Question about Third Gen quarter windows...

[Ponch ®]

Curious - How much work is involved in converting the louvered 1/4 windows of an SE into the "open" windows of a regular charger?

ie. from this:



to this:

[andy74]

probably a lot more than its worth.i had mine apart,the roll down type-its a pain in the ass,youll need the windows,regulaters,interior panels and handles, i think thats it

[doctorpimp]

I'm not entirely sure, but I think the glass is the same for both versions.  The factory put a louvered body plug on the glass and used body filler to seal it.  They then used the vinyl roof to cover the conversion.
I'm not completely sure, but I think it's the same roof metal for both the SE cars and the Standard roof.

[cudaken]

 I have never done a 73 Charger but have done other cars that have a slug like the S/E windows. Mainly it is just a fiberglass insert, some are glued, some rivets.

My self, I like the PIC of the Blue one.

                        Cuda Ken

[Beer]

Unfortunately I am off to work this morning for a few weeks. When I get back I can photo if you want the roll down rear quarter windows  for comparison to the non roll down setup. My interior is out and getting pics should not be a problem when I return.  You may need to PM me to remind me (after the 28th of December) if the thread moves down.

['CUDA360]

I like Andy74.. What model is that ?

[andy74]

mine is a 72 SE, it has the roll down rear windows,what i was trying to say is that they are a pain in the ass to remove and replace.the roof is the same,when i had the vinyl top off,the factory had filled in the window area with lead to make the smaller opening. thanks for the compliments guys!!

[Ponch ®]

I'm not entirely sure, but I think the glass is the same for both versions.   The factory put a louvered body plug on the glass and used body filler to seal it.   They then used the vinyl roof to cover the conversion.
I'm not completely sure, but I think it's the same roof metal for both the SE cars and the Standard roof.

you might correct. Back when I had my car painted (without the vinyl top), I had the shop fill in the area right behind the louvers with body filler. Now that the $200 paint job is 5 years old, the body filler is starting to crack and you can see the outline of the window, similar to the non louvered version. I'll take some pics and post them when I get a chance.

I remmeber there was a guy from Mexico on the old site who said he did it to his 74 and it wasnt too difficult.

FWIW, If i were to do it, I wouldnt care that much if the windows rolled down or not. I just tend to like the look of the non-louvered cars better. 

[andy74]

you can probably remove the filler,and put the trim on off a non louver car,that might be your best bet-good luck!

[Ponch ®]

you can probably remove the filler,and put the trim on off a non louver car,that might be your best bet-good luck!

Now that I looked at the pics I posted above again, the shape of the louver piece appears to be the same as the shape of the window on the non-louvered car. In other words, If i were to test fit the louver on the non-louvered car (with the trim) it would fit in like a piece on a puzzle. I wish I knew someone near me with a non louvered third gen so I could take some measurements and be sure.

[Ponch ®]

heres a pic of my quarter window. See the outline where the bondo is starting to crack?

[Nacho-RT74]

there are several threads about this, and in fact there is a guy working on that ( no remember his nick )

Several parts are easy to change if you want to convert a WP29 into a WH23, with just find the right parts like:

-Regulators and all its hardware ( top and bottom channel brackets, bolts, crank... also glass stoppers )
-glass with all fasteners and stop studs.
-interior upper panel and its top of quarter frame bracket
-sail panel
-quarter jam seals
-outer window weatherstrip.
-"boomerang" outer moulding.
-roofrail moulding and its weatherstrip
-headliner moulding
-vertical quarter window moulding and its weatherstrip.

The hardest part is elongate the roof drip rail, remove the B pillar and cut the jam to be able to pass the quarter window throught sheetmetal since would need cut and weld, rest is just put and remove.

Also the hardest part is to find ALL the parts you need. Best option would be run to a junkyard and find a WH23 donor to forget the minor stuff search.

to convert on to a WL21 difference would be no regulators, but yes the right glass and bracket to support the fixed widow on top of inner quarter frame. Also a non cut out crank hole upper interior panel.

P.S.: quarter, roof and all the body parts are the same... louvers are attached just on a plug body filler that use the same regular body quarter opening.

[Ponch ®]

so Nacho...if i wanted to change to the 'boomerang' moulding but did not necesarily care about whether the windows are roll down, and the interior is not an issue (i plan on leaving it bare for a while), is it possible to simply remove the bondo filler and put the moulding on?

[andy74]

so Nacho...if i wanted to change to the 'boomerang' moulding but did not necesarily care about whether the windows are roll down, and the interior is not an issue (i plan on leaving it bare for a while), is it possible to simply remove the bondo filler and put the moulding on?

it sure looks like it to me ponch,do you already have the mouldings  etc? if not,im looking at a parts car this weekend,let me know

[Ponch ®]

no i dont have them yet.

this is just one of those random ideas that got into my head last week, so its still in the planning stage. .

[Nacho-RT74]

do you mean just remove the body plug filler and install the "boomerang" moulding ?

Is not possible because glass is ATTACHED to the body plug filler and if you remove the filler would remove also the glass... then you would need to install a quarter glass no matter if is the roll down kind or not. That will make you to cut the B pillar post because quarter glass meets with door glass with only the vertical mould and weatherstrip between them. B pillar post will make you impossible to install the glass.

So as conclussion when you remove the body plug filler we have ( and forgetting about interior ):

-No glass... You will need to install the glass and its hardware... roll down with regulator, etc... ( from WH23 donor ) or fixed glass with brackets (from WL21 donor ).
-Cut/remove B pillar post to be able to fit the glass.
-Roofrail molding and weatherstrip to seal the top area.
-outer quarter weatherstrip to seal lower and rear area.
-vertical quarter mold and seal.
-Boomerang stuff is not a big deal after that.


And we are forgetting  also about body job on drip rail to elongate it.

[THE CHARGER PUNK]

if i were to do this i would just take off the se louvers and put in a permanent window there so it doesnt roll up or down, possibly just bolt a lexan version in there-MATT

[twilt]

    there already is a fixed window underneath the Opera window louvers......

[THE CHARGER PUNK]

in that case take off the little louvers and get the trim thats supposed to go there and presto look like it was never there-MATT

[twilt]

its not that simple. The non se "boomerang" trim wont fit the se window.

[73dodge]

Hey Mojo

I took some pics of my SE today and I am trying to get the filler plug out myself but I have a buddy that has a 73 rallye and I can see what you would need to remove to make it a non se car

The first one shows the out line of the filler panel

The second one shows the pillar that needs to be remove and there is a piece below the window that needs to be cut out for a window


The third one shows the drip rail that needs to be extended

[Nacho-RT74]

Great pics and notes... that's what I was saying about the HARDER part of the conversion.

Rest is just find the parts and fit