So as usual I thought I had it all figured out, but that is obviously not the case.

One of the final parts of my 1985 G20 that needs put back together is the front windows/seals/regulators. I figured that I would just buy this nifty kit and ta-da, power windows!

https://www.a1electric.com/Merchant...;Store_Code=AEOS&Product_Code=GM02-K

Well A1 Electric just called and said that they kit is discontinued and they will refund the payment.. So yay... Back to square one. And I cannot find another "simple" aftermarket kit to convert to power windows. Is the only option to find a factory passenger or conversion van setup? What do I need besides the regulators and wiring? I thought I remember reading something about a bracket that has to be riveted in or something, but I can't find much info on the topic.

Enlighten me please.

I did just find this thread that seems pretty helpful. Now to track down the necessary parts..

https://www.vanning.com/threads/ubbthreads.php/topics/375489/1

Call Pioneer auto .... that Good Times van has ele windows & he can pull the whole kit for you...

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/esd/pts/d/1984-chevrolet-van-g20-rally/6554460755.html

Digging into it some more, it looks like I can get the regulators with motors new from rock auto for $83/ea (AC Delco, which I would need to find pigtails for), or they have some from a company called "World Power Systems" for $55/ea. The motors on those look slightly different, but have pigtails that would be easier to splice into.

Then I just need to come up with some switches which I'm sure I can find something in the parts box..

Hmm.

The driver side switch is a double switch set to control driver & pass window, pass has a single switch.

Alright.. I have acquired the following parts:

-New power window regulators with the motors
-New felt seals that go around the top of the door frame and the glass slides into
-New window sweeps inside and outside.
-various wiring and switches.

I am going to attempt to put all of this together tonight. I have browsed a few different threads on the topic and it seems like I'm in for quite a mess. Again, I am replacing the manual regulators with power. Not concerned with the wiring at this time, just the mechanical assembly of the parts. Anyone have any tips, tricks, or final well-wishes before I attempt this?

Ware a pr of gloves as you will take the skin off your knuckles ....

I have had to replace both of mine. I really fought the first one then found that it was way easier to install the second one because by then I figured out that it was necessary to power up (and down) the window while the regulator was loose inside the door. Once I got the regulator and track where I wanted them, I put bolts into holes.

And yes it will help if you have full sleeve gloves like the ladies wore way back when.

Alright. I attempted this last night on the passenger side door and I got close, but hit a speed bump. The rails that are bonded to the bottom of the glass are slightly shorter on the crank versions, and (I believe) extend all the way across the bottom of the glass on power window versions. The power regulators, while very similar, do have a slightly different geometry with the lifting arms and the rear-most roller falls out of the track because it is too short. That being said, everything is functional and works like it should until the window is half way down and the roller falls out.

So... I need to track down the rails from a power window equipped van, if I don't have any luck here, I'll have to hit up some junk yards this weekend in search of them. I am confident however, that if I get the correct tracks, the windows should work properly.

The rail does not seem to be available new, so I'm going to be junk-yarding it.. Most likely I'll just pull complete front windows from a power-equipped van.

My windows are slightly tinted. No film or anything, but they do have a slight blue tint to the glass. Is that a standard thing across the G van line? I seem to remember mine having some special RPO for tinted glass. How likely am I to actually find matching glass in a parts van?

Nope not standard ... neither of mine were tinted. Maybe back then as your is a gen before me. Really I dont see a lot of factory tint in the bone yard.

I have acquired a pair of window track rails from a power-window-equipped van at the junkyard. They are unfortunately too rusty to use, so the plan was to use them as a reference. I did notice that the differences are very minimal. The roller track is nearly identical, it is just mounted at the rear end of the window for power windows, and mounted at the front end of the window for manual windows. See pictures below of my driver's side glass. The rusty black rail would be from power windows, and the silver rail still attached to the glass is manual.

Anyways, the simple solution would be to remove the original manual rail, trim the extra glass channel back, and re-mount the rail in the same position as the power versions.

My only hesitation here is how to properly mount the glass back into the channel. I have heard many options: Window-weld, special 2 part epoxies, butyl tape, glass setting tape, etc.. What is the "correct" or "best" way to go about this? My originals have some sort of rubber between the glass and metal rail. I do not expect that rubber to live through removal as it is pretty brittle. If I replace it with a glue type adhesive, I don't think it would fill the gap left by the rubber very well, but if I just replace the rubber with some sort of glass-setting tape or butyl tape, will that hold well enough without glue?

I'm probably over-thinking this, but obviously this is a job I don't want to do twice.

I did this job to replace a rotted out track rail and used tiger seal which is a PU sealer.

http://www.u-pol.com/uk/en-uk/produ...r-seal-polyurethane-sealant-and-adhesive