47-55.1 AD Windlace Install Tips & Tricks

[Dan Bowles]

My son and I finally got down to it and installed the cab windlace in his ’54 Chevy pickup. We didn’t take any pictures but I do have a list of hints and ideas that made it go MUCH easier than the first try back in July.

1. Go to the dollar store and get a bottle of Dawn dishwashing soap. (or your favorite brand)
2. Get a window screen installation tool.
3. Have a small squirt bottle of soapy water on hand.
4. ¼” flat blade screwdriver.
5. A small pry bar type screwdriver.
6. Look for a cheap set of wire brushes or an old toothbrush.
7. Have help or wait for evolution to not only give you a 3rd hand, but a fourth as well.

The first step is to go all the way around and make sure you’ve got an open channel for the rubber to slide in. These channels are crimped at the factory to hold these in when new so you’ll need to open up these crimps. This is where the pry bar comes in handy.

The second step is to clean all the way around. If you’ve had nothing in the channel for a while, dirt and rust will collect as will bugs and other yuck. This is where the wire brushes and toothbrushes come into play.

Step 3: Open up the top on the dishwashing soap and soap up the front channel good. Smear it around on the outside as well since the outer edges of the windlace will sit there.

Step 4: Start at the point about 2/3 of the way up the door edge and slide the windlace into the channel. There should be an opening there and you can flare it a bit with a screwdriver or pry bar. Sprits the rubber as you pull it into the channel. This is where you need a helper or 3rd hand. It is works better to hold the rubber above the opening as you pull it down and even more if you have a fourth that can pull it in as you work to the bottom. Rumor has it, it is even easier to do with the doors off. We’ll try that next time because it gets HOT in a cab even with the windows open when it is a beautiful sunny day AND you are struggling with windlace.

We pulled an extra 3 inches or so down to the floor in order to have excess to trim off.

Step 5 is where the fun begins. There is a website where a guitarist tells us to start the other end of the rubber into that opening and pull it around. We tried that and got to the back curve of the door and ran into trouble. We found pirates. I knew they were pirates by the way they talked!!

Instead, my brilliant 17 year old said “put the bottom in and push the top down and in with the screwdriver.” Now, being the all knowing DAD (dumb as dirt) I didn’t want to try this. After all, I’d read the guitarist on the internet telling me how to do it! After many pirate speeches, ARRGGHH, I gave up and did as the boy told me. Just to show him how brilliant I was, I had him run out to the camper and get the window screen tool.

We continued to spray the windlace and then tucked in spots with the ¼” screwdriver every 4-6” along the top line and then went back to trying to roll it in with the screen tool. It wasn’t perfect but it sure went along nicer than pulling it to a stop. It worked better to just hold the screen tool (concave side) and roll the handle than try to actually roll it in.

We did go to the next opening in the channel about 1/3 of the way down the back edge of the door but later found that ending 2-3” before this was helpful for doing the last part.

Step 6: Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the rear part of the cab.

Step 7: Repeat the prying part of Step 5 for that last 2-3” that you left open at the end of step 5!

Step 8: Repeat for door number 2.

Step 9: Clean up your mess. There WILL be one.

We used about 3” of the bottle of Dawn. It ran down the door edges and onto the running boards. The truck was on a slope so it ran down the boards to the back fenders then under the rear tires. If the house wasn’t in the way, it’d made for a great burn out!

Time: 1 ½ hours including the pirates. Your results may vary.