Hi all. Not sure how many convertibles were made without power windows, but it seems like most I see don't have them. Obviously a pain to have a power top but have to go around to the windows to manually wind them down. My car didn't come with power windows either so I started looking at the options, and there are many. Ultimately I chose SPAL kits to do this as I felt they were the least expensive option while still having something modern (not having to fix factory pancake motors is a plus)
So here we go.
First I bought two of these kits:
http://www.a1electric.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AEOS&Product_Code=3300-0030
And this switch kit:
http://www.a1electric.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=4990-50-356&Category_Code=
There are lots of options for switch kits and I know this one is a GM style, but I felt it matched the classic look better than most of the others.
Here's what the motors look like installed in the front door, this is the drivers side:
At first I thought I would put the set of 4 switches for the driver controls in the door panel:
But after I used it that way for a while, I changed my mind and moved it to the console instead. With the switches installed in the door (the only place I could fit them without cutting the door) they were too hard to reach when the door was closed. Here's the switches installed in the console:
Here's some shots of the motor install in the rear quarters:
The kits come with templates for trimming the door panels for the covers you have to use to go over the window crank gear. Here's what they look like installed as well as the switch mounts in the other interior panels:
After having had these for a while I find them very convenient and there have been no real issues. The 4 way switch is a little hard to remember which one controls each window but you get used to it. I don't find that the covers for the window cranks are obtrusive, but I think that is more to do with having changed to a black interior. The covers only come in black so if you have a different colored interior you'd have to paint them.
I would recommend the kit but be warned it is a lot work to find a way to mount the motors, run the wiring, cut the door panel holes, etc, etc. The kit does come with all the hardware to mount everything, but it relies on having pretty flat metal doors. I had to use my imagination and small bits of my own hardware to get the motor side mounted properly. Aside from that I would say these kits are fine and work well.
Greg
So here we go.
First I bought two of these kits:
http://www.a1electric.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AEOS&Product_Code=3300-0030
And this switch kit:
http://www.a1electric.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=4990-50-356&Category_Code=
There are lots of options for switch kits and I know this one is a GM style, but I felt it matched the classic look better than most of the others.
Here's what the motors look like installed in the front door, this is the drivers side:
At first I thought I would put the set of 4 switches for the driver controls in the door panel:
But after I used it that way for a while, I changed my mind and moved it to the console instead. With the switches installed in the door (the only place I could fit them without cutting the door) they were too hard to reach when the door was closed. Here's the switches installed in the console:
Here's some shots of the motor install in the rear quarters:
The kits come with templates for trimming the door panels for the covers you have to use to go over the window crank gear. Here's what they look like installed as well as the switch mounts in the other interior panels:
After having had these for a while I find them very convenient and there have been no real issues. The 4 way switch is a little hard to remember which one controls each window but you get used to it. I don't find that the covers for the window cranks are obtrusive, but I think that is more to do with having changed to a black interior. The covers only come in black so if you have a different colored interior you'd have to paint them.
I would recommend the kit but be warned it is a lot work to find a way to mount the motors, run the wiring, cut the door panel holes, etc, etc. The kit does come with all the hardware to mount everything, but it relies on having pretty flat metal doors. I had to use my imagination and small bits of my own hardware to get the motor side mounted properly. Aside from that I would say these kits are fine and work well.
Greg