Help with 1971 Rear Window Louvers.

[lesterdh]

Greetings, In 1983, I purchased a rear window louver for my 71 Mustang. Never restored the car but kept the louvers in storage. Now I've got a new Mustang and pulled out the louvers. Problem is there were no instructions. I have attached a couple of pictures of what I have. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sheriff41]

Nice looking Mach 1!
I had a set of louvers on my 73 Mach 1 back in the mid-80s. I would guess the two silver pieces are the lock-down that mount on the sides - the second louver from the bottom has the twist locks that fit into these. The black pieces are the hinge mounts at the top of the window. Willpak used to make these and may have an installation instruction.

 

[detritusmaximus]

Removem the old tape and get new 3M tape. It will be about 1/16" thick grey with a red plastic liner.
Assemble everything onto the louvers and lay on the rear window. When it is positioned where you want it, lay blue painters tape around the brackets. Be as precise as you can. Lift off car. Remove brackets from louvers. Clean glass with denatured alcohol and let dry for 15 minutes. Same for when putting new tape on brackets. Remove liner from tape and apply the brackets to the car.
The tape requires a certain amount of pressure for a minimum number of seconds to activate adhesive. Need to check the tape instructions and follow them. If anything gets on the tape, it can compromise the adhesive. You don't want adhesion failure at 70mph!

 

[71coop]

I found this on Summit's website - it is pretty similar to the instructions I had with my Astra-Hammond louvers. Maybe this will helps at least as a rough guide...

 

[detritusmaximus]

Much better than my destructions...

 

[Hemikiller]

Before you install them, carefully open the trunk lid and note how it runs into the lower louver.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Before you install them, carefully open the trunk lid and note how it runs into the lower louver.

That's easy to overcome. Get some windlace and put a couple small pieces on the trailing edge of the last slat - nobody will even know they're there.

 

[71coop]

I've never had that issue - my louvers fit very similar to the ones pictured, but I have heard others say that it can be a problem.

 

[Hemikiller]

That's easy to overcome. Get some windlace and put a couple small pieces on the trailing edge of the last slat - nobody will even know they're there

What's the phrase from high school physics - two bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time?




Yours are the latest design with a large gap to the rear window molding. His is the early style with full coverage. There was another style where the rearmost "louver" was flat to the glass. The trunk lid opens over the rear glass nearly three inches, which puts it a good bit into the bottom louver. You have to prop up the OP's louvers to open the trunk.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Oh trust me, I saw that right off. I was merely hoping to help save the paint on the trunk lid. It won't open all the way, but at least it won't get scratched/scuffed by the louvers with the wind lace pieces.

Mine actually just barely clears in ideal conditions, but a good gust of wind or someone accidentally pushing the trunk lid beyond full open has it hitting that last slat. The wind lace is a LOT more forgiving, and I had a LOT of it left over, since I bought extra to use when installing my headliner.

 

[mrgmhale]

Before you install them, carefully open the trunk lid and note how it runs into the lower louver.

Spoken like a gentleman who saw what happens when one overlooks that step. Luckily I read a similar comment before installing louver slats on out 73 Mach 1. They look nice, and actually help reduce the amount of heat built up inside due to solar radiation passing through that huge rear window. I am glad I installed them. I got my louvers from Summit, and they are anchored using a strong adhesive pad between the mount of the rear glass. It has held up nicely.

https://www.summitracing.com/search?SortBy=BestKeywordMatch&SortOrder=Ascending&keyword=SUM-WL10556


The directions to install that particular louver kit is at:

https://static.summitracing.com/global/images/instructions/sum-wl5002.pdf