I purchased my weatherstripping kit from Willcox. It looks and fits great under a dry run. HOWEVER, here's where I need HELP or ADVICE. Installed the door weatherstripping on the passenger door first. When I close the door, it binds up in the hinge area of the door and when closed (you can close it and it latches, the back of the door sticks out a good 1/4". Even when you push on it, you cannot get it to close proper. Feels like the front (hinge side) is holding the door from closing properly.

At a loss as to what to do

Please help

Mark

 

Brand new weatherstripping will take time to "learn" the new compressed shape. Try adjusting your latch strike to tighten the weatherstrip a little and allow your door to fit better. It will take a couple of months for your door to close as easy as it used to. I can't imagine if you installed the weatherstrip properly on the door that it would bind on the hinge. I think it just needs time to compress. I've done about 10 doors and all fit very tight and looked a little weird on door fitment when first installed.
Dave

 

I'm having the same problem. But I attribuited it to that I did a frame off restoration and some door repaires. I'm told this is pretty common and that you sometime have to push really really hard to get the door to shut but that over time it will soften. I also cannot roll up my windows with the door shut because the new stripping is too tight for now.

 

Hey guys,
I sell the latex weatherstripping...not the aftermarket designed stuff. It is softer and works better due to the density is better than the aftermarket stuff. I sell the pillar posts68-82 (without the lower extension), door main 68-82 (coupe and convertible), t-top 68-82 and the rear vertical for the 78-82. If does cost a little bit more than the aftermarket w/s but it is worth it. NO more having to open your door to get your window to go all the way up and seal. Which is also dependant on whether your motor is good and that your window rollers are tight. Call me for prices or PM me.
"DUB" (704)394-5150 EST M-F 8:30-5:00

 

Thanks for the responses. My problem is not really with the door closing. It closes and latches. What hapeens is the strike does not pull the door tight to the body. I can push on the door and get the panels to line up, but I see no way to adjust the strike farther to the interior of the car to make the door close tighter.

Any thoughts????

 

The striker can be adjusted up/down and in/out. Are you saying you have adjusted it all the way in? Its its too or too high it also will not work.

The instructions say to put some modeling clay on the lock bolt and then close the door enough for the striker bolt to form an impression. It should be even all around.

Is it or the latch in the door worn out?

Jim

 

Jazz81,
The latch mechanism has TWO steps in the latching process. Using a rod of some type push in on the door latch...to simulate the latch going on the striker pin.. and see what I mean. When the door latch is at the second step...so to speak...the catch completely closes around your door striker pin. You may be trying to adjust your door to fit and line up correctly by using the first step in teh latching process. Often times these aftermarket weatherstrips are so dense that getting the latch to go to the second step is a real pain in the ....you know what. The benefit is that you can look from the inside and see if the latch is going to the second stage of latching around the striker pin. The door panel being removed may aid in this checking to see if the latch is going to fully latched. In the past... I have had to SLAM the door due to these aftermarket weathterstrips and that is why I only use and sell only the latex original design now. I bet that the door is not making it to the second step in the latching process. Hope that this helps.
"DUB"

 

Dub!

The weatherstrips we carry are the CRC brand weatherstrips made in the US! As most will agree are the best on the market place. The cores for the door weatherstrips are actually softer than that of what GM produced and they are skinned as original!

Selling the pillar post weatherstrips that are for a 1973-1982 or OEM p/n 3966565-566 as a fit all for 1968-1972 weatherstrips is not something we practice and honestly something I really don’t understand. You have to poke holes in the weatherstrips to mount them on 68-72 cars, and the profile is slightly different too! While we do offer this on our site as a replacement part just as you describe, we also have notes placed on the site to dissuade customers from buying it as a fit all!

Regards,

Willcox Inc.

 

Mark,

The weatherstrips will usually settle with time, but the door not latching all the way does concern me.
You may want to move the door latch striker outward as described by jdp6000, you’re trying to pull the door in when the latch is in the first lock stage. Moving the striker out will help solve part of the problem.

If the striker is moved outward and the edge of the door is no longer flush with the body, don’t worry you can move it inward in increments if needed. The door weatherstrip will settle in a short time. We always had this same problem with the GM weatherstrips when they were available, and sometimes even worse due to the core being stiff!

When we did the body off restorations, one habit we always did was test fit the door mains to the car before the body work was completed on the car. We would install the front and rear ends and tape the weatherstrips around the door. Then we would fit the door to the car.

If you have any questions feel free to call sales at 800-588-3883.


Willcox Inc.

 

Willcox,
Here we go AGAIN. NOW being a supporting vendor...I can't get in trouble for selling the LATEX weatherstrips for those who are....and there are many..dissatisfied with that is offered by companies that offer incorrect weatherstrip reproductions.

Regardless if it is "Made in the U.S.A." or not does not matter...Because the weatherstrips (latex design from GM) are/were made in Canada . This is because the process uses chemicals that are no longer allowed to be used in the U.S.

I have SOOOO many customers who love the latex designed weatherstrips that DO NOT REQUIRE pre-fitting before they are installed. The latex is very very soft...despite to OTHER OPINIONS out there. LATEX WEATHERSTRIPS ARE WHAT GM DESIGNED THE CAR TO HAVE IN THOSE AREAS THAT THEY ENGINEERED IT TO FUNCTION.

