapor barrier or get repro stuff? Who makes the most correct barriers, or are they still available from GM?


Thanks for your help. Sorry for the really long post. :)

[Jon Whiteley]

Re: Broken Bracket, Door Clunk, PW, 1970

Juliet, The bracket I believe you are referring to is spot welded to the forward part of the PW motor/regulator assembly and is one of three attachment points for the PW assy. to the door panel. You'll need to remove the PW assy. from the door to effect a repair. If you have a clean break in the bracket, I would expect you would be able to weld existing bracket. If not, replacements are available through vendors such as Mid-America; however these are bolt-on affairs and require propery aligning new bracket and then drilling 2 holes in PW assy. plate (where original bracket was welded to).


I recently finished removing, cleaning, lubing and reassembling the PW regulators, door latch and lock assemblies in my 1970. One of aforementioned brackets had broken off and was missing. Clunk, clunk. If you are going to clean up and lube regulator, guides, etc, you can do a better job by removing all the parts from the door anyway. (You can weld or replace your bracket then.) Disassembly appears daunting at first - make notes on what you do and in what sequence/how things are related/etc. and do one door at a time.You can always use the other door as a reference. I can dig up my notes,etc. if you would like - let me know.


Good luck Juliet. I've enjoyed seeing and reading about your car. Jon

[Terry M.]

Re: Broken Bracket, Door Clunk, PW, 1970

Juliet,


Just a word of caution - improper disassembly of the window mechanism can free a spring that can cause serious damage to your hands.


Be sure to read and understand the instructions in the Chassis Service Manual before you start to work on the window mechanism.


I am not trying to scare anyone - just a word of caution.


Terry

[Juliet P.]

Re: Broken Bracket, Door Clunk, PW, 1970

Thanks for the info. I've ordered more reading material and will hold off on any further disassembly until I'm sure I'm not going to loose an arm or finger or something. ;) Thanks for the heads up Joe. BTW, I guess this is probably NOT considered a clean break in the bracket...




And incase anyone is interested in seeing what it looks like under the interior panels and lower panel there are several pictures on my web page:




~Juliet