[GJPilcher]

Hi all,

I wanted to ask if anyone has had experience taking the fluted louvres out of the rear side windows on a '73 Grand Am. I've seen a picture on Franks Pontiac Parts of some used louvres and they seem to have a huge metal tab that faces straight down, therefor I assume it's a fiddle?

I have to paint the louvres and also clean the glass, but I hope very much I don't have to undo a ton of headlining/side interior trim. Fingers crossed it's easy!

Anyones help/advice would be greatly appreciated, as always.

Thanks loads

Gary

[Brian Baker]

They come out from the inside...sorry.

[77 Canamman]

They come off from the inside. You must remove the large sail panels, then they are held in with 4 5/16" thread bolts and the small screw for the strap. It is also sealed to the body with butyl rubber. To paint the louver, the glass will need to be separated from the louver, which is also sealed to the glass with butyl rubber sealant.

[vegadan]

If you are painting the louvers the same color, and they are not in too bad of shape now, and if this is not a high level restoration, then you may not have to remove the glass from the louvers. For my 73 GA (all of the above conditions applied), I was really nervous about separating the glass from the louvers, since it was enough just to separate the louver/glass assembly from the body. So, I took some tracing paper, supported the louver glass assembly upside down across my saw horses, and placed my work light underneath, poinitng up. I placed the tracing paper over the glass, and with the light on, you can make a fairly accurate "cover" for the glass. Once you have this trimmed to your liking, with a little patience (something I lack), you can feed the paper behind the louvers so that the glass is covered. Then you can go ahead and spray the louvers. And, once dry, with the patince I referred to, you can remove the cover in one piece for the next time. Good luck and let us know what you do and how it worked out.

Dan

[GJPilcher]

i knew it!! Hahahaha damn! Thank you all for your input, I'll see what I can do. I'll have to borrow some patience from someone :-)