HI was thinking of taking advantage of the willcox sale, but am wondering how their door panels and seat covers compare to corvette Americas parts and if the cust service is good.

also going to get a weatherstrip set from them as reading in this form Willcox uses the CRC (corvette-rubber.com) parts that are suppose to fit the best- is this correct?

thanks

 

Willcox interior parts are made by CA but at a better price and the crc weatherstrip is good.

PS. customer service is great!

 

Hi 1973,
Most people who deal with Willcox seem very pleased when they post about what they've purchased.
Regards,
Alan

 

I prefer Al Knoch Corvette Interiors when I do someones interior. It comes down to the extra steps he employs in making the seat covers just like the factory did that many other manufacturers dis-regard. And these dis-regarded steps can often time show themselves when you go to install the cover.

Door panels ...I get them when I am ordering the seat covers and cushions (foams).

Weatherstripping. I do like the Corvette Rubber Companies T-top weatherstrips. But I prefer to use the latex windshield pillar post and door main weatherstrips. The "fit" is not the issue as much as the density of the weatherstips. If you are a power window car. And have the door shut and try to roll the window up ....often times the aftermarket weatherstrips will cause the window to stop about an inch from the top. And you will often times have to open the door to roll it up the rest of the way. With the door open and roll the window up...you might have an issue with the aftermarket door main weatherstrips due to the window begins to bind at the front of the door where the window goes through the weatherstrip. Is is denser and can be down right hard and not allow the window to travel as designed.

Also...the use of denser than factory aftermarket weatherstrips (windshield pillars and door mains) can cause the door to require excessive effort to close due to the ends of the door mains are very hard. YES...it will get better but will take time. Also when the window is up...and you go and close the door. The dense windshield pillar post weatherstrip can cause the window to flex in the front and rear vertical tracks. This causes the rollers that area attached to the glass and front vertical track and the regulator horizontal track/rear vertical track to begin to have play in them. And this will cause the window to have "in and out" play when the door is open and the window is up. Once the rollers have play in them...the window will not effectively seal due to closing on a weatherstrip that is much denser than that of a marshmallow....which is the basic example of density I use to describe latex weatherstrip. The window was designed to move the weatherstrip and seal without excessive resistance...not the other way around. And yes...I KNOW...that the rollers wear out even with the latex weatherstrips...but they last much longer...as I have seen and experienced. AND I never had or seen a door window glass that when set correctly...that when the felt adjusters were set and door panel installed...that it pushed the glass so far out that it was tight against the outer window felt seal. Thus still allowing the glass to have room to flex outward and begin to cause the rollers to fail.

Everyone has their preference. I will not install anything but the latex EXCEPT for the t-top weatherstrips. And I will use latex t-top again once they have some slight design/manufacturing issues corrected.

DUB

 

thank you DUb for the great explanation, are the latex ones the ones corvette central has?

 

I do not know...I get them from somewhere else. You will need to ask SPECIFICALLY if they are LATEX or not for the door mains and windshield pillar ONLY. NOT the t-top...like I mentioned they can be Corvette Rubber. And when Installing the Corvette Rubber T-Top w/s...be careful due to they do not have a "spine" in them that is strong enough to allow excessive pulling/stretching and can tear where the pins are that you are trying to install. That is the problem with the LATEX T-Top w/s...the spine is to wide and causes for tension when installing the top in the car. SO this is why I chose to use Corvette Rubber t-top w/s. I prefer to have it easy to install at this time until the issue is corrected in the latex t-top w/s. Care still need to be taken when first installing the tops in the car when completed. it is easy to roll the w/s back in the center when installing. And when that happens and the top stays for some time...the w/s is ruined. So...when installing the top...take you finger while holding the top at an angle when installing and "shoe-horn" the w/s in so it lays flat on the chrome molding...instead of rolling back. This is also important due to the Corvette Rubber w/s has a really weak "spine" (where the pins come out of it..is what I call the spine) and it can roll back and tear...which is also depending on who well you installed them with adhesive or not. The DEVIL is in the DETAILS.

DUB

 

Call Corvette Central and ask. My hunch is Yes, but the folks at C-Central can tell you for certain.

 

called corvette central and they say that theirs are a combination of rubber and latex. ?? is this what i want?-
corvette america says they only have t-tops, doors, and pillar made from latex (34605, 34602, 34603)- which only leaves the hood and the windshield pillar
corvette america claims they sell very little latex, and suggests his kit made from EPDM # X2190

but above you are saying NOT to use the latex for the T-top anyways- so what are the suggestions? or is there another source?

 

One more time... Latex W/S for windshield pillar, door main. You can get from Lone Star Caliper. PM me for some "tricks" when installing the door mains.

T-Top is from Corvette Rubber. Read post#4 and #6 again. There is a reason why..and pay attention to what I caution your about.

Rear vertical and hood does not matter who you get it from.

If you choose to go another route...that is your choice. But there is a reason why I use what I stated...and you have to remember...I do this for a living...I am NOT selling you anything...and giving you FREE advice. If your car were in my shop...I would use what I recommended. I will NOT install any of the non-latex aftermarket weatherstrips other than where I mentioned. I have in the past and wasted more time trying to get things adjusted to compensate for a much denser W/S.

DUB

 

Hey Dub thanks, I was understanding you! it was just the vendors were giving me diffrent or no information, and i posted this question awhile back but could not find it on the forum, so i reposted and before i got-: order the willcox (corvette rubber company) weatherstrips, and i was just about to place the order when i got this new info from you (sort of hard for me to change gears sometimes)
do the outer fuzzys matter?

 

1973 you have a PM.

 

YES...the outer "fuzzies" matter. I do not like the rubber type...if you get the outer window seals...get them like the factory...which are the felt design...or as some call them...fuzzies. The rubber ones can bind as I have seen and become more of a problem than putting the original style back in.

DUB