Sport Van Side window frames

Anyone that has restored a 1st Gen Sportvan (Dan the van man) ever replaced the frames around the pop out windows?

Mine are in pretty rough shape. I thought I could pull them out and redo them but I have a bad feeling they are going to fall apart if I try to take them off the glass.

Too bad that donor of mine doesn't have any. I will have to check a junk yard I guess.

Thanks for the idea. I wasn't sure if there was some kind of replacement that could be bought new for it.

So far, I haven't seen much in the way of replacement. I was going to cut UV resistant Lexan or Plexi to near the outside diameter of the frame and then cut down the frames to, essentially, make a near frameless window. I know it's not stock but getting new, rust free frames seems quite impossible.

Best of luck with the project!

Well I did some searches and found stuff like this.

Channel

I think I will get one piece and build a forming die to the radius of the window corners. If it works I will buy more. I will have to TIG an aluminum mounting bracket to connect steel hinges to bolt to but that will be easy.

Its finding an 80s van that is the hard part. I know of no junkyards to go to in Alabama.

Matt,
I've been collecting "Spare pop-outs for a long time just to have spare frames for restorations. They've always rusted out because they were never sealed (painted on the inside) just left as bare metal. If you already have pop-outs then Donivan's "mid-80's" vandura window frames are the best way to go. Yes, still hard to find but far more likely than finding even one good stock pop-out, if such a thing truly exists...

Dan

when you replace the pop-out frames do you use the glass from the new frames or the old and if you use the new glass you obviously have to have it cut? can you use the old hardware on the new glass? are they interchangeable? is it better(or original)to have the pop-out windows in the rear pop out to the sides or the center? which is better to avoid exhaust with a dual exhaust comin' out from in front of the two rear tires? (think i want the windows poppin' out from the bottom anyway but if you have to cut the glass it's obviously not as easy)

Mikey,
I have glass cut quite frequently for my vans and other projects (Van, Campers, Boats, Sand blast cabinets etc.). All has to be tempered. And it's not as expensive as you might think. One pop-out glass cost me $42. But it was "Tinted" glass.
Plain clear would have been $28 ea. and $22 ea. if I had ordered all 4 at once.

How about us shmucks that want to add pop outs?