C1 Inner tail light lens gasket

[Keith R.]

Re: C1 Inner tail light lens gasket

I was recently working on a set of tail lights 58-60 that I believe were all original and they had the CORK inner lens gaskets, HOWEVER as Joe mentioned they fit INSIDE the lens recess. It's hard for me to tell the thickness of the profile of those gaskets from your picture, but the original ones were 1/8 thick so they fit nicely into the lens. Those look too big and won't install properly. If they are not too thick, maybe you could trim the diameter with an exacto knife. Too bad they can't just make stuff that fits properly. Dan

Thanks for chiming in Dan. The cork gaskets I have are about the same thickness as the base of the lens. There's not enough material so as to trim it to fit within the excess. At $6.95, it's not worth returning them so I guess I'll just pitch them in the box with the other parts I can't use. So much for reproduction parts fitting correctly!

[Joe L.]

Re: C1 Inner tail light lens gasket

Thanks for chiming in Dan. The cork gaskets I have are about the same thickness as the base of the lens. There's not enough material so as to trim it to fit within the excess. At $6.95, it's not worth returning them so I guess I'll just pitch them in the box with the other parts I can't use. So much for reproduction parts fitting correctly!

Keith------

Let's say the originals were cork which fit into the recess of the lens. That means that at some point GM changed the gasket material without changing the part number. That's very unusual but it's possible. It's also possible that the original specifications for the part allowed for it to be made of EITHER cork or foam rubber. That's another possibility.

In any event, I would consider the foam rubber to be the better material for this gasket. Yes, I like cork but not for this type of gasket. Since no one is ever going to know what kind of gasket is installed, if it were me I'd always go with the foam rubber.

[Keith R.]

Re: C1 Inner tail light lens gasket

Keith------

Let's say the originals were cork which fit into the recess of the lens. That means that at some point GM changed the gasket material without changing the part number. That's very unusual but it's possible. It's also possible that the original specifications for the part allowed for it to be made of EITHER cork or foam rubber. That's another possibility.

In any event, I would consider the foam rubber to be the better material for this gasket. Yes, I like cork but not for this type of gasket. Since no one is ever going to know what kind of gasket is installed, if it were me I'd always go with the foam rubber.

Thanks Joe. I've already ordered the foam gaskets. I'm probably being too anal but I just wanted to use the same material as GM - you know how us NCRS guys are!

[Dan B.]

Re: C1 Inner tail light lens gasket

Thanks for chiming in Dan. The cork gaskets I have are about the same thickness as the base of the lens. There's not enough material so as to trim it to fit within the excess. At $6.95, it's not worth returning them so I guess I'll just pitch them in the box with the other parts I can't use. So much for reproduction parts fitting correctly!

Keith, I think we all feel your frustration when you pay good money for something that does not even remotely fit. While it is not a lot of money, you would still be doing all the rest of us a favor by letting CC know about this problem so they can hopefully correct it in the future. It is up to all of us to return parts that obviously don't fit if we expect to get better stuff in the future. To me it is just common sense if you are going to go to all the trouble to make something that you actually try it to see if it works before you sell it. Sorry guys just needed to vent.