THUNDERBIRD
Window Channel Felt Replacement
REPLACE YOUR OWN WINDOW CHANNEL FELT"
Pictures and step by step instructions!
(instructions below pictures)
(click on the pictures to enlarge them)
Do your windows rattle in your doors? I bet they do!
This is something that just about every Tbird I've ever seen needs.
Start out by going to your local fabric store and ask the lady working there
where her best Black Velvet fabric can be found.
She'll be impressed as she leads you to it thinking you're going to
surprise your wife with some fabric for a new ball dress (he,he,he).
When she asks you how much you need, tell her very slowly "about
t w e l v e ....................inches". (While she's thinking yards)
Anyway, you also need a can of spray adhesive, and then you can
go home and get to work.
The worst part about the whole affair is getting the channel out of the door.
You pretty mych have to remove everything inside the door to get the glass out,
and then remove the adjusting nut at the bottom of the channel and pry
the felt channel from the wing window post. It just pops right out.
Put the channel is a vice to hold it firmly and begin
by taking an awl or ice pick and poking it in the bottom end to get the
stainless binding starting to come loose. Always start at the bottom
because at least the bottom half will never be seen. If you damage the
binding while removing it, by the time you get halfway up you should
be getting better at the removal and the top half will come off good.
I use a sharp 3/4" wood chisel to pry the binding off.
work very slowly and carefully as the binding will bend and kink
very easily. Again, by the time you get to a point that will show
you should have the removal process down pat.
You'll see as you get the binding off, it tends to "curl" up a bit.
Don't be alarmed, it will press back on later just fine.
After you get the first side off, put a piece of masking tape on the
top and mark it right or left so you get it back on the same side,
otherwise the "curl" will give you some trouble. I mark the side
with the adjusting bracket as "inside". When you get the outside
binding piece off you only need mark the top because you'll already
know that because the other one is for the inside, that this one
should be for the outside.
Clean the old fabric out of the channel completely and use a solvent
to wipe it out good so the adhesive will stick. I also run the
channel edges on the wire wheel to clean it up.
Cut a 2" strip off your velvet and place it upside down on a
piece of cardboard or plastic alongside the channel and give both
a good coat of the spray adhesive.
Let the adhesive set a bit, and then begin to insert the velvet into the channel.
It can be a little tricky because it's very sticky. (that rhymes)
I use a screwdriver to rub it down in firmly, making sure it's tight
down into the corners and stuck good on the sides.
Roll the excess velvet over the edges of the channel and use a
sharp utility knife to to trim the excess.
The knife runs down the outside edge real nice.
Next you'll take one of the binding strips and begin to place it back
on the channel from the top down. Make sure you get the fabric
inside the binding and the binding down completely onto the channel.
If necessary, tap it on gently with a rubber mallet.
If you're into toy trains like Lionel or American Flyer,
you probably have a pair of track pliers. If not, take an old
pair of pliers and carve a small grove in the ends so you have a half
circle on each side. These work good for crimping the binding
back on tightly at the top, bottom and a couple intermediate places.
Well now you're done, and it didn't cost you an arm and a leg.
The Velvet costs about $7.00 and the spray adhesive about $9.00.
Oh, while you're at it and have the doors this far apart,
you may as well remove the vent window frame and replace the
"Cat Whiskers" too!
Thomas G. Maruska
Duluth, Minnesota
Copyright © 2002 by Thomas Maruska
