Power Window Motor

[Nicholas R.]

Hello everyone!
I'm pretty much finished on the restoration of my 68, but the driver's side window motor stopped working. It looks to me like it's the original motor. My question is, should I get it rebuilt, or just buy a new one? I'm not sure if buying a new motor would hurt the value of the car, or not. If so, does anyone know of a place I can have it rebuilt? Thanks, NICK

[Jack H.]

Re: Power Window Motor

You could dive into the door panel first to see if you've got that 'rare' case of the motor being A-OK but the wiring being loose/faulty and/or the window binding in its tracks creating a too high friction situation...

If/when you decide to R&R the window motor, you have a few alternatives. First, the power window motor was NOT unique to Corvette. Decent used originals can be obtained from scrap yards which were used in other GM cars of the same era.

Second, when sourcing over-the-counter motors, there were several running changes over the years. These affected the speed with which the motor drove the window up/down as well as the actual electrical connection on the motor (adaptors are available).

From a driver/use view, the later era motors are NICE since they operate faster. But, a savvy judge doing Operations Check and/or PV can spot the difference. So, it's your choice.

[Pat M.]

Re: Power Window Motor

I replaced both of my motors with current replacements on my 70. It's one of the very few things I didn't feel mattered as far as originality, and I doubt it would hurt a car's value.

I'm happy with the performance of each, they operate at similar speeds, and they passed PV. I would try to have yours operate reasonably in sync. I would also ask your Team Leader how picky he is about this issue if you intend to try to pass PV.