79 Rear window openable?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 7,456
Likes: 2
From: Coming home from Luckenbach Texas
Forget it. There some kits floating around. They've been out of production for many years, and even if you find one it'll set you back 3 grand...
Did I mention the hinges can bend over time and cause leaks? Like I said, forget it.
Did I mention the hinges can bend over time and cause leaks? Like I said, forget it.
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 38,923
Likes: 1,481
From: Southbound
Cruise-In II Veteran
If you can cobble together the necessary parts, the back windows of the '82 Collector cars opened. The '82 assembly instruction manual (AIM) will list the parts and show how the whole thing assembled. The opening hatch can be retrofitted to any of the big back window cars 78-82. This is not a Sunday afternoon conversion, but it isn't impossible either. Expect the glass to be expensive and parts to be somewhat hard to find since they were only available on the CEs. Your best bet may be to hunt the Corvette salvage yards for a wrecked CE whacked in the front and buy everything in one shot. Good luck.
Racer
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 336
Likes: 1
Originally Posted by Easy Mike
If you can cobble together the necessary parts, the back windows of the '82 Collector cars opened. The '82 assembly instruction manual (AIM) will list the parts and show how the whole thing assembled. The opening hatch can be retrofitted to any of the big back window cars 78-82. This is not a Sunday afternoon conversion, but it isn't impossible either. Expect the glass to be expensive and parts to be somewhat hard to find since they were only available on the CEs. Your best bet may be to hunt the Corvette salvage yards for a wrecked CE whacked in the front and buy everything in one shot. Good luck.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,873
Likes: 1
From: Savannah Ga
I've got an 82CE.I can't open to rear window because of the streched out hinges.I'm lucky in that I don't have any leaks.Some of us over on the CE web site are trying to find a pair that are in spec.we have someone that works in a foundry or something and he will make some hinges out of some better meteral.One of the members took his hinges off and was able to bend them in a vice close enough to get his working but it's only a matter of time before they streach out again.It was a very poor design on GM's part.I could get mine to open but I'm afarid if I did it would start leaking
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Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 29,745
Likes: 3
From: Exiled to Richmond, VA - Finally sold my house in Murfreesboro, TN ?? Corner of "Bumf*&k and 'You've got a purdy mouth'."
CI 6-7-8 Veteran
CI-VIII Burnout Champ
St. Jude Donor '06-'10, '13
Originally Posted by page62
Yes. Like I said, forget it.
If you don't believe me, I have a friend in town with an '82CE. He has lots of foam rubber bits around his rear window to help seal it...
If you don't believe me, I have a friend in town with an '82CE. He has lots of foam rubber bits around his rear window to help seal it...
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 16,483
Likes: 1
From: The Only Corvette in Gila Bend, Az.
St. Jude Donor '09
I did get mine almost perfectly sealed up, but I was the one that took the hinges off and squeezed them in a vice....Scary project...
And now without working struts, there is almost no leaks, but I have to manually lift the window.
If I put good struts on it, the hinges will stretch back out....
Best bet is to let this dream go...
And now without working struts, there is almost no leaks, but I have to manually lift the window.
If I put good struts on it, the hinges will stretch back out....
Best bet is to let this dream go...
