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There has been a lot of discussion on mid year vent window regulators before, but these messages usually assume that the pot metal gear teeth can be repaired. Somewhere out there, there must be a source for replacement gears, in either steel or a cast material. Does anyone have any ideas of existing suppliers ? In my case, the pass side regulator had gear teeth broken off and no longer made contact with the worm gear shaft. As a result, the vent window flapped in the wind.
I was able to facilitate a repair that may be of interest. From a junkyard in Sterling Heights, MI I found a window regulator out of a mid '60s Buick for about $ 5.00. I was only able to get the pass side. I disassembled this regulator and found that the pot metal gear was somewhat longer than the Corvette gear, however the teeth were in excellent condition. The spigot at the top where the vent window control shaft plugs in was very similar and used the same spring clip and attaching bolt. I had a friend who is a machinst modify the other end of this gear to shorten it and cut a new stub shaft to match the damaged Mid Year one. I re-assembled and re-installed the regulator and it now works BEAUTIFULLY, with only about a 1/4 rev of play.
My machinist friend also specializes in making small castings. He has assured me that if I could come up with a pair (LH & RH) pot metal gears in pristine condition, that it would be no problem for him to make up the necessary rubber molds to reproduce these gears in a variety of metals...is anyone out there interested in this idea ? All it would take would be a set of gears in good condition. It would be a much less expensive solution to buying new regulators at the outrageous price of over $ 200 each.
Craig Jewett NCRS # 28049
'67 327/350 A/C coupe
I was able to facilitate a repair that may be of interest. From a junkyard in Sterling Heights, MI I found a window regulator out of a mid '60s Buick for about $ 5.00. I was only able to get the pass side. I disassembled this regulator and found that the pot metal gear was somewhat longer than the Corvette gear, however the teeth were in excellent condition. The spigot at the top where the vent window control shaft plugs in was very similar and used the same spring clip and attaching bolt. I had a friend who is a machinst modify the other end of this gear to shorten it and cut a new stub shaft to match the damaged Mid Year one. I re-assembled and re-installed the regulator and it now works BEAUTIFULLY, with only about a 1/4 rev of play.
My machinist friend also specializes in making small castings. He has assured me that if I could come up with a pair (LH & RH) pot metal gears in pristine condition, that it would be no problem for him to make up the necessary rubber molds to reproduce these gears in a variety of metals...is anyone out there interested in this idea ? All it would take would be a set of gears in good condition. It would be a much less expensive solution to buying new regulators at the outrageous price of over $ 200 each.
Craig Jewett NCRS # 28049
'67 327/350 A/C coupe
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