I am restoring a '74 convertible.
I read many posts on weatherstipping, and I want to ensure I get a good quality product and installation results.

Who sells the best weatherstripping in terms of originality and fit?
What product is the best residue remover?
What product is the best adhesive?

Thanks,

 

I used Metro Supersoft weatherstripping on my T-Tops and Doc Rebuild's product for all the other weatherstripping. Both were excellent fits. The Doc Rebuild product was a litlle stiffer feeling than the Metro, and it took a few days to settle in so the doors closed easily, but that is common with new weather strip installs.

3M Adhesive Remover worked fine for me as did the 3M weatherstrip adhesive. Both should be on the shelf near each other at your favorite auto parts store. The adhesive comes in yellow and black - only difference is the color. If you want to remain politically correct, get the same color as was originally used for your application. The yellow was used around the doors on mine and black was used on the T-Tops. Not sure if that held true for other years.

 

I bought metro pillars and they were junk! I got them off ebay in a kit! The kit was china crap except for the pillars and the seller would not take it back since it had been installed. I purchased a kit from Wilcox and it was made by Corvette rubber company. I had Wilcox install this for me and I cant see any glue so I don't know what they used.

I don't know what they used to clean the old off with but the fit and finish look great.

I did have a problem with the doors being a little tight but like stock, they settled down.

I would only use the corvette rubber parts from here on out and many vendors carry it. I like to support the vendors that support us the most and the guys at Wilcox are great people to deal with.

 

I heard that about "kits"... some of the pieces fit great, while others you wonder if they are for your car or not!

Although I have not replaced my weatherstripping in YEARS and need to soon, only sells the "Best of the Best" pieces to form a "kit". They take what's been tried-and-true from various companies and put it together for your particular year. I don't have a price and don't know if Corvette Rubber or Metro are any part of it, but they claim that they've never had a complaint about form or fit.

 

Yes Blue, we used CRC brand on your car and this is the only brand we will install in our shop! Sure we can buy cheaper weatherstrips but we have to stand behind what we sell and our own work. I’m not really sure the kit you bought off eBay was all imported, or if you got a mixed kit I didn't see the parts before you installed them.

It’s very important for people to know that we did re-adjust your door glass and the door lock striker on the passenger side of the car.

The glue we use is the Black 3M and for the simple fact that if we do get some ooze it will usually not show up as bad as the yellow.

The original yellow glue really was not yellow at all; in fact it had more of a brownish yellow color. Way darker than that of the 3M yellow.

As far as cleaner: We use the 3M general purpose cleaner for most of the clean up and some other cleaner that Victor in the shop has. I’m not really sure what the other stuff is, but we only use it on hard to clean spots.

We have instructions on how we glue the weatherstrips on the car to stop ooze form happening and to obtain the best bond possible. If you follow these instructions you’ll destroy the weatherstrip if you try to remove it from the car! http://willcoxcorvette.com/repairand...lp.php?hID=160

Again, as with any weatherstrip installation we also suggest you re-adjust your door glass and/or anything else related to the proper alignment of the car. If the soft top needs tweaked for a good horizontal alignment of the side rails then I also suggest you do this before you install weatherstrips.

We also have the “Correct” weatherstrip kit on sale in the forum member section and it too is only CRC brand.

Body kit:
http://willcoxcorvette.com/product_i...ducts_id=25492

Soft Top Kit:

http://willcoxcorvette.com/product_i...ducts_id=25358

Just so you know, pillar weatherstrips are not made as an extrusion! The top of the weatherstrip should be wider and angle off. The lower section should also be a tapered end and not a straight cut.

Willcox Inc.

 

All, Wilcox,
Thank you for the recommendations.

I plan on replacing the soft top (and restoring the convertible frame) also. Based on your suggestions for door strike and window adjustments, what order do you recommend? Convertible top replacement, make adjustments, then do the remaining door weatherstrip?

cheers,

 

Kenko,

You always want to adjust the top before you ever put a new top on the car! The fitment of the top is dependant on the location of the bows. Once the new top is on, adjustments can be made but not to the degree you can make without the top on the frame.

You can adjust the top with the new side weatherstrips in place and I would do it this way if you are going to install new door mains. I think I would restore the frame, install the new tach strips, install the weatherstrips without gluing them and adjust the top frame. Then I would adjust the door glass and the last thing I would do would be install the new skin.

Installing the soft top itself looks hard but it really is not! I have enough pictures to do a new write up on this but it’s about 10 deep on the list right now.


It is also a good idea to inspect the door window adjuster pads and the outer wipers. If you have the door this far apart it would be silly not to replace these while your in there.

Willcox Inc.

 

..........

