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“Now you will assemble the mechanism for the Left Door Window and attach the Left Door to the Car Body of your NISSAN GT-R (R35) model. The mechanism can be a bit tricky, so take your time.”
This pack will easily be the most complex of this issue, so I will do my best to explain it.
Contents
Parts
Build
The Left Door Window
Step 01
Press one Small Gear A into Small Gear B, facing the narrower internal rings together as shown.
The instructions say these are press-fit, but they do not stay together on their own. They will be secured soon:
Repeat this step with the other Small Gear A and Small Gear B:
Step 02
Press the two pins of Big Gear A into the matching holes of Big Gear B, as shown.
The instructions also say this is a press-fit, but I did not want the Window String getting caught between them, so I glued them together:
Step 03
Retrieve your Left Door Panel from the previous pack. Fit the three Gear assemblies onto the posts of the Left Door Panel, as shown.
The Small Gears go onto the posts circled in red, and the Big Gear goes onto the post circled in yellow (with the larger gear facing out):
Secure all three Gear assemblies to the Left Door Panel with three (3) IP screws, one for each as shown.
Do not over-tighten these screws – these gears need to be able to rotate:
Step 04
Tie a knot at one end of the Window String, then feed the free end down through this lower hole of the Left Window, as shown:
Next, feed the free end of the Window String back up through this upper hole of the Left Window, as shown:
Then, tie another knot near this free end of the Window String, as shown:
Step 05
Bring this Window/String assembly to the Left Door Panel and guide the Window String around the two Small Gears.
Routing the Window String will be the trickiest part of this entire pack, just be patient and you will get it. First, be sure the grooves in the window are sitting on the ‘ribs’ of the Left Door Panel (yellow arrows below), then wrap the Window String clockwise around the upper Small Gear. Next, wrap the Window String counterclockwise around the lower Small Gear, as shown:
Next, wrap the Window String twice counterclockwise around the smaller, inner part of the Big Gear, as shown:
Make sure the Left Window is slotted onto the two ‘ribs’ of the Left Door Panel and pull the end of the Window String through the upper hole of the Left Window until it is taut around the gears:
Finally, tie two knots in the Window String as close to the window as possible, as shown:
You should be able to now test the window winding mechanism by using your thumb to gently rotate the Big Gear near the bottom of the Left Door Panel. Rotate it in both directions to roll the window up and down:
To make sure the leftover Window String did not get caught up in the door, I cut the excess off:
Step 06
Retrieve your Left Door assembly from Pack 84. Fit the completed Left Door Panel/Window assembly to the Left Door as shown, aligning it to the three posts inside the door:
Secure the Left Door Panel to the Left Door using three (3) GM screws.
This is your friendly reminder to try using 3-in-One Oil on all screws going into metal:
Step 07
Make sure the window winding mechanism works as expected, then push the two pins of the Left Door Speaker into this matching location on the Left Door Panel.
Check your window mechanism still works by turning the Big Gear exposed at the bottom of the door:
Once this speaker is installed, it will be very difficult to remove. That is why we want to make sure the window winding works first:
Step 08
Retrieve your Body assembly last worked on in Pack 82. Fit the two hinge posts of this Left Door assembly to this matching location at the front of the left-side door opening.
To make fitting the Left Door to the Body a little easier, I rolled the window all the way down and rotated the Hinge as shown first:
This helped fitting the Left Door to the Car Body, as shown:
Step 09
While holding the Left Door in place, carefully turn everything upside-down on a soft cloth. From inside the Body, secure the Left Door into place with two (2) AM screws.
I used a few pieces of painter’s tape to hold the door in place temporarily before turning the car over:
Then, I could turn the entire car over and secure the AM screws as directed without worrying about the door moving out of place:
With the Left Door now attached to the Body, make sure you can open and close it as expected. You will need the Door Opening Tool:
Thoughts
We are making good progress on completing the body of our NISSAN GT-R (R35)! It is ironic that the window winding mechanism was the craziest part of this pack, but is also the most realistic to how real electric windows operate. On a separate note, I can’t tell if it my eyes but the color of this Left Door does not quite match the Car Body. In some light, it matches, and in others, it seems a bit off. Either way, I am happy to be building again!
Next Up
Pack 87 – Body: Right Door/Handle/Hinge/Magnet