Pop-Out Window Purchase Gone Bad - How/Where Can I Get These Repaired?
 

I have had tremendous luck purchasing items off this board and I thank you all.
For many years this has been the ONLY place I will buy parts for my 911.
Well this transaction did not go well. I became too comfortable and did not ask enough questions.

Anyway, I purchased a set of pop-out windows for my A/C and Sunroof Delete Coupe. (I live in Alabama so you can understand the need) The windows came a month later and were not as advertised. The "paint" is popping off everywhere due to no prep work and the hinges are just plain junk.
It would cost too much to send back and I really don't want to go through any more crap concerning these used parts.

So how can I fix this?
The windows need a proper prep and re-paint.
The gaskets are garbage.
The hinges are junk - are they worth trying to restore?
Where can I get a set of new black hinges?

This car needs some air blowing through it !!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1165760028.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1165760271.jpg

Brian, get back to work on the tt project !!

Sorry, I've got Waaaay to many projects going on. There are so many things I want to do and so little time to do them.
The windows won't be needed until next summer but I thought I would buy them now and get ready. Great thinking eh? Ha!

Ben has shipped my flipped Monster exchanger so I should receive it soon and get back to work on that.

Brian;

can not see what is wrong with the hinges, but if you have time bring the frame/parts to me and I will bead blast and powder coat them. (your choice of color)

Tom F

Tom - sent you an e-mail. Thanks!

The hinge pictured above is held together by a bent rusty nail.
I have no idea if I can find a source for the hinge pins. If not I'll have to buy new ones. Do you know anyone local who has a set of these installed in a car so I can see what they are supposed to look like?

My choice of color? Can we go with neon purple or green? Ha!

I think the pin issue could be solved with some welding rod, perhaps some stainless rod, many things. If you had to, you coud "turn" it on a drill press. I thought all of these were chrome. You could coat it any way you like. On the window frames, I'd go back to base metal by stripping. That, of course, will mess up the anaodizing, so your choice of primers is critical. That's usually the problem with the home painted stuff.

I use this stuff a lot and have had no failures.
http://www.ximbonder.com/index.asp
Pick your poison, but I use the spray cans with the green labels as much as anything. However, the rest is really good s**t.

Milt - If powdercoating is not possible I thought I might scuff up the surface of the frames and paint them black. Is there more prep work that would be needed? Do you have to remove the chrome completely to powder coat or paint or is a thorough scuffing sufficient?

As for the hinges, Tom has offered to bead blast them and powder coat black. Some type of rivet could be used for the hinge pin.

Rarly

I have had pretty good luck painting the chrome plated (or whatever it is) aluminum over powder coating that had worn through some. Clean it well, mask everything off, and spray on some Bulldog Adhesion Promoter. Let it dry (or whateveer its directions say), and then use a suitable black paint (like Rustoleum flat black).

I got maybe 8 good years from powder coating this shiny aluminum trim, but it weathered off in places, and at 15 years looked somewhat ratty. Most notably the horizontal flat strip along the top of the door skin, but these windows were showing their skirts in places. Maybe it was because I didn't do anything special as prep work. But you have to disassemble everything to powder coat because of the heat and so on. Which you can do - of course, the little screws can act up or be rusted, and getting the rubber and glass back in I recall taking some patience.

Paint is much easier, and you can touch it up pretty well from time to time as small bits are rubbed or nicked off.

Anodizing is nice, but it bleaches out in the sun to a purple (at least up in my rarified atmosphere at 5,000 feet and above). Nothing is easy.

Maybe one of the used Porsche parts sellers will sell you just the hinges?

Though looking at that gorgeous car maybe you want to have a professional prep and powder coat so it is up the the standard of the rest?

Walt Fricke

(whose "SC" started life as a 2.7, so it has these nice openable windows, and no AC)

Thanks for the input.
My anodized trim around the rear window has turned purple. Not good.
It looks like anodizing or powder coating might be a better way to go with the hinges. I'll take a closer look at those windows to see how difficult it may be to take the glass out.

I just got my hinges re-chromed and frames re-anodized at AnoBrite. They did an outstanding job. I've got the same issues as you - the hinges are currently attached to the frames with rusty cotter pins. I don't have good examples for reference so I have no idea how they're supposed to attach.

If you think about how old these windows are now, it is unlikely that any used examples are going to have good gaskets. Seems to be key with these windows - if the gaskets shrink, water comes pouring in the window. At least, it did on my car before I tore it down for paint. Anyway, I just got done reassembling mine with new gaskets and I am glad I went to the expense.

To go a lot cheaper than anodizing (AnoBrite is spendy and has a long lead time), you could consider taking out all of your window trim and getting it powder coated. Properly prepped PC turns out great and if it is all the same color it will look much more professional.

Sorry to hear that your transaction didn't turn out well :(

You can buy split steel shear pins in your local hardware store, look for the aisle with all those slide-out plastic box merchandisers full of miscellaneous hardware.
It's too bad Porsche decided to get rid of the front wing vents and rear pop-out windows, never saw the logic of that.

Regards,

I would go for powder coating that Tom is offering to do. Looks like it will go with the car. I got my hinges rechromed some time ago for $35 apiece. I had to disassemble them & they had to prep & rechrome all of the little pieces. I think the finish on them now will outlast the original by a lot. You can get used hinges pretty easily, if you decide you don't want to use those.

Defcon...the "logic" is right there for all to see.....

... cheaper ..... :(

- Wil

Wil, I remember when all the VW enthusiasts were ditching the front vent wings on the beetles and going for the 'Cal-look. :rolleyes:
Never saw the logic of that one, either.
If anyone ever made a backdating 'kit' for all 4 side windows of the 911, I'd be interested.

One "theory" I heard years ago was that Porsche did away with the front wings and rear pop-outs in order to decrease the ease of breaking into a 911.

Brian & Dave:

Joe (Defcon65) has it right. The hinges are held together with split shear pins.

I've got one hinge with the pin still intact, and one missing.

I tapped the good one out far enough to get a measurement.

It's 2.5 mm in diameter, installed (I didn't tap it all the way out. so there is still some compression.) The pin gap is about .5 mm, so something around 2.75 - 3mm uninstalled should work. The fit is pretty loose -- it tapped out very easily.

Length is about 9 mm.

I checked PET and can't find a pin available separately.

Joe

Thank you!

Just wanted to update this, as when Rarly posted this thread, I was in the middle of assembling a set of restored quarter windows. I realized halfway through assembling, that I had managed to order everything, except for the pins to join the hinge assembly to the window.

Reading this thread and examining more closely, I measured the joint with a caliper. 3mm bore by 18mm length (width of hinge). This is not the knuckle that Joe mentions above - it is the larger knuckle/hinge that pins the assembly to the 1/4 window. I surfed www.mcmastercarr.com and found stainless steel, M3x18mm slotted spring pins. 25pk = $5.81. Part number = 91610 A409 (that's the McMaster #, not the Porsche #). They worked perfectly.

Easy install: Use needle nose pliers to carefully compress the spring pin, leaving ~2mm of the pin exposed on one side of the pliers. Compress enough, and the pin will insert right into the bore with no resistance. Release pliers - pin is now engaged into the bore. Align hinge sections, use BFH of choice to drive pin into place.

Regarding the smaller hinge that Joe mentions. I put a caliper on both my hinges and measured this joint as 11mm wide. McMaster stocks a 10mm pin that should work great, part number is 91610 A405.

THANKS!

Dave can you give us a approx. cost of the hinges re-chromed and frames re-anodized at AnoBrite? Are all frames chrome or are some stainless or aluminium?