 

The pillar weatherstrip should be a foam based rubber with an outer skin. The key is being able to identify what is correct and what is not. The imported weatherstrips do not have the outer skin and in everyone I’ve seen they are made in this format. A center extrusion is bonded to an upper and lower end. There is also weatherstrips made it the US that is extruded from top to bottom (the same size) and there is also another kit made in the US from a silica based rubber. Neither will allow proper alignment of the door glass and the import. . . Well we throw them away when we remove them from cars. 3

The CRC pillar weatherstrip is a molded weatherstrip and is as close to the original GM weatherstrip as you will find. While it will not have the reinforcement wire inside the weatherstrip as the GM weatherstrip had (Not needed anyway), it will be a perfect fit if installed correctly with the proper door glass adjustments.

On the door weatherstrips, well this is a very interesting thing: The only part of the OEM door main weatherstrip that had a latex coating on it from GM was the end sections. The section from the front end to the rear end was an extruded weatherstrip with no skin.

Some imported 1969-1977 door weatherstrips come with the 1978-1982 rear end made on them. I think we have a good picture of this on our site. If you ever looked at the door glass rear on a 1978-1982 and then look at the back end of the same year weatherstrip, you will notice the block has a larger section and a dip in it to mate to the fatter door glass rear weatherstrip. If you combine this with a 1970-1977 door glass rear you will see there is not way it will seal properly. I have no idea why anyone would market this product but it is out there.

The soft top kit form CRC is top shelf too! I just installed one on my personal car without one hitch!

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but we have never had to use grease a weatherstrip to get the door glass to go up and down! If the door glass is adjusted properly and you have the correct (not the cheap replacement) outer felts, there is no need for grease on power or standard windows! Personally I've installed the CRC brand since 1986 and have had very few problems with it. While I can no longer do this myself I can say that my shop follows the exact same rules when installing weatherstrips on a customers car. Greasing up weatherstrips is something that I’ve never heard of or had to do!

On another note, rubber is an organic compound by nature and applying any petroleum grease to it will shorten the life span of the rubber. (Not to mention the grease it will leave on the door glass). GM did make a dressing for weatherstrips in the 60's and it was called just that! "Weatherstrip Dressing" However it was not intended to be used as a "Helper" to get door glass to go up properly, it was a perservative that was supposed to extend the life of the weatherstrip!

Kenko, we do not have a video on how to install the soft top assembly. We have the pictures together to a “Repair and Help” but it is not even close to being done. We do have instructions on our site on how to properly glue the weatherstrip but that is about it so far.

You don’t need a video to do the soft top installation. For now if I were you I would read the article listed at this link. http://www.corvettefever.com/howto/33283/index.html

It is very accurate in how to install the soft top and in fact this is the fist time I’ve ever seen anyone else use old spark plug wires besides us to hold the top in place while marking it for the rear bow. Read this and you should be able to install the top with ease and also pay close attention to the measurements given. They are dead nuts on the money for the distance between the bows. On thing we like to do after the top is installed on the car is this: We take a salamander (portable heater) and put it on a table about 15 feet behind the car. We blow this hot air over the car and it will take out just about any wrinkle you have in the top or in the rear window.

You will need a good air stapler and three different sizes of staples to do the job correctly. You base the staple on the thickness of the tack strip you are stapling in to.

Good luck,

Willcox Inc.

 

Just to clarify, the die-electric grease isn't used to make sure that the window can go all the way up while the door is closed and seal correctly. It is a product stated by GM in text to apply as protectant due to the outer layer can dry out and expose the inner foam. It only takes about half of a pea sized amount to do one weatherstrip and does not leave a heavy residue on the glass. After I apply it (about once a year)during normal check-ups for my customers cars I service i wipe the excess off with a towel and nerver get a complaint. It is a service I offer to them to keep the product in good condition. Much like bleeding the brakes often to prevent brake issuesdue to contaminated DOT 3 fluid. As long as we can agree that the latex design is better that the others then we are on the same page due to the density issues with the "other" weatherstripping to the softness of the latex design. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to feel the difference and know that these denser weatherstrips does not allow the window to follow its designed path. It can create added stress on the glass causing to to push out and over time will cause the window to flop back and forth like they often times do due to the rollers that were used for assembly. But we both know that, the window rollers , regulator and felt adjusters are a very common problem. or at least in my area of the country it is.

 

Who makes & sells the softer material A-pillar strips? The very dense rubber/foam that I got from Wilcox leaves the windows down about 3/4" from where stock setting was at due to binding on the angled portion of jamb. I put them on w/o glueing and realized the fit was way off. Pushed the window stopper into the window. Wilcox wouldn't take them back because I admitted to slipping them on w/o any glue (my only bad experience w/wilcox in many dealings so I guess I can swallow that one). They claimed ajdustment would get them to work. Shouldn't take that much adjusting and in the rear area I didn't have it. So they sit in the box $45 down the tube for some rubber/foam that shouldn't be used for this application. The stock material seems much softer and allows the glass to press into it and seal up. This stuff keeps the window from rolling up, pushes the stop out too far and may eventually work as I'm informed with 10 hours of door glass adjusting which does not seem right to me so looking for a better A-pillar part that may be out there.