Fixed rear quarter window?

[Andras Nagy]

Right on, Wil!!!!

There have been many instances in the past in which board members have given opinions rather than facts. I try to give you my experiences, and, of course, they can differ from other people's experiences.

But when I "know" that my 1974 had such and such, and I state it that way, I do not mean to imply that any other model year might be the same - they might, indeed be different.

I just hate it when people write " I think....". Usually such information is not useful. It is opinion, and can mislead. It is for this very reason that I always ask,"does anyone have test results, real-world experience", etc. For example, when I put SSI heat exchangers and an Alan Johnson sport muffler on my car, I didn't just "think" I got 20 HP extra - I actually put my car on a dyno before and after, and the read-outs shows I got 20 HP extra.

When I wanted to know if the Camber Truss really works, I ran the morning session of a DE without, put a friend's Camber Truss onto my car during the lunch break, and I discovered that it does indeed make a HUGE difference during the afternoon runs. And so I purchased one based on that experience.

Test, inspect, verify, then purchase.

[Wil Ferch]

Andras:

You bring up a good point.... but I believe this topic here takes on a slightly different flavor.

TRE Cup was good enough to post his experiences ( based, he says, on doing this a number of times)...and gave advice how to proceed. Island911 also gave his real-world experiences...based on HIS car.

What's missing here is something different. There are indeed real world example given...but it seems there are gaps as to when / where they apply. Stated another way... what's posted is correct...but how many different variations are there to consider when YOU want to do the SAME thing to YOUR car? I guess I'm saying there is a gap on "completeness"...more so than "real world" experiences.

I have a note out to TRE...let's see what develops.....

Wil

[Hetmann]

I went from fixed to pop-outs on my 78. There was a piece that had to be removed from the B pillar, but I didn't consider it particularly structural. A bit more than decorative, but not that hefty. After removing it bolting in the pop-outs was pretty easy. The captive nuts in the B pillar were there and threaded. I had to add nut serts to the C pillar for the latch mechanism, but the holes were there in the proper locations.

Going the other way I think you would need to fab up and weld on the piece I had to remove. You can see what it looks like by inspecting a fixed window car.

I love my pop-outs and think they are a big enhancement for a street car. Much better ventilation than before.

[Wil Ferch]

Hetman:
OK...the core question remains....you removed the thin metal panel.
You found captive nuts in the B-pillar....now... did you have to bolt-in a "hinge"...or did the tabs on the front-frame engage slots in the B-pillar?

Wil

[island911]

Hey Wil, the tabs are the hinge. As the window tips (hinges) out, something has to bend.

As to whether the U-channel is structural or not, I say it is .. .and, see my sig, below.

[Wil Ferch]

Island911:

Never having had the opportiunity to look at a window "Apart"..... I think you can understand that the *possibility* existed for a tab of the window to simply be "loosely located" into a "slot" of the B-pillar... without any kind of hinge. Thanks for clarifying.

So...the windows I will receive.....clearly showing "tabs" in the profile pics I saw......means that they're part of the hinge that comes attached to the window frame?. I'll guess I'll see for myself when they arrive.

Wil

[island911]

The hinge tabs, are screwed into the leading frame structure of the window (thru 2 slots per tab in the window) and then screw into the B-pillar (thru the long slots in the B-pillar)

Slots; Based on the observation that the other provisions for the pop-out are in the sheet metal, I think that its safe to say that Porsche did NOT change the tooling for the sheetmetal, AND that the slots exist under the U-channel (which is spotwelded over the area)

[Wil Ferch]

Thank you so much, kind Sir...

..we're slowly getting to a "Tech Article" status here...which it could have been in the first place !

-Wil

[island911]

I wish now that I had more pictures. (I deleted them apparently)

Well, you have a perfect opportunity to do the documentaion for a write-up. (that's where I was going until I bailed . . couldn't CUT it -- my SC)

One other big issue, is just making sure you get all the needed little parts for the swap. Commonly, people forget the headliner trim (flexible U-channel) . . or the hinge-tabs get left in the parts car .. . or the spacers under the latches are cracked and get conveintly left out . .. or ....

A parts list w/ pict's would be useful.

[arcsine]

Here is my input for what it is worth:

The installation on an SC is as has been described here and elsewhere. You need to drill out a bunch of spot welds to remove a channel placed on the B-pillar. Once accomplished, the slots and tabs are present but the holes are not tapped. I used self tapping screws and they worked fine. The lower trim is different than the fixed window and is required. On one side I had to drill new holes for all the mounting screws and on the other side, all but two holes in the trim lined up with existing holes. To mount the window latch, I installed nut-serts on the body. The holes are there on the C-pillar already so the nut-serts go right in.

The only thing I can add to the discussion is I would recommend pulling the door seal before installing the window. There is a large flap on the leading edge of the window seal that fits best underneath the door seal. I could not find a useful way to push or finagle it into place without much frustration. Pulling even a foot or so of the door seal made this a non-issue.

I stil need to get U-channel to cover up some things and am waiting for the correct hinge for the left side but so far everything is working as advertized.

Window frame and lower trim has been glass-bead blasted. The drilled spot welds are also visible (until I get the u-channel trim)

[PcarPhil]

Hey there folks -

On my SC the holes in the b-pillar are not threaded. Does anyone know what size tap I could use to thread the b-pillar holes so that I could use the correct factory bolts for the pop out windows?

I've got a pair of complete pop out windows ready to go in I just don't know what size tap to use.

Thanks for the help!

[eddieb4]

Reviving an old thread … who can do this conversion professionally? Body shop in the Chicagoland area?
Would like to convert my 964 fixed rear windows to pop outs. Front vent windows would be great too.