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Wednesday, May 10, 2017

If at First You Don't Succeed....

...try,try again. That's the old saying meant to encourage one to persevere, but I wonder sometimes.

I modified the jig again, and it's much improved. I can now retain the trim where it fits over the seal as designed, but because of the non-matching size of the glass and seal, the stainless trim simply will not snap into place for a short distance on the passenger side. When pressure is applied to the seal, a portion slips inside the opening in the sheet metal and causes the rubber to deform so the trim will not fit. Because of the limited access to the problem area, I've not found a way to support the seal from inside to prevent this, and the tools I've made to guide the seal won't fit where they need to be.

A comment on the previous post suggested I invite helpers to a glass-installing party, but the sad reality is that when you reach my age and the age of my friends, the pool of mechanical competency and interest is shallow. Since I moved here, the number of car-guys I've met is also small, and I haven't been able to find a volunteer for even the simple jobs that require more than one set of hands. Instead, I rely on finding ways to do things alone. If I was looking for help with a golfing problem, volunteers would be a glut, but most men in their late seventies have no desire to crawl around someone else's car getting cuts, bruises and sore muscles.

I would gladly hire a professional to help, but the only one I know is the one who installed the glass, and he's not interested in doing anything more with my car. The fact is that when your preference is Mopar, you are pretty much alone when it comes to support in any way.

I suppose I'll eventually find a way to resolve this problem without removing the glass and seal and starting over, but it certainly is eating up the time I could use to make visible progress. With the hot Texas summer on the way, my plan to have the car on the road late this year is quickly fading.


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