Pre-war (up to 1942) 1941 Window Cracking

[J. Russo]

Inquiring to see if anyone has ever had issues with door windows cracking on their 1941 Cadillacs.

My series 63 had a cracked passenger side rear window when I bought it. I noticed this morning that my driver side rear window has cracked. I've been driving with the windows down. The door closes tightly and doesn't rattle. The window channel is not worn and the window itself is not loose.

The crack is away from the door handle and locking mechanism. It is closer to the opposite end a few inches from the locking knob.

Anu input is greatly appreciated.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

G'day John,

Looking at your picture, I notice that the window channel squeezes up tightly against the glass at the bottom front corner, as the vertical part squeezes past the horizontal piece.    This in itself is going to create a very tight area, which could be putting undue strain/pressure on the glass as the door is closed hard.

Plus, the shape of the crack, not being in a straight line, simple curve, but a jaggered line, indicates to me there are some odd forces involved in creating the crack.

Look for any area where the glass wipes could have protruding attachments, that could create pressure points.

Further, it looks like to me that the window wipes/channel has recently been replaced, and not correctly fitted in that bottom corner.   The shape of the end, where it is pressed flat, indicates to me that the end should go on the other side of the vertical, but without actually seeing it up close, and from a different angle, it is difficult to say.

How are the other doors?   Are the ends overlapped? or butted together?   Time to look at some original, as the factory made them.

Bruce.

[J. Russo]

Bruce, I attached a couple hopefully clearer photos.

The window channel is between the horizontal strips at both ends of the window.

All of my windows were done this way. When I replaced the passenger side window I had to trim the horizontal strip so that it didn't reach the channel as it was too tight when rolling the window up.

I'd appreciate any photos someone might have of what it's supposed to look like.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Looking at these two last pictures, there is a lot more clearance at the glass than the first one.

The bottom ends have been flattened, or massaged, a lot more to gain clearance.

One think I have found with replacement aftermarket parts is that they do, in most cases, leave a lot more fitting than one would hope for.   Nothing is ever like originals, as the replacement parts in some cases might be made for many different styles/brands.

Bruce.

[harvey b]

The windows on my 38 are doing that as well,i am sure it is from rust that is starting in the channel that the glass is set into.The rust is starting to "pinch" the glass in the channel and the glass will crack under the pressure i think,that is the only thing i can think of.The rust can exert a lot of pressure as it grows and it is very hard and sharp as well,if you replace the glass i would look at that area to see if it has rust there. harveyb

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

The other thing I forgot to mention is if the crack is starting at the end of the bottom channel, that is where the raising and lowering mechanism is, then this is a weak point that can result in flexing when the door is slammed shut.

The bottom glass holder should be the full length of the glass.   Don't ask me how I know.

Bruce.