TXCR13

Here are a few more pics that may be helpful: Interior view of the divider bar installed, with stainless screws, and a bit of extra length on both ends of the flat rubber seal. Both glass pieces in, waiting on divider installation. Make sure the split between he glasses is even top to bottom, and test fit the divider seal before applying sealer and installing. Divider bar in, looking for my center joint pieces to complete the installation. Tucking the pyramid shaped rubber seal into the metal divider. Mine was a very tight fit and the blue plastic tool helped a lot. Also added a pic of the reveal molding seated in the corner of the seal. It sits down tight when correctly in the grooves. A shot of metal ended tools similar to those we used to help rope the gasket in place, and blue plastic ones which were helpful with the divider seal, and cleanup of the sealant. Note that neither hook type tool should have a sharp point on it, to avoid tearing the gasket. Also very well worth adding that the installers wore rubber gloves and avoided getting all the sealer on their hands.

This will recap our experience installing a split windshield with reveal molding in a 1946 Champion Business Coupe. There certainly are other materials and methods to do this job, but hopefully this will add to the overall base of knowledge for installing split windshields, as there seems to be very little information available about how to do it, either online or in Studebaker literature. Two experienced glass installers worked together on the job. The 1946 Champion split windshield is installed from inside the car, not outside. Before starting, make sure the windshield pinch weld area is free of lumps of body filler, or bends that could cause a pressure point on the glass and break it, or cause a leak. Clean the area where the gasket will seal to get rid of any oil or grease. Avoid putting water or other lubricants on the gasket or glass at this time, as it could prevent the glass bedding compound from sealing. If the glass is cleaned, let it dry before inserting it into the gasket. We first put both windshield pieces in the gasket on a work table outside the car (without the divider bar) and then attempted to install the glasses together as one unit. This did not work for us and the attempt was ended quickly, as it was just too much to handle for this application. We made sure that the two internal rectangular "tabs" on the gasket which separate the windshield pieces were centered on the glass, and in the windshield opening in the car. Next, the gasket with only the passenger side glass in it, was installed using the rope in method. Working from the inside, tilt the top of the glass toward the rear of the car. Push the lower edge of the glass out over the center of the windshield opening, and begin to rope the glass in. There are a number of detailed videos for the rope method available, so I will not add anything about it except to say make sure a very strong cord is used, as it has to be pulled pretty hard and a break would be a real mess. Personally, I would avoi a cotton or jute cord, and use either nylon or polyester. The large suction handles used by the installers were VERY key tools in positioning the glass. Also, the installers had metal hooks which were a big help in pulling the gasket into position over the body and glass. I bought a couple of small, inexpensive suction tools at Harbor Freight to use, but we ended up using the installer's cups. You will be miles ahead to use the cups. After the first glass was in, the gasket was pushed into place on the driver's side to check the fit and do any repositioning required. Then the driver's side glass inserted into it, and roped into place. The glass was then pushed with the cups and bumped into position fully seated in the gasket, and gasket to the body was pushed with fingers to seat fully on the body. Most of the information I have been able to review indicates that that the glass will leak if the gaskets aren't sealed. 3M part number 08509 Auto Bedding and Glazing Compound sealer was used and it is messy to cleanup, as other users have stated. I used a non-petroleum based wax and grease remover on terry cloth for clean up. It requires more work, but I believe is easier on the paint than mineral spirits or some other options. We chose to add the sealer after the gasket and glass were installed, as it was much less messy than roping the gasket over a bead of sealer placed on the body first. A really useful thing we did was to put masking tape around the gasket before applying the sealer, both on the body and on the glass. The excess sealer ended up on the tape and it was very easy to remove it. We put sealer between the gasket and the body, and between the gasket and the glass. It helped to have a very small tip cut on the tube when doing this, and one of the guys pulled a gasket hook in front of the sealer tube so the tip could fit into the tighter spaces. The sealer is thick, so take your time. Two tubes was enough to install the windshield, quarter windows and back glass. At this point, it was time for the reveal molding stainless trim, and it was quite a challenge. It appears that the reproduction gasket we had does not have grooves as large for the trim as the original gasket. The installers used some spray silicon lubricant at this point to help the molding move into place. The technique which worked best for us was to push the lower, inner end of one piece of molding into the grooves at the lower, outer edge of the gasket. Once it was in the groove, push the molding toward the windshield divider, keeping it as flat as you can against the gasket, and working it into the grooves. Then work around the lower corner, up the vertical, and to center with the upper part of the trim. It took a lot of bumping with the heel of the hand, use of the hook and pushing hard with fingers. Repeat process for the other side. Next was the center windshield divider. The divider is pictured disassembled. It is made up of (in this order) the outer stainless divider trim, the triangular rubber seal with internal metal strip that wedges onto the stainless trim, the flat rubber strip, the interior trim piece, and the screws for the assembly. The stainless trim and triangular seal are assembled together before being installed between the glasses. It was a little tricky to work the triangular rubber seal into position in the stainless piece as it was a very tight fit. The edges of the stainless trim snap into grooves on each side of the seal and you will need a putty knife to push the rubber into position on the stainless. Stainless steel screws were used in the divider to avoid rust. Make sure they are not too long and do not distort the stainless or push it off the seal. The assembly was dry fitted between the windshield pieces, and about 3/4" had to be trimmed from both ends of the triangular seal. The installers insisted on using urethane around the divider seals, and at this point I went long with them. The divider seal was coated with a bead of the urethane and installed between the glasses from the outside. Looking from the inside, we made sure the urethane flowed into all the gaps between glass , gasket, and body. The flat rubber seal strip, inside trim piece and screws are then attached from inside the car. The reproduction triangular seal has a small metal strip inside it which is threaded for the screws. The strip is not very strong and can easily be bent by hand. For this reason, we chose to only tighten the screws with three fingers on the screwdriver, to avoid distorting the seal. This is not an area you want a leak. Best of luck. This is a tough job, don't try it by yourself. Let me know what questions you have and I will try to answer them.

