I have stripped my 69 of paint and weather stripping getting ready and having her repainted shortly. I will need a complete weather stripping kit for the car which is available from just about every Corvette parts source plus a number who advertise the kits on ebay. My question is this, the price for these kits are pretty much all over the board from a low of $200 to a high of $400, with one Ebay listing saying that "if you want cheap this kit is not for you". I want a good kit but obviously don't want to over pay either. Some also say they are American made which I'm assuming to mean that others are not. What should I be looking for to get a good kit at a reasonable price?
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Re: C3 weather stripping
Check Steele Rubber Products, www.steelerubber.com, they are the OEM on a lot this type of product.
MikeMike Robb -
Re: C3 weather stripping
There are at least three manufacturer's of Corvette weatherstrip. One is the OEM that manufacturered it for Generous Motors, Corvette Rubber, who has been the source for many years to restorer's, and the third manufacturers w/s that fits the opening, sorta. For middle of the road, I would go with Corvette Rubber. If you are after a unobtanium 4,500 point car, find out who is selling the latex w/s that is made in Canada.Dick WhittingtonComment
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Re: C3 weather stripping
I am kind of biased toward NOS - they fit perfect, they seal 99.9% perfect, windows roll up and down without dragging etc..
You may spend around $800 ++ to get the T-top/Door/Pillar Post and rear side glass W/S, but you will NOT be disappointed.
If this is out of your budget, then CRC (Corvette rubber corp) - they look pretty exact to NOS/Original and seal pretty darn well too - costs half the price. Only advice I would give, if you use CRC be sure to lubricate the W/S with silicone (can buy in a gel form from 3M). It will help to soften them as well as aiding in sealing and friction (door glass operations). You just need to put a very light coating on and rub into the W/S with you finger, wipe off any excess.Comment
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Re: C3 weather stripping
Bill,
That (applying silicon) is a good thing to do to any weather strip that you care about. I do it once or twice a year. An alternative I have found works well for me is Aerospace Protectant 303.
No, I have no financial interest in this product or company.TerryComment
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Re: C3 weather stripping
Terry,Bill,
That (applying silicon) is a good thing to do to any weather strip that you care about. I do it once or twice a year. An alternative I have found works well for me is Aerospace Protectant 303.
No, I have no financial interest in this product or company.
Do you use this product only on the weatherstripping? How about the interior components?Comment
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Re: C3 weather stripping
Jim:
Unless things have changed in the last few of years, the one component you will not get to matche the '69 weatherstrip is the T-top rubber. The aftermarket pieces from Corvette Rubber or any other vendor are completely different form the original. On '70 and later they may be OK (I'm not sure here) but I know from experience that there is one section of the original (over the doors) that is not even close. Repros aree soft rubber all around and the '69 has a rigid section over the doors. I pieced together that section from my original which was good to use to reproduction pieces and it looks original and seals very well. This was about 4 years ago so maybe it's changed but I'm guessing that for a one year only design, no one is reproducing it correctly. I will try