Elan Sprint Coupe, fitting door side window frames correctly

[bloodknock]

Good day people
Having cleaned up my door window frame assemblies and refitted the windows, I am ready to refit into the doors.
These doors were stripped back in 1980's (no Photos) and I cant remember if there were spacers to set the angle of dangle of the window frame in the door.
Can someone with the knowledge advise me on the fitting procedure and if there are any set ways of determining the correct angle??? Or indeed, if the frames will just assume the correct angle when re fitted???
Thanks
Bob

[nmauduit]

I don't think there is a lot of adjustment for that angle, even if holesin the door are elongated where the chrome plate there is still the bobbins at the rear that are fixed...

[elanner]

You can definitely fit a washer or two between the bottom of the window frame and the bottom bobbins in the door shell. This will lean the window frame slightly inwards so that it fits a little closer to the door/body seal, especially at the top of the windscreen. The correct angle is the one that provides a good fit to the seal.

Putting washers between the frame and the top door shell bobbins to lean the frame outwards is not really practical due to lack of space (in my limited experience).

Getting this right also involves having the door shell correctly adjusted on its hinges and the right seal on the body. I need to have another go at mine....

(Didn't Sue Miller have a write-up on fitting doors/windows/seals? I thought she did but can't find it.)

Nick

[oldelanman]

I seem to recall you need to use short bolts on the top two fixings to avoid contacting the glass.

[bloodknock]

Thanks guys, this is good. I do remember some thing about the short bolt issue. Ill check.
I still have the original door seals, which whilst not perfect in any way, I can fit to try to get door seal / window alignment correct, but i'll have to replace the sealss sooner rather than later.
So, what i'm hearing is: Fit door aperture seals, hang doors to suit, fit windows into doors, adjust with washers to get proper seal, careful on top bolts length to avoid impacting glass...??????
I'm not looking forward to this bit of the exercise!!!!
Bob

[elanner]

If you can find a way to keep the original seals then you might be well advised to do so. Finding replacement seals that work well is non-trivial (although I got a very nice one-piece seal for my DHC from Sue several years ago). For a FHC perhaps you could switch passenger and driver's door seals around to relocate the wear spots?

Your plan looks right to me. Definitely go carefully with the top bolts. Try to maximize all clearances (e.g. glass to cable pulley axle studs). Put anti-rattle pads under the cable and the glass as shown in the manual. The pads under the glass stop it from hitting the axle studs so need to be thicker than the pads under the cable. Also put a good pad on the down stop. If the glass rattles before you put it in the door it will drive you mad when driving! You might need to change the flock channel inside the frame to stabilize the glass (not difficult to do). I fitted an extra support for the window motor to stop it rattling around, a mod that I really like (courtesy of Heath Robinson/Rube Goldberg).

I find it a miserable job and my door fit is still typically S4 (i.e. lousy) - although they shut with a nice solid thunk.

Nick

[elanner]

Ha - I just found Mick Miller's tips on door fitting.

Nick

MickMiller_ElanTips2018_incl_DoorFit.pdf

(909.82 KiB) Downloaded 608 times

[elansprint71]

Ha - I just found Mick Miller's tips on door fitting.

Nick

MickMiller_ElanTips2018_incl_DoorFit.pdf

Thanks for posting that- excellent!

[MarkDa]

Hi Bob
You've obviously been busy on other things over the last year.
It was May 2017 when you started this thread!

lotus-chassis-f36/refitting-window-frames-into-sprint-doors-t39449.html?hilit=Window

Mark

[bloodknock]

Yeah Mark.......Grandchildren, kids houses, etc etc

[bloodknock]

Thanks Gentlemen, I can see this is going to be fun!!!!

[MarkDa]

It's actually not too bad.
I got quite slick at because for fear of cracking the glass I didn't do the pinch bolts up tight enough and the loose ends pulled through!

I suspect that one can tighten the clamp a lot more than you expect as the load is evenly spread.

The biggest faff is getting the motors on and off each time.

I also put my screen in before the window frames whuch was a mistake because the pillars moved back too far and i had no clearance on the driver's side.

If the frames are in place you can pack the pillar parallel to the frame so when you push the screen in it doesn't move back too far.
It will go back a bit but with a bit of luck you will still be able to get the ally trim in the gap.

I can post before/after pics if you want.

[bloodknock]

That would be great Mark.
Im assuming yours is a DHC? mine is FHC, however, information is power!! and photos would be excellent. I wish I had modern digital photographic facilities when i took it to bits! but I have taken over 1500 during reassembly!!
regards
Bob

[MarkDa]

Fixed head won't suffer the same issues - now I think about it you've posted pictures but I'd forgotten.
On the other hand you've got to get a decent seal all the way round.
Its bound to be a bit iterative - presumably setting the door to fit lower body then doing what you can to adjust the window frame in what remains.

Reduced screen pillar clearance

More room after resetting windscreen

Room for gutter now

[bloodknock]

Hey Mark
Thanks for teh photos, always interested to see other cars and jobs. Looks very neat and smart. Good Job!
Regards
Bob