How-To Install '70 Door Glass In A '69 Mustang

Shown here is the main difference between the '69 and '70 regulators. The arm on the '70 regulator on the right is straight, while the '69 version has a small bend in the arm that attaches to the front plate. Although it's a close call, the need for new regulators should be determined on a car-by-car basis because if a car's existing '69 regulators are in good condition they might work with the '70 glass and plates. You can attach the assembled glass and plates and an existing regulator in the door fairly easily to determine if your existing regulators will work. If there isn't enough clearance in the door for the arms to work on the '69 regulators, installing the '70 regulators by themselves is straightforward. Ours were worn out, so we replaced them with the new Scott Drake units.

When converting a '69 Mustang to the '70 door-glass mechanicals, the locator brackets attached to the '69 plates can be removed and reused with the '70 plates and glass. If you get locator brackets and rubber insulation with the '70 plates, you won't have to do the following few steps. We did, however, because although Mustangs Etc. had another set of brackets in stock, we knew we would be able to use the locator brackets from the '69 plates, so we removed them to use them with the '70 plates.

We also used the regulator tracks from the '69 plates. Unscrew them as shown.

Once the holes in the track are large enough, the track drops into place on the '70 plate. Our "magic bolt box" had the correct-size nuts to hold the track in place. A hardware or auto parts store should have what you need.

Since we didn't get the factory bits from a '70 Mustang, we had to make our own rubber insulation pieces to go between the locator brackets and glass. The metal from any bracket, bolt, nut, or washer should not touch any part of the door glass. It needs to be completely insulated so the glass doesn't break when the car goes over a bump or a rough road. A piece of thin-rubber baseboard molding from a home-supply store works perfectly for this purpose. Use the locator bracket to trace the pattern for the molding, as shown here. A marker or a punch to scratch a line in the rubber works well.

The holes in the track need to be enlarged slightly with a hand reamer so they'll fit over the studs on the '70 plates.

With a pair of scissors, cut the piece to the marked length.

On the right are the factory bolts used to hold the locator bracket on the '69 plates. To attach the bracket to the '70 plates and glass, you'll need slightly longer bolts since they pass through the glass in the '70 application, instead of bolting to the window plate. We got these at Home Depot, where we also got the rubber baseboard molding.

With all the parts ready, the components go together as shown. The plates go on the inside of the glass, and the new, longer bolts pass through the plates, glass, insulation, and into the locator brackets mounted on the outside of the glass.

Again using the locator bracket as a template to mark the holes, punch the holes in the rubber insulation using a punch tool.

Each plate has a separate nut and bolt that attach it to the glass, in addition to the two that attach the locator bracket. The bolt goes into the plate, passes through the glass, through a plastic washer, and into a special nut that fits over the washer. We got these special nuts and bolts from Mustangs Etc. along with the plates. Although you can make do using the locator brackets from the '69 plates, get four of these specialized bolts, nuts, and washers when you locate a set of '70 plates.

To provide a clear picture of what the assembled glass, plates, and regulator look like, we assembled the passenger side outside the door. We took it all apart to begin assembly inside the door. The glass, plates, and regulator have to be assembled inside the door because the glass won't fit into the door with the plates attached to it. Once the glass is placed inside the door, the rest of the pieces can be bolted together as follows.