I've been trolling around this morning, looking at posts about weatherstrip. I can't seem to come up with a good answer. What I'm wondering; is it worth it to spend the money on a brand like Steele? There are several more cost effective alternatives. There a couple "molded" brands for the doors, way cheaper. And Some posts I've read suggest buying the universal chevy truck strips for the doors. MEGA CHEAP! But, does it look terrible? Then it leads me to the trunk. 109.00 for a trunk weatherstrip from steele is ridiculous, but what style was in the 52 chevy? I can't seem to come up with a definitive answer on that one either, and I'm not shelling out $100 bones because they know and I dont.. My deadline is fast approaching and I don't have the time to order and return a bunch of crap. Last but not least, Window channel felt. Everyone seems to say its universal, but my factory channels seem to have a metal reinforcement and where it curves at the top its definitely made to curve. And no, I'm not talking about the window channel itself. I do know the difference. I think. I would think straight sticks are going to fold going around the bends at the top of the window channel and whatnot. I'll take pics of what I removed out of my car if this makes no sense. Thanks in advance. Sorry if I sound stupid on this, this is the first old car i've actually put back together. Ususally its just paint it and ship it, and the owner dealt with it. I'm the owner this time!
Rubber is one thing where it is very easy to save money by using cheaper raw material.The cheap brands use inferior material as a rule. I have seen rubber weather strip that dried out and started cracking when it was 6 months old. OEM quality usually lasts 10 to 20 years. If I knew nothing else I would buy the more expensive name brand if I wanted it to last.
1954 Chevy 210 - I bought the OEM type felt with chrome strip for my windows. not sure what I want to do with the weather striping for the doors, trunk and cowl. 1938 Ford Pickup - Just installed some universal 3/8" weather striping. I bought this from EarlyFordStore.com The striping looks OEM once it is stuck on. I was very impressed, especially for the little amount of money I spent. I was considering to use this for my Chevy car. My only complaint about the 38 Ford Pickup weather striping I used is it is not thick enough to seal the door towards the back of the cab. This is due to the truck's doors and not the weather stripping. I'm gonna have to buy something real thick to get that gap sealed.
Kinda what I thought, However i'm using a flat single stage to paint for my car at the moment, and hoping in a year or two , to repaint it BCC, super straight mega perfect paint. (once i work out all the bugs and get interior/chrome done) You ever peel the good shit back off? does it survive after being on for a year or two, or does it go to shit. I would imagine the cheap crap is done if you tried to take it back off. My biggest reason I care is because at this point in the budget, i've built the rest of the car without tons of expense spared, but I'm broke as F*#k now and I want to KNOW the good weatherstrip is really that much better. And if the good good stuff is just going to get destroyed if I remove it in a year anyway, i'd be a fool to spend the money twice
What he said ^ and... Removing weather strip is a pain in the ass if it's been stuck on proper. It's not something you want to do if you can help it. That's one reason you don't want something that's going to crack or harden after a few years. You can screw up a nice paint job trying to scrape it off.
Hey hammers , i purchased the pre bent weatherstripping for my 54 ' chev sedan & it fit right in with slight lenght trimming . , my biggest problem is securing it . They used staples thru steel , i don' t have one of those . Some suggestions were rivets , but it tight spots , rivets can't be used . Any suggestions ?? Also i heard of a 3m window weld glue which is supposed to be strong stuff>??? What r your thoughts
I'm the kind of guy that has learned by trial and error,,try to get by cheap and it ends up costing me more in the log run. Do it right and do it once. HRP
Do any of the rubber weatherstrip suppliers do a really soft rubber for sealing the trunk? The weatherstrip I used for the trunk (from memory it was from Steele) in my 56 Olds was very firm ( the original appeared to be alot softer). I had a hell of a job getting the trunk to shut properly once the new strip was glued in place. In saying that the door weatherstrips fitted perfectly, all of the clips lined up.
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