Hello all- I just now got the windshield in my '46, after lots of delays. I posted the write up on SDC Forum, and will soon post it here as well, barring any technical issues. THANKS again to all those who contributed information. It sure helped me a lot.

Loking for a 1941-42-42 Studebaker Champion coupe headlight bezel. Also need the bracket that the trunk lid brace attaches to. Text photo to 281 703-8381 or email jugeit@aol.com

Need the following: Headlight bezels Exterior door handles. Trunk brace that trunk lid prop attaches to. Reply to jugeit@aol.com or post message.

Just to confirm, the rear fenders do interchange between 1941-'42-'46 Champion cars. As noted earlier, here are some differences in holes for trim, but the configuration is the same between years.

That would be great. Will send PM with address.

Thanks, gentlemen! Leaving now on the 6 hour drive to get it.

Studek- Thanks, any help would be appreciated, but I am afraid it would be asking too much for your friend to take the tail light apart for me.The tail lights on the 42-46 fit into a curved area that looks really tough to seal, and I don't want anyone breaking a good seal, or possibly chipping paint in the process. I do have an old gasket I can use to trace onto new 1/4" nitrile foam gasket material, and cut out a new gasket. The old one is a little distorted and hardened, but I think it will work well enough as a template.

Does anyone know if the rear fenders from a '41 Champion sedan will interchange with the '46 coupe? Really having trouble getting the passenger side rear fender on my '46 Business Coupe to fit the body line. Not concerned about any holes for mud guard or trim. Just need it to bolt up and look the same. I have a '41 Champ fender, but it is a 6 hour round trip drive to get it and don't want to haul back a fender that doesn't fit. Thanks!

Sorry I did not mention it, but my car is the Business Coupe body style. I wonder what the difference is? I have been hoping to cut a set out of a flat foam sheet, but looking at the sedan gasket photos, not sure a flat gasket will work at all.

Anyone know a source for these? I have looked hard and haven't found them. Anyone know how thick the gaskets are supposed to be? I have one old gasket that is bad shape, but I hope to be able to trace it onto some 1/4" thick closed cell neoprene foam, and cut out new gaskets. The light bezel is flimsy and the mounting area on the body has quite a curve, so I am guessing this is a tough area to seal. I would prefer to buy some that are the correct material, thickness, and firmness. Any help appreciated.

Going for the 60's hot rod look that was in.... when I was a young man ...way back when.

