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An Overview of Restoration Products

February 18, 2024

George Poteet is not the kind of guy who does things halfway. He likes to jump into a project with both feet and with his eyes wide open. Such has been the case over the many years he has been building street rods and customs. His street rods have been trendsetters. Most of you are familiar with the Sniper, an unbelievable Viper-powered ’50s Plymouth built by Rad Rods by Troy. More recently, his ultra-traditional black Deuce five-window built by David Lane renewed interest in building more traditional rods. It is no surprise that when Poteet decided he would like to run a car at the Bonneville Salt Flats, he would do it in a big way.

GOODGUYS COLUMBUS 2008

We are continually challenged by what has previously been accomplished within a hobby that has captured the hearts of enthusiastic Americans; and just when it seems automotive imagination has reached its pinnacle, we are once again reminded of an endless flow of accomplishment and creativity that stretches the limits of the cars we build.

Flow Control

When this Cole 22 Nighthawk sank after a stormy night, a lot of things needed to be replaced. The fuel tank selector valve was toast, and the original equipment was no longer available for purchase. The owner of this boat decided it was a good time to upgrade to an Eddie Marine Total Flow Control high-volume fuel valve. The three-port model (PN SF-100) used here is a safe and efficient fuel valve that is ultra reliable and will flow 240 gallons of fuel per hour. Operated by a 12-volt motor, it meets all U.S. Coast Guard requirements, including the ability to be manually operated should the motor fail for any reason. A six-port model is also available with fuel return provisions for fuel-injected applications (PN SF-200).

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WHAAZZZZ UP

How To Install Power Windows in a ’55 Chevrolet Pickup

Author

Warren Boughn

Story & Photography

Adding power windows has long been a popular aftermarket option for restyled pickups, as much for practical reasons as for comfort convenience. Worn-out window regulators will give people fits, and replacement parts have become increasingly harder to find, not to mention the lack of availability or the cost of retro units. So, if the vehicle is to have smooth, trouble-free window operation, it’s often easier and cheaper to replace the old regulators with new electric ones.

In the past we adapted wrecking yard units into our vehicles, and this was great if you had a good background in window geometry and enough fabrication skills to get the job done. Still, there were problems: You didn’t always know the condition of the parts being used, even though they may have looked fine. But with today’s technology and the availability of well-engineered aftermarket parts and window kits, the norm for most fabricators is to go straight to a kit designed for the vehicle being built.

One such company is Specialty Power Windows (SPW). Not only are the company’s parts proven, but it also manufactures its own parts and offers a lifetime warranty along with the kits. The company guarantees them against becoming obsolete and will replace any parts with newer ones for no charge should any part become unobtainable. SPW offers a large assortment of power window and switch kits, available for all sorts of vehicles, and also offers two- and four-window kits.

These SPW kits come complete with all of the necessary templates, hardware, switches, brackets, channels, packing, motorized regulators and wiring harnesses. This helps make the installation easier, and an instructional video is provided as well as easy-to-understand instructions in every kit. So even if you have never installed a power window kit, it doesn’t get much easier than this. Follow along as we document the installation of one of SPW’s ’55-’59 GM truck power window kits in this ’55 Chevy, and see what’s involved and how straightforward it can be.

1. These are the parts you will receive in a Specialty Power Windows kit. We ordered this kit with chrome switches in GM ’60s-’80s style. However, you can order billet aluminum bezels with switches, black switches and bezels, early ’50s GM types, rocker types that are backlit, and so on.

2. Here’s a peek at the freshly chromed window frames and division bars, felts and rubber seals that we will be using. The old glass was replaced as well.

3. As you can see, we removed the division bars/windows/window regulators, inner door handles/linkage and upper panel. This is done for easy access.

There is a lower glass stop/gusset inside of the door that needs to be removed.

We used a pneumatic hacksaw and an electric drill motor to remove the glass stop gusset. Make sure to trim these pieces for maximum clearance.

This is the piece we removed from inside the door. 8. & 9. We measured and marked our window regulators in the top mounting hole 10-1/4 inches in from the rear edge of the door, and 7/8-inch up from the access hole in the door.

We measured and marked our window regulators in the top mounting hole 10-1/4 inches in from the rear edge of the door, and 7/8-inch up from the access hole in the door. The inner doorskin is double-walled in areas.

As we did above, we measured and marked the door 10-1/4 inches in from the rear door edge. This gives us a parallel line to work with. We drew a straight line between the two marks around 14 inches long.

We marked our second regulator-mounting hole 2-3/4 inches down from the access hole in the door on our 10-1/4-inch line.

The third hole was marked 12-3/4 inches down from the access hole on the same 10-1/4-inch line.

We drilled a 5/16-inch hole through our marks. When we hit a double-walled panel, as in the top two, we drilled a 3/4-inch hole through the outer panel and a 5/16-inch hole through the other.

The next step was to remove a 1-inch section of the original truck window frame for the SPW window channel adapter. To do this we used a pneumatic hacksaw.