My Holy Grail, C.R. Laurence POWRslider Retractable Rear Glass

[Pappawolff11]

I did it, I really did it! I never thought I’d find one of these C.R. Laurence full glass POWR Slider window assemblies. I would say this is in my top 5 of rare OBS parts for a early 90’s retro build. Having only seen pictures of these on 2 different trucks over the years I almost missed it completely when I was looking for some rear seatbelts on car-part.com. So happy they had pictures of the whole truck. This example is pretty rough and is going to require a major restoration and machining some parts. I’m hopeful though that I can make something of it and get it installed in #trngwhlz our 1993 GMC C3500 Dually later on down the road! Any leads on documents / parts (mainly the seal around it)/ pictures are greatly appreciated. I already reached out to C.R. Laurence last week but thus far it's been radio silence. Here are a few pictures.
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[Pappawolff11]

Besides the Weld Racing Double Knuckle Phantom Dually pic I used in my post the only other truck I have seen one of these on is MEXT UP. I am also including a picture from the truck it was removed from.

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[618 Syndicate]

Sub'd

 

[sewlow]

Many years ago, I actually managed to track down the owner/builder of Mext Up with the sole intention of questioning him about that window.
According to him, apparently there were 2 manufacturers of rear drop-down sliders for these trucks.
Both were manufactured for only a short period. The one he had was offered for just 2 years or so. The other Co.'s version was even less. Then...the longer-made one went through various versions as the maker made changes over the run, aiming to improve them. Eventually, they abandoned the idea as well due to operational reliability issues.
He found his at a Southern Cali swap meet. Never installed, still in the box, years after it had been out of production.
He was all "Holy Grail" about it, too.
Until it came time to install it.
He said that out of all the mods done to the truck, including retro-fitting a complete '59 Impala interior, that that rear window created more problems, caused more headaches & required more time tinkering & modifying in order for it to work properly, reliably, than any other aspect of the whole build.
Loved it when it was done, but then said he'd never do another.

Still one of my favorite 400's of all time!

 

[Stumpy]

I stumbled on to a thread not too long along, of a lot of GMT800 guys using the back window out of a Nissan Titan. It has two small static windows on the sides, with a fairly large roll down window in the middle. Looked to not be as involved as this one, but definitely not as unique either.

This is the kind of mod I didn't know I wanted, until I seen it.

 

[TacosnBeer]

Wow, that is super cool. Never seen one or even heard of them myself. Super Jelous! LOL

 

[Pappawolff11]

Many years ago, I actually managed to track down the owner/builder of Mext Up with the sole intention of questioning him about that window.
According to him, apparently there were 2 manufacturers of rear drop-down sliders for these trucks.
Both were manufactured for only a short period. The one he had was offered for just 2 years or so. The other Co.'s version was even less. Then...the longer-made one went through various versions as the maker made changes over the run, aiming to improve them. Eventually, they abandoned the idea as well due to operational reliability issues.
He found his at a Southern Cali swap meet. Never installed, still in the box, years after it had been out of production.
He was all "Holy Grail" about it, too.
Until it came time to install it.
He said that out of all the mods done to the truck, including retro-fitting a complete '59 Impala interior, that that rear window created more problems, caused more headaches & required more time tinkering & modifying in order for it to work properly, reliably, than any other aspect of the whole build.
Loved it when it was done, but then said he'd never do another.

Still one of my favorite 400's of all time!

It is a bad ass truck. In fact, I've run across some of your messages in regards to this window and referencing that. I will probably regret it in the long run but I am willing to give it a shot. this is not going to be my main focus right now as I have plenty of other body work and other issues to deal with. However, it is definitely part of the overall plan for now.

 

[TechNova]

I had considered installing one of those windows when they were new. We installed CR Laurance sliders for customers and I wanted the power full window. I had a 90 RC and was not willing to give up the legroom since the seat would not go back as far. I used their 3 pc slider instead.
My holt grail is the cupholder I bought form Trader's in the early 90's that fit over the center vent and kept your drink cool with the A/C on.

 

[Pappawolff11]

Over the weekend I confirmed that the motor works and that the drive tape is intact. I am missing a sash that glues to the window. Will most likely fab a new one or see what I can retrofit in the future when I really start working on this.

 

[b454rat]

There is a Centurion at a local yard, it's not the crew cab 1/2 ton but regular cab sort box, but it has a power slider. It looks like a regular slider IIRC...Next time I go up I'll snap some pics. Wouldn't mind getting it just to have....I'm not done with GMT400s yet lol