Project Mustang Part 4

Father and Son Replace the Window in a ’69 Mustang— and the Car Survives, Too!

- Jefferson Bryant

There is no point in replacing floorpans and interior components on a project if the windows don’t roll up or are missing altogether. Such was the case for our ’69 Mustang project, as the passenger-side door glass was simply not there. Not only was the glass missing, but the regulator and guides were damaged beyond repair. One call to National Parts Depot and the replacement components were on the way.

The issue with ’69-and-earlier Mustangs is how the glass mounts to the regulator. Prior to October 1969 all the glass was glued into the track, so replacing the windows is difficult, and as the cars aged the tracks themselves did not fare well. It is very common for the glue to separate and then the pot metal track splits along the weak-side edge, rendering the tracks useless, as they are not repairable. The solution to this problem is converting to the ’70-and-later style bolt-in glass.

The regulators, window guides, and stops are all the same, the only difference is the glass and how it mounts. The ’69-and-older glass had the window seals on the door glass, whereas the ’70-and-later glass used seals on the quarter windows, which is easily converted. We planned on doing this when we installed the glass, but we failed to order the chrome strip for the glass itself, only ordering the replaceable seal strip.