Recently I installed the glass in the boot door of my 1964 XKE Coupe. Here are some of the things I learned along the way. The installation was made with the door located on a padded table off the car with the inside of the door facing down. First, I cleaned all surfaces of the opening, the glass and the rubber gasket before starting. I then checked them for any burrs which might interfere with installation. I used a diamond hone to bevel the edges of the glass a small amount and to smooth the edges. All contact edges were then lubricated with a light coat of Rubber Renu. This is a multi- purpose rubber, vinyl and tire dressing available from Horizons Marketing Group, Cedarburg, WI. I think any tire dressing one might find at Checkers or Pep Boys could be used for this purpose. It seems to provide just the right amount of slip for this job. Soap could probably be used as well. I then installed a new rubber gasket into the opening with the smooth side down (facing inside). Applied a generous coating of the Rubber Renu inside the groove were the glass goes and also on the glass edge. With the door placed on the padded table, so the top edge of the door was close to me, I pushed the rounded edge of the right corner of the glass into the straight side along the back just right of the opening's center line. This allowed me to apply considerable pressure to the glass to push it all the way into its groove along the door's lower edge for about three inches. At this point the glass will be in a position about 45 degrees counter clockwise(CCW) to its proper position, with only about three inches of the rounded edge of one corner in the groove, just to the left of the door opening's lower right corner. Left and right herein is related to the door's position on the table not to the car's right or left. The glass was now rotated clockwise(CW) while pushing the glass to prevent it from coming out of the groove and slid to the right to better position the right side . At this point the lower right corner of the glass and the opening are starting to come togather with a mismatch of about 15 degrees CCW between the two and its overall position off about one-half inch or so. Still only about four or five inches of glass is in the groove along the lower right edge with all the rest laying on top of the rubber gasket. Now the good part.
Using two Web Clamps (Hold downs) that have very thin, one inch wide nylon webbing with a
ratcheting mechanism, the right amount of pressure could be applied while the rubber was worked up over the glass. This type clamp is available at home stores, bike stores, hardware stores and even K-Mart. I got mine at Harbor Fraight, Stock Number 1216. One of the clamps was positioned around the top of the glass and around the bottom of the door just to the right of center. The other was placed at right angles to this, across the opening from right to left. The webbing must be threaded carefully between the frame and the glass without lifting the glass too much or it will slip out of the groove. Also, a pad must be placed on the glass under the metal portion of the clamp to prevent scratching the glass while working the ratchet to tighten the clamp. Be careful, considerable pressure can be applied with these clamps if they are pulled too hard. Now, with the clamps holding the glass firmly in place, you can start the job of working the rubber lip up over the edge of the glass starting at the right corner which should already be started in the groove. I found a rounded and polished putty knife to be the best tool to insert between the glass and rubber to pry it up and over. Use great care here or the glass may be distroyed. Now you can see why all burrs and rough spots must be removed before you start this process. I also found it beneficial to insert my fingers on the underside to squeeze and push the rubber gasket up toward the glass from below. Apply more pressure with the clamps as you progress around the frame. Re-position the clamps as necessary to apply pressure in the right direction to push the glass into its groove as you work around the frame. Also, check the back side as you work, to make sure the rubber is not pinched, thus binding the glass. Add more Rubber Renu as needed to keep things slick. Remove the clamps carefully as they start getting in the way toward the end of the process. Although I did not use one, I believe that a heavy card or insulated electrical wire inserted in the groove before the installation is started, could be used to advantage to help pull the lip of the rubber seal up over the glass edge.
With the glass in place, the triangular shaped locking strip now needs to be installed. This is done by using a Philips screwdriver are some other blunt, polished metal rod to open the groove that the locking strip fits into and pressing the strip in place. After the locking strip is installed, the chrome trim strip is inserted into position using a rounded, polished screw driver blade or other polished tool to lift the edge of the rubber holding tabs all around. The manual says to add rubber sealer under this chrome strip to help hold it in place and maybe to prevent water leaks. I did not add this sealer as there is no way this car will ever be driven in the rain again! The final step is to insert the two chrome splices on each side of the opening, overlapping the chrome trim ends. With a good cleaning, it looked like new again!