running wiring into doors, rubber bellows?

What could I use when running wiring into doors for power windows, speakers etc?

that plastic "loom" looks like it would break over time, and isnt that flexible.

factory / newer cars have a BIG diameter rubber "bellows" , most look too big

i thought about ripping some off some junkyard cars, but ,most yards around here aren't Pick-a-Part

thanks

 

you might find that there isn't enough room between the door and jamb for the bellows trick to work on anything older than about 1960. For 60s cars you might be able to use a piece of rubber tubing, but I don't know offhand what would work. Maybe repop parts for 62 chevy cars with power windows?

Specialty Power Windows uses springs and Delrin bushings, this setup kind of works on old cars, but it is a pain to use. There are also contact ****on things in the street rod catalogs, if you want to go "high tech". Or make your own and go "low tech".

On 55-7 Chevys with factory power windows, there was a hole in the door, and a "conduit" type sheetmetal part that was attatched to the jamb, and curved so that it would fig thru a hole in the door, and keep the wires safe. I might be able to find a picture of it somewhere? this would be a good way to go in 50s cars.

Whatever you do, make darn sure it won't let the wires get eaten up and cause short circuits! Check up on them regularly to make sure nothing bad is happening.

The traditional response is that "hot rods don't have power windows or stereos"

or even door gl***!

 

I have had good luck running stereo wiring thru door jambs using 3/8 fuel hose.

Cut the hole on one side slightly smaller than the hose's OD to hold it tight.

Cut the other side slightly larger to allow the hose to slide when you open + close the door.

If you want to get fancy you could even use grommets.



Hope this helps,
Ed

 

I used a length of 3/8 stainless tubing with a washer welded at one end and a spring on the other. Worked great and spring kept it from rattling.

 

Did you have to bend the tubing into an arc?

 

Thanks for the responses. Its for my 56F100. I'll have to look closer at how much space there is when the door is closed.

 

One (or more?) of the street rod companies offers a door check strap made of stainless tubing. This would be a piece of cake to fabricate yourself.

As for the fuel hose idea, keep in mind rubber hose comes in all kinds of sizes, so if you have power windows, multiple speakers, and door latch solenoids, you might look at heater hose or a/c hose instead. If you put a grommet in the door and the jamb, then you can just put some of those nylon zip ties or a hose clamp (not too tight, tho) on each end (inside the door and the jamb) to prevent it from pulling thru the grommets.

If you are particularly adventurous, and depending on how your door hinges are shaped, you can do what I did on a 37 Chevy a while back. We had installed some hidden hinges, but on each door I made a hollow dummy hinge that went between the other 2 real hinges. Once the car was painted and upholstered, you'd hafta get out a dental mirror to tell the middle hinge wasn't real, but since it was hollow, the wiring ran thru it. I think there was even a tech article done on that in one of the earlier issues of the comeback of American Rodder... or maybe Street Rod Builder?

 

I did a 56 F 100 with power windows earlier this year. The only way I got something to work was a plastic ***embly I bought from Haywire that was made for the wires. It has a grommet made to one of the tube. I installed it on the door next to the upper hinge arm and it went into the hinge pocket and through a hole that I drilled in there. I never really liked it but it was as clean as I could make it.

Recently, on another car, I used the acordian type from the back doors of a late model Buick Regal. They are smaller than most and they are a Z shape that allows you to open and close the door without the wire moving in and out. I looked at about 300 cars before I found these on the Regal.

 

Shrink tubing and rubber grommets is not too sophisticated, but simple and works pretty well.

 

We have used springs from the hardware store for screen doors. They come in several diameters and lengths. Plus they are flexible to keep moving with the doors.

 

I used a the large rubber bellows type in my 48. What you have to do is provide a pocket for the bellows to go into. Get some round tubing a little larger diameter than the bellows when folded up. You will have to work out the length. Cap one end and make a hole the size required for the end of the bellows mounting. Weld the tube into either the door jamb or the pillar (I welded it into the pillar) Make a comparable size hole in the door/pillar as the holes on the pocket for the bellows mounting. This can be done on a finished car (mine was finished) with only a minimum of fixing if you are careful with the heat.

Nu Relics has a kit for this if you want to go that way.

 

a friend of mine just used a long chrome spring, and 2 grommets, takced a washer around one end so it wouldent pull thru, and the spring slides into the kickpanel area, and bends witht the door.

 

I did a Chevy truck recently, I milled grooves into the bottom hinge big enough to run the wires through, and formed an aluminum cover to shield the wires. You can't see any of it.

 

No bending, just be sure to have a hole big enough not to bind. Spring was like used on a screen door. It was in a Model A.