Project StinkBug: Four Doors are Twice as Much Work as Two

I've completed the two front doors on the Bel Air and will complete the two rear doors after I figure out why the rear locks don't work properly. With that said, I'm offering up the transformation of the front doors here.

The old windows had rotted rubber, tarnished trim, and window tint from the late 1980s on the original glass. The original glass wasn't safety glass and needed replacement.

All four window regulators just needed a thorough cleaning, painting, and lube to free stuck rollers. Here's the finished product. You install the regulators first (assuming your door lock systems are already installed.)

Spread out before installation on the passenger side are the window channel, vent window, and side window (both with new clear glass and new rubber.) That's also the order of assembly. Lastly, you install the whiskers on the inside and outside window trim.

Here's the fresh glass and rubber on the driver's door.

Once the glass was installed, I turned my attention to the interior door panels, handles, and interior window trim.

The factory manual lays out what waterproofing should be installed and where.

I cleaned and painted the silver access doors, cleaned up any hardware that needed it, and put strip caulk around the holes and openings.

I had some thick clear vinyl sheeting laying around, so I made some water shields. The black outlines are the strip caulk. In this photo there's a spring on the door glass regulator -- I did not use that spring, but did use the other two.

Here's the door panel installed with the original stainless accent. I used the original handles even though they were lightly pitted. (They looked vintage, which I liked.) That's a fresh armrest, since the old ones were broken. Lastly, I used the salvaged eBay window trim we had painted last year along with the original style screws. I found that replacement screws have a head that's too big to fit correctly.

I wanted to mention this issue I had with the rear door locks (that my girlfriend solved actually!) I swapped in four new door handles that had come with the car, since the originals were pretty heavily pitted. The front doors were no problem and the handles and locks worked fine. Well, I installed the two handles on the rear (where previously there hadn't been any when I bought the car) and then noticed that the rear doors were jammed and wouldn't open. Turns out that the lock plunger was a little too long and apparently needs to be cut down before installation. This is only on the rear doors. The photo shows the original rear handle on top, and the replacement handle on the bottom before I cut the plunger...

Up next is the windlace, postboards, and headliner...