Home-brew Mustang window support

Got a free Mustang a while back, and the first thing I noticed when it rained was that the driver's window didn't roll up (it also didn't idle, but I think I took care of that).

I figured it was just a motor issue as I could hear a relay "click" when I hit the switch, but thought I'd go in there and meter for voltage at the motor just in case.

This is what I found:

Hey, points for creativity!

The guy I got it from isn't a car guy at all (well, he did change the alternator...) but I'm still going to tease him like it's going out of style

So far it looks like wood, electrical tape, nails and a sheet-rock screw were the materials of choice, and it actually does a good job of holding the window 90% of the way up!

Good times!

90% That's a solid A- or maybe a B+.

classy

I did that to the driver side of a friend's 3000GT while she saved up to buy the parts (broke college students). She had it like that for a few months, said it broke her of using drive through windows, several months after the proper repair she'd still find herself parking and going inside to order food.

Hey, broke aint no joke Interesting consequence though.

I'm hoping to get this car "usable" to hand off to my brother (who, consequently, is broke). It was my cousin's husband who kicked it down to me because he figured there was no re-sale value and he bought a new commuter (Prius).

I think I fixed its "no idle" issue but won't know for sure until after I fix this window and get the "growth" out of the inside (it rained while it was still parked on the street). After that I have a CEL to check which'll probably lead to an O2 sensor replacement or something. I'll probably have her smogged... other than that, the car is in pretty dang good shape for a free ride!

Good times!

SN95, V6, auto?

SN95, V6, manual

RallymotherberkeleyingCross!!!

Changing the windows on those is a pain in the ass even when everything is functioning properly, I hate finding someone else's handy work like that.

At least it looks like they already drilled out the pop rivets and yanked the regulator out for you. If the wiring isn't completely berkeleyed then it might not be too bad getting it operational again.

free mustang? man.. I gotta hang out with you more.

I created a window bodge somewhat similar to that on my first car (1980 Mazda GLC) when the regulator broke and I had to save up for a replacement. My first attempt was to duct tape the window up. That sorta worked, but it would eventually let go and the glass would disappear down into the door. This usually happened when it was raining, which also meant that any decent sized puddle would splash water up into the distributor and the car would stall and leave me on the side of the road for a little while until it dried out.

Didn't take too long at $3.35 and hour to save up enough for the new regulator.

I did the same thing to the Passat I sold to DukeofUndersteer. Stupid VW window regulators are made of play-doh so I wedged a piece of wood under the lift arm. I zip-tied the wood in place and unplugged the window motor. The replacement window regulators are just as crap-tastic as the stock ones, so I figured it was pointless to fix it properly.

I'm picturing the strap/dome deal that slid the windows up and down in the 60's superstock Dodges...

Digging around in the doors of cars to fix either Windows or locks is by far one of my last favorite things to do. And yet I've had to do just that so many times to cars I shouldn't even need to mess with!

When I had my XJ Cherokee, the driver's side window regulator was toast. It would hold the window up though but you were screwed if you tried to roll it down as the teeth were stripped. I think Chrysler made those from spun glass as every single XJ I found in the junkyard had the same issue. I got so used to opening the door instead of rolling the window down that I had to relearn to use the window when I bought my Wrangler.

Also, berkeley you, window regulators. Could the inside of the door be any sharper? It reminds me of the child's toy where you have to put the block in the correctly shaped hole. Except that you are taking the blocks out of the box, which has razor sharp edges. I'm not bitter at all

The local O'Reilly store only keeps one model of electric window lift in stock....driver's side Chev Astro. They eat these things like candy. The guy at the store actually gave me one extra new unit so I swap out a dead one and then take that core in to get another new one. I'm keeping my own inventory, all on a lifetime guarantee, so no cost to me.

stanger_missle wrote: Also, berkeley you, window regulators. Could the inside of the door be any sharper?

This!

I went digging in there today. All sorts of shoving, ripping, and pushing to try to make heads or tails of it. I eventually put on an old leather jacket to protect my arms.

Still cant make heads or tails of where everything goes though

If I need a window regulator I always get it from the back door instead of the front. They are almost always the same but generally have a tiny fraction of the cycles on them.

And I've driven a few cars around with a cut off chunk of seatbelt attached to the bottom of the glass and "buckled" to the inside door handle to keep the window up.