Alright, I'd really like to be able to salvage the tinted glass from my '89 Custom Cruiser when I gut it, but the passengers side doors are badly damaged, and I'm afraid simply prying on them to get them open will cause the glass to shatter. So have any of ya'll ever attempted to remove glass from a car damaged like this? (photo's below) http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g139/Dead-Reckon/1989 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser/100_0787.jpg http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g139/Dead-Reckon/1989 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser/100_0781.jpg I want tinted glass, and I'm cheap, and this is REALLY nice tint, it's old, but it's nice. Believe it was done before the car left Florida, I'm pretty sure the car was owned by some old snowbirds.
Yes, I know, I'm just trying to figure out if the glass has a tendency to explode in situations like this. I'm not fond of dealing with broken glass, and, I would like to salvage the interior door panel, so I don't want to get cut doing that either. I was gonna see if I could unbolt the front door since the bolts are visible, then pry at it from there, latch won't hold much against me when I get to tugging on it. I've just gotta be careful of the wiring, as the power seat controls are on the door, and I don't think the harness is damaged. Back door will likely be the same, as the hinges will be exposed. My main question is, should I worry about the glass exploding? I know it doesn't take much to make an old car window explode when it's in unusual positions like this.
Hubby( an experienced glassman) seems to think that removing the glass shouldn't be to difficult. Does the door still open? If so, open the door and carefully remove the panel. Then unbolt the track you should be able to slide the glass up and out. You do have to be careful but the glass is stronger then it looks. He's gone to bed right know so if you need more help he'll be happy to help but it'll likely be tomorrow.
Nah, doors don't open, B pillar is pushed in pretty badly, so I have to do some, er, negotiating with the car to get them open. It's gonna be a bit tricky due to the wiring most likely, as I said, I need the seat controls. Strangely, in the 1989 OCC, the seat controls are on the doors. On my 1986, the seat control (only drivers side is power) is on the seat.
Lay on the front seat and have someone hold the handle open. Then kick the s**t out of it. It only has to move a small bit to clear the latch post. Once its free of the post, it's only a matter of prying the door open. Neither the door panels or the window should be affected or damaged.
Yup, but..... looking at where it was hit, it mite just be jaws of life time to open it. I would do what O.F posted above but I would first get the grinder in there and cut the door hinges, then boot the door out while having some one hold it. EDIT..... Now that your pic came out super humungusI can see it's not as done in as it appeared, unbolt the hinges at the body and then boot the crap out of the door!
Unbolting the hinges is probably the easy way but he wants to preserve the wiring harness. Thus it's best to try and get it open from the lock side. Otherwise, he can just remove the boot from the body, pull the wires out and cut them, and then unbolt the door. Should probably have a jack or jackstand handy to balance it when the door comes free. They ain't light.
The passengers side of the car will be facing a building, so I'm gonna wedge a 2x4 between the car and building while unbolting it. I don't want that door falling on me, knowing first hand how much the hood weighs is enough, I don't need to know how much my doors weigh too. I think I can get the seat out without taking the doors off, and by doing that, get the door open. Also, the image is super huge 'cause my father yelled at me when I changed the settings on his camera, I'd prefer to have it down to 3/4ths that size or so, but it serves a purpose I guess. Should'a seen the cropping and resizing I had to do to my signature photo. I'll be sure to get a video and some pics of the door removal, though, it probably won't be PG rated, I'm liable to get a few smashed fingers in the process. I may go through this in the winter, it seems like we will have a mild winter, probably wont' really get cold until February, it's not uncommon to have the temperature be 50F on Christmas. Side note, got a job worked out, start soon, so I can start with the madness on my car again. She'll be running again soon, and I'll likely be driving the car with nothing left in it but the drivers seat and steering column for a while. Also, my mid row seat is still in pretty good shape, if someone needs one for a B body, you can have it if you come pick it up. It smells like cigarette smoke and stagnant old car, but, it's still in good shape and comfy. I'll post a thread on this when I get around to removing most of my interior soon. That's another reason I'm swapping the whole interior, I don't smoke, nor can I stand the smell of a car which has been smoked in.
Good luck. I'd be using a cut off tool or a grinder to remove the outer skin. As far as wiring, it's so easy to mark, cut, and then reconnect a wire. A prybar from both inside and out can make fast work of getting that door open. Leave your purse or stereo on the seat and park it down town some evening. All the doors will be opened wide.
I'm really hoping to not have to cut the wire, I think I can get by without cutting it, if I can get it open enough to get the door cover off, I'll just pull the wiring.