Just received a copy of a 41-41 Studebaker passenger car and 5G Skyway Champion shop manual. There is nothing in it about installing the windshield, side windows, or window mechanisms, like I really need and hoped there would be. Do I have the wrong manual? I understand that there is a lot of commonality between the 1941, 1942 and 1946 Champions. Is there another version of the manual that might be more helpful? Thanks.

FH4EVER- See answers in caps

Tks, Spinneyhill. I will add that note to the revised procedure.

I am doing a 60's style restoration of a 1946 Champion coupe. I would like to install a Grant steering wheel, but so far can't locate any information about the adapter required to do so. Search of Grant website does not show a listing for any adapter previous to 1947. Anyone know what it takes to mount a Grant wheel, or other aftermarket wheel, to the 1946 model? I suspect the 41 and 46 steering shaft would be the same as '46, but not sure. Part number or detailed description would be much appreciated. Tks!

Thanks to all for the continued contributions to this thread. It looks like many of us are learning from it, and probably no one more than me, as this is my first Stude. Soooo, if I read things correctly so far, for my '46 Champion Business Coupe, (and apparently several other years/models) this is how it would go. 1. The windshield is installed from inside the car, not outside. 2. Once the gasket and two panes of glass are in place, the panes will need to be separated with wedges enough that the windshield divider assembly/seal can be inserted. 3. The windshield can be installed after the headliner is installed, as the windshield gasket does not lap over the headliner. DRAFT PROCEDURE General procedure (With thanks to studeboy): Remove the old windshield. Coat the inside channel of the gasket with a 3m EC 31 cement. Then insert a 1/8 inch twine in the outside diameter of the gasket all the way around. Put both pieces of glass in the channel of the weather strip, all the way around. (You will need a second person for this part.) Make sure the center nibs of the gasket snap up between the two pieces of glass. Tie a string around the weather strip and glass in the center of each piece of glass. Make sure the metal to set the seal on the car is thoroughly cleaned. With two men lift the windshield assembly into the cab with the top tilted towards the rear. Lay the bottom edge along the ledges much as possible. Cut the strings around the center of each piece of glass. Tilt the glass up and into place, they recommend using two small pieces of tin 3 by 5 by 1/16 cut to match upper curved corners and lubricated with soap to guide the assembly into place. Push the assembly forward against the body flange all the way around. Press the windshield assembly forward while raising the lip by the removal of the twine (pulled forward from out side the car) also while smoothing out the lip over the body roll. The next is the tricky part. Make two tapered hardwood blocks 1in by 1 in by 7 in. The taper should run the entire length of the blocks. Insert one block between the glasses at the top and the other at the bottom. Work the glass outward by pressing in towards the rear on the wedges and forward toward the body flange on the glasses from the inside. When sufficient space is gained insert the front center weatherstrip, weather strip retainer and moulding. I will appreciate any corrections/additions as we build the information. I have seen references to a different 3M product for use with the gasket. We can investigate those further.

Both CowtownCommander and studeboy believe the glass in my '46 will be installed from the rear. As Spinneyhill mentioned, I am going to take a look at my new windshield gasket to see what clues it will give me. In all this detective work I have been doing on this glass job, I also noticed one post which cautioned that the headliner should be in place BEFORE the glass is installed. Apparently the gasket covers a bit of the headliner and it of course would be difficult to tuck the headliner under the gasket?? Can anyone confirm this? This is probably more important to cars in the same stage of restoration as mine, which do not have the headliner installed.

fh4ever- I can send you some pics of my center piece items. I just bought a replacement rubber piece, so you can get a good look at it, alongside the other items.. Send me a PM with your email and I will get them to you.

Thanks, Studeboy. You gave me a lot of information I did not have, and certainly would have struggled mightily without. I was wondering whether the glass was installed from the inside or outside, and particularly about installing the front center weaherstrip/retainer/molding.

Bum for an update. Anyone??

Tks Studeboy. No gotee shop manual and no one seems to have much detail to offer. Anyone have a Champion shop manual for 41-42-46 that could offer a few more details?

I will soon be installing the two piece windshield in my '46 Champion business coupe. Have never installed a split windshield, and need procedures and tips from those who have. Especially interested in the windshield divider/divider seal and sequence and procedure for them. That area looks like a guaranteed leakerr unless done right. Have checked on ADS Forum as well but need more detailed information. Thanks!