Bodywork, Paint, Interior, Trim, & Wiring

Ok, on to the next thing... who's done it & what'd you use? I know Moss has a direct, bolt in kit, but at $500 it seems a bit steep. There are a bunch of after market companies that make kits for hot rods & those go for about $200. Seems like those ought to work.

I did notice when I took the regulators out that they're designed to let the window slide front to rear since the window tracks angle back, but I think I could must mount the after market ones at the same angle & solve that problem.

I want to get the mechanisms & install them before I send the car out for paint in case there's any welding needed.

So, for those of you who've done this, what'd you use & what'd you run into in the process?

Rob

Hopefully Gary Walker [www.britishv8.org] will post pictures of his solution here... I recall that he used 1999 Toyota truck window regulators. (I thought I had photos. Apparently not, but if he posts them here I'll add them to his gallery page.)

I sent Gary an email in case he doesn't see this... hopefully he'll be along before too long to share what he did...

Gary emailed me back... he swapped the regulator (the gear portion) for a unit from a 84-89 Toyota pickup/4 Runner but kept it manual... he has the info on his web site here: [www.rc-tech.net]

I think i'm going to try one of the hot rod kits unless someone tells me they've already tried & ran into problems. Those kits keep the front & rear tracks, but completely replace the regulator mechanism with a track. I can't think of a reason it won't work. Even though they're designed for windows that move straight up & down I'm confident I can simply mount the track at the same (slight) angle that the MG window tracks are. Doing that makes the window travel linear so the sliding mechanism built into the MG regulator shouldn't be needed. Will let you guys know how it works out.

Rob

Can someone with their interior door panel off but window regulator in measure how much room there is from the bottom of the glass to the door bottom when the window is rolled all the way down? Looks like most of the hot rod kits require about 8" below the glass so I'm looking to ensure there's at least that much room.

Thanks
Rob

Seems to me that Victoria British had a kit that was reasonably priced and was a bolt-in. If I recall correctly, it included everything that was in the Moss kit. Might be worth checking out. Here's the link to the catalog page. [www.victoriabritish.com] Looks like it sells for $170 which seems like a decent deal and includes like it includes everything you'd need.

Rob,

I'm in the process of engineering power windows for my TR6 now too. I need to contact Ted Lathrope to see what he used in Terry Shulte's MGB GT, fine car that is! But you're right, the space between the bottom of the glass and the bottom of the door is the determining factor on whether or not you can use the "tee" shaped after market units. The TR6 gives me less than the required 8" and of course the door is very thin.

I looked at the unit Moss offers and it appears similar to what AUTOLOC sells, part #pw4600. This is a worm drive gear that uses an adaptor that drives your original window crank. As you would expect, that leaves you with a protrusion there that is usually hidden with a box like control switch. Not what I'm looking for. And from what I've heard, a gear drive is more positive and reliable than the worm drive variation.

So, it may be time to get creative. I've got a couple of window motors from early 80's GM cars in stock and I'm considering mounting them remote then driving the original window regulators. Or maybe from this thread I'll see the light and a better sugestion will appear.

Ken, you might look to see what BMW uses. I seem to recall something about a flex cable arrangement that allowed more options for motor placement. It was a long time ago that I looked at them though so I could be completely wrong about it. There's got to be a really elegant solution though.

Jim

Ken, the one you're referring to is Victoria British I think... it's the type that uses the existing regulator & cranks the handle for you. I haven't heard great things about that type if the existing regulator takes some effort to crank (like the MGB tends to be). The MOSS one is a complete regulator replacement with a redesigned sissor type regulator. It's the cadillac but it's also $500.

So far I haven't found many other options given the limited space between the bottom of the glass & the bottom of the door. Not sure how much room you have to work with, but I did find a few that will work with 4" or so. The only one I found that looks like it'd work in the MGB door (~2" space below the glass to work with) is the "EL1000 SUPER STREET ROD KIT" here... [electric-life.com] I called & talked with their tech support & the guy says the piece that holds the glass can be flipped over 180* & when that's done it'll work with 1 1/2" from the floor of the door to the bottom of the glass. At $275 it's still about 1/2 of the MOSS kit but no guarantee it'll work & it'll require some work to fit. If it doesn't work, there's a 15% restocking fee assuming no damage & hasn't been cut. Not sure which direction I'm going to go a this point.

I'm interested in hearing how this turns out as I'm planning for electric lifts on my conversion as well. Here's another source from the hot rod trade: [www.watsons-streetworks.com] Look about half way down the page. I saw the crank style window switches on a local ride. There very cool. Keeps the look of a window crank but works with the existing regulator assembly. Price is pretty attractive too. About two products further down is their universal kit.

If I'm reading the crank switch description right, that's $130 just for the switches. Seems a bit steep to me. I've seen another version of the same thing for less if I recall. It has a hot rod/billet looking handle on it, but I'm guessing that can be removed & a stock more stock looking handle could be used.

Rob,

I have had the Moss Electric windows in my roadster about 7 years now and they work great. I have had no problems with them.. They were an easy install and have proven reliable.