Creative solutions - broken wing frame

[Guest]

Wing, as in wing window. Anyone ever have the bottom post rod break at the rivet? This is the part on which the spring and nut sit.
In putting things back together, I noticed the window was too floppy and closer examination revealed the problem. The post isn't available by itself (it's sold as a unit with the window frame) so vendor and friend Chuck recommended a trip to the hardware store.
I'm thinking of getting a steel rod of close diameter, using the torch to heat and bend the angle, then grind the rivet end to the necessary dimentions and use the die to thread it.
I had to use a bolt cutter to remove the nut because of rust and I assume someone overstressed it, trying to open or close it.
Would there be a better rod to use than typical hardware store stuff?

Western Washington, USA

[alanmende]

Tom,

What kind of car are you working on? I had broken lower vent window pivots on our '54 Commander Starliner hardtop, and I bought replacements from Studebaker International. Check page 72 of their current catalog.

Kindest regards,

Alan Mende
Hummelstown, PA

[rockne10]

Should be $12 from SI. You'll also need rivets. They sell them for $1 each, but they're not visible so you could use brass brake rivets. You don't want rivets that will rust.

[alanmende]

I found out the hard way that the lower vent windows from SI are pretty brittle. If there is any space between them and the vent frame when you rivet them, you could break them. What I did was to seat the pivots in JB Weld, making sure the rivet holes in the pivot and frame lined up. Once it hardened, it was easy to stake the rivets. By the way, with tubular rivets, you need a special tool to stake them. Rather than try to find one specifically for 1/8" rivets or try to use a center punch (doesn't work well), use the staking tool that comes with snap fastener kits. I've seen them at Home Depot, Lowe's, and other hardware stores. If the staking tool has a sliding tube on the outside, you can just tap the inner part out. Otherwise, you won't be able to get down into the glass channel of the vent frame.

Kindest regards,

Alan Mende
Hummelstown, PA

[Guest]

Thanks so much guys! It's a '63 Daytona, btw.

Western Washington, USA

[Guest]

Hmm, SI only has the pivot with the frame for sale.
A local guy is selling some parts of my car's vintage and has a wing window, so I'll go look this weekend.

Western Washington, USA