to me, at any rate. While disassembling the window regulators of my '40 Chrysler, I was intrigued by the small mechanism that allows raising or lowering the window, but doesn't allow it to creep or even fall down wherever it may be stopped. I guess all vehicles with manual windows have something similar....never really thought about it much. I could have left well enough alone, but wanted to make sure there wasn't a bunch of dried grease and grime inside. These are a riveted assembly, and after drilling out the rivets, I enlarged the holes for a 6-32 machine screw. The side away from the crank needed a c'sink for one of the holes because the large gear segment rides very close to the back-side of the rectangular piece. Here's the regulator and the rather ingenious way the task is accomplished. The left or driver's side regulator...(after assembly and painting) The parts inside... the torsion spring with the bent ends is what makes it all work. Close up of the spur gear/cup stamping and pressed steel housing with the torsion spring and crank "driver" installed. The spring is a little larger than the inside of the pressed steel housing, and when it's pushed down into it as the right side of this next pic shows, the outside of the spring bears against the inside of the housing. The spur gear/cup stamping is the mating part and now shown in place on the main rectangular body with the spur gear engaging the large gear attached to the regulator arm. The pin is integral with the main rectangular body. When you crank the window up or down, the cupped part with 2 tangs inside the housing at right in the above pic moves either of the bent ends of the torsion spring and in effect collapsing it, making it easy to turn, and in a very small additional arc movement, makes contact with one of the bent tangs of the toothed gear/cup stamping (or mating part that has the small spur gear.) When this happens, the opposite bent end of the torsion spring is kept in contact with one of the bent tangs of the spur gear/cup stamping. If you then let go of the crank at any position, there's a very slight "free" arc movement of the crank. Then the weight of the window pushes down on the regulator arm which tries to turn the small toothed gear on the spur gear/cup stamping. But this stamping has bent tangs that press against one of the bent ends of torsion spring, and in effect tries to enlarge the spring, making it grip even more tightly inside the cupped housing. After assembly, I stood it up on a bench and with a considerable amount of pushing on the regulator arm, it didn't move the crank "driver" one bit. Hope this is clear(er) than mud. It's just amazing what all is involved in making cars, even 75 years ago.
Great to see a dismantled piece like that explained so well. What is the manufacturer name/logo stamped into the body of the regulator? Wiss, yes the metal shears people, made many door latches and window mechanisms for Ford and Chrysler too as well as others.
looks like a normal old window regulator...isn't it neat how they figured out how to do all that stuff without the benefit of a microprocessor? amazing
Thanks! Really nice to see details like this, great photos too. If you are spending this much time in a window regulator I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished car. Bob
What is amazing is that the fella that did it used less than 1/8 of their brain. I used to get a restoration magazine and they actually had an article on cleaning up door latches and window mechanisms stating the exact same thingthat the OP mentioned. Old dried out grease and dust/mud. The solution that they used was that acid aluminum wheel cleaner (no brand = no spam right?) and a power washer. Then after to tighten up or replace the rivets. But dismantling is a good solution as well. I may want to use some red loctite or a reasonable facimilet there of if it were me on final assembly. But I have an overkill tendency on fasteners because I have owned a lot of machines that shake rattle and roll. neat post by the way.
thanks all me too...I used star lock-washers under each of the 6-32 hex nuts, and they're all tightened down to within a 1/4 turn of twisting off. I don't anticipate taking those apart in the near future. radio is on the fritz...LOL, but if anyone wants it, let me know. It's just the big heavy metal unit which is in good physical shape, although the buttons and the speaker are mostly trash. Been thinking of using a Kenwood (or similar) system that has the radio/CD player hidden inside it....trying to think of ways to minimize the not-so-vintage front of it, too. In the place of the stock radio in the dash (below), I'd like to put the A/C controls. I'd still like to use the original antenna that's mounted to the cowl. Anyone done this? Is there an impedance(?) that has to match? Don't know much about radios & antennas. ash tray has been cleaned out, but not refurbished..........yet
I've never given mine much thought, but I probably have the same thing in the doors of my '40 Plymouth Coupe. I do remember (in 1972) when we flat towed it home with a chain, behind my brothers truck with a tire tied to his tailgate, and me using the handbrake to keep from hitting the tire! The windows wouldn't even roll down! I probably sprayed something in there, and shoved in some grease. I know I didn't take anything apart. Been rolling those windows up and down for 40 years now, still work great! Yeah, Chrysler Engineering at it's best!
At the risk of sounding old , I took a nephew for a ride in a '40 Ford I used to own and he was amazed that you could roll the windows down without pushing a button. He was pretty amazed at the vent windows and three-on-the-tree too.
that is a great design, with a lot of thought. but why did the thought process end there when it came to door/window technology? they give you 1/16" clearance to get the window in the door, cut an access hole that a working guys hand can't fit into comfortably while sharpening every edge of the tin like a razor blade. add enough grease to make everything slippery so you can't grip the glass with the two fingers that fit into the hole, then make the grease dirty enough to hazard ruining the door panel. how about an assembly that requires half the parts to go in the door, and left in the bottom while you assemble the rest of the parts, which will be in the way, while you try to get the "loose" parts in place and tightened. sorry,.... rant over.
^^ No sh*t! My old truck though has a metal 'door panel' that's about a foot high and the length of the door. Wonder who nixed that idea. Maybe Band-Aide bandages.
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