The rear window and tailgate of the clam shell are really bogging down, especially in the cold (!), and the window will only go halfway up now. My mechanic wants to tackle this issue, but we cannot figure out how to access both the inner mechanism(s) of each, to lube, etc. and also to access the motors for those. Where are these things located, and how does one approach/access this. PLEASE HELP!! Thank you...

 

The rear window and tailgate of the clam shell are really bogging down, especially in the cold (!), and the window will only go halfway up now. My mechanic wants to tackle this issue, but we cannot figure out how to access both the inner mechanism(s) of each, to lube, etc. and also to access the motors for those. Where are these things located, and how does one approach/access this. PLEASE HELP!! Thank you...

 

Before you spend too much time on this try the simple stuff first. Pull the spare tire out of its well. You'll find the window motor and the spiral cord that drives the window in this area. Make sure this spiral cord isn't binding, bent or jammed on something. Lube it up good than slip some hose over it to keep it clean and to give the cord an unencumbered path to follow. Hopefully this will cure your window problem.

Chris

 

Chris,

I thank you for your reply. We will do that to start. Do you happen to know where the motor for the tailgate is located? Or, how to lubricate the track, etc. that goes in the roof and down under the car (if necessary, that is)?

- Toby

 

Contact Dan (Jaunty75). Here's his PM link. He has a 73 CC and overhauled the mechanism on his successfully. The 71-76 CC rear clamshells are all basically the same.

 

Hi Allen - I can almost not believe that someone else owns a '73 Custom Cruiser. I have never even seen one in my whole life, that I remember. They really are unique and very special. I get a lot of thumbs up/smiles/pics, and praise when I am out and about, and it's not even in showing condition. Anyway, I sent a thorough e-mail to Dan about my situation. It sounds like he may be able to help. I must get this resolved prior to winter. That's when it gets really bad. The CC is my daily driver, and I live in Maine. What kind of Oldsmobiles do you own and drive? I believe you and I have chatted before, but I cannot remember. - Toby

 

Toby,

I merged your two identical threads and put them in the wagon sub-forum. You will always get better information if you keep all the responses in a single thread, as that way other folks can double check and correct any potentially incorrect info, as well as allowing people to build on each other's knowledge. Good luck with the fix.

 

Okay, I wasn't sure which category to place it in. Thank you.

 

welcome toby! heres my 73 CC down here in Australia. good luck with your window try station wagon forums too. bit more action there then on here


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I still wanna see under the hood of that beast!!! How does the steering column, gearbox and assemblies line up.. BTW, nice cassette case. Haven't seen one of those in a really long while. I think they were Pontiac or Buick originally that came out with that design?

 

yeah I posted a few pics but its hard to get in there with all that 70s crap under the hood

 

Very nice! My interior is set up completely differently, though, interesting enough. You must have re-done the body/paint?

 

its a survivor car so the body is orig and rust free I believe. a little surface rust here and there. there are a few fry ups in the paint so I think some 2 pak has gone on here and there at some point.

 

Below is a photo of the tailgate motor on my '73. It is located under the trim piece on the driver's side directly opposite of where the spare tire is stored. Remove those three big black bolts to get it out. Put the tailgate down first, otherwise it will drop on you as the motor engaging the teeth on that large thing with the teeth on it below the motor is what holds it in position.

I suggest getting a copy of the '75 Fisher Body service manual and look up the tailgate section. It will show you where to lubricate the tailgate mechanism, which I'm sure your car will benefit from.

 

Hello Toby, welcome on the forum, I suggest you take a free Saturday and just start with removing all the side quarter panels, remove spare tire and take a Philips screw driver to take the bottom panels off, shouldnt take more than an hour to take a good look at anything underneath at rust and the motors/cables. Just start with greasing up everything with WD40, all motors are still available from Cardone. Good luck!

 

WD/40 is not a lube !
What I did with mine is open the gate and the glass all the way and then used brake cleaner on the tracks and the teeth that had existing grease left over from the years (grease turned rock hard). Then sprayed tones of white lithium grease all over it,now works like new ��
Lay down cardboard so you don't get break cleaner on the carpet.