For those who want to get it right the first time without the SEVERE tension problems like the aftermarket weatherstrips...then call me for those weatherstrips that I can offer in latex....if you choose not to call or PM me...then that is your choice. I am just letting those know that many of THE LATEX WEATHERSTRIPS are available.....which have been discontineud by GM for some time. AND IN LIMITED SUPPLY, I have few of the 68-72 pillar post weatherstrips FROM GM with the extension made in as ONE PIECE that are LATEX.


So if you are tired of slamming your door..feeling like you are goiing to break your glass t-tops while installing them....or having to open your door to get your power window to go all the way up...I offer an alternative...which many have found to be an improvement above those of the aftermarket weatherstrips they had in the car. .

GOTTA love the forum for being a great marketplace for CORRECT products for those who care to keep their Corvette in top condition.

Best to you all.
"DUB"

 

Grandmastercorvette,

if you want to help the OP then fine but we will not have a battle of who or what product is better. Feel free to offer help and advice but if you want to have a discussion with Willcox then take it offline and out of the thread.

Thanks

 

Are you serious about having to open your door to get your power window to go all the way up with this other stuff? I've been chasing this problem for 3 years. I never though it would have been the weatherstripping. New motor, new regulator, I must have tried to get that window adjusted right about 10 times. Its still not perfect. Which part (weatherstrip) causes the problem? The one on the window pillar?

Jim

 

Here's a simple thing that will aid the door closing and the windows working better (when rubbing the weatherstrips). I use Nu-Vinyl polymer protectant on all my weatherstripping. It dries completely, doesn't peel off, provides some reduction of the friction required to raise windows/close doors, and prevents the weatherstripping from sticking to paint surfaces. You can get similar results with a petroleum-based product (Armor-All, etc.), but those products dry up pretty quickly and they also degrade plastics/rubber over time. Check it out on the web and order it from ACE or Tru-Value hardware stores. Great stuff for interior panels/seats, too....

 

good tip. I sprayed armor-all on it an it finally went all the way up. I give the Nu-Vinyl at try if I can find it. We don't have Ace stores up here. I know we used to have Tru-Value but haven't seen one in a long time.

Thanks
Jim

 

Actually Dielectric Grease is a better product to use on weatherstripping. Then either armour -all or nu-vinyl. Rub it into the weatherstripping with your finger or cloth.

 

Dielectric grease? Why not bacon fat? Yes, anything 'slippery' will help with sticky weatherstripping, but not something that will get on clothes, hands, etc. That's exactly why I don't like the petroleum-based stuff.

 

Jim,
The problem that I have found in the weatherstrips are usually windshield pillar posts and the rear vertical. Those two can cause the window to bind and not "sink" into the weatherstrips while the window is going up. It usually stops about one inch from the top.

Due to age and other issues..the rollers for the windows will also have "free-play" in them and thus not allow the window to follow a direct "tight" track path. IF your rollers ...either on the regulator or those on the glass and rear vertical track have in and out play in them. Then your window will "teeter-totter" in and out when going up and follow its own path instead of the designed path it was engineered to take. The felt adjusters should also be in good condition along with the CORRECT DESIGN outer window seals. SO if your window is all the way up and you can easily move it in and out...and it does not stay firmly in its position...this issue MUST be fixed because the window will not be able to seal correectly to the weatherstrips if it can move in and out.

It is a package deal....the windows MUST be right ....then when the window is rolled up...it will seal against the weatherstrips and seal correctly....which is why I use latex. The window has the strength to "moosh" the weatherstrip and make good seal but yet is not dense enough to force your glass into an undesigned position or bind it from functioning corectly.

Your t-top weatherstrips will not stop the window from going all the way up but may make it not seal correctly if it also does not allow the glass to form its own path and seal easily.

I have fought the same problem you are experiencing and I now use products that aid me in not spending hours adjusting parts that are fighting against one another due to design change.

Make sure your windows are good first. Regardless what you have in your car right now won't matter if the window situation is not right.
"DUB"

 

pewter99,
I CLEARLY understand.
I offered a product that could aid him in post #4
Then..
I offered technical advice in post #7.
Then..
Willcox quoted my earlier post and then remarked on his product in post #8 (which I can see is OK for them to do. which also had no advice in correcting the problem)
I then quoted Willcox in post #10 and then in post #11 you DIRECTLY single ME out on this post...instead of sending me a PM...like you stated shgould be done... for an issue that I did not start.

trust me pewter99...I will not do this again...but I think you should review the posts and see your error in showing favor...Post #!! should have been started with BOTH of our names....or a PM like you want me to do in the future. And with OP on the forum who have been here longer...why aren't they getting corrected since they have been here longer and should know what proper procedure of the forum is.

You are confusing me....
My best to you.
"DUB"

 

DUB I responded to you via PM...as to what I have said to others in the thread is neither here nor there the issue is when we have Vendor A addressing issues with Vendor B's product.

 

G Master.....Is your weatherstrip open cell or closed cell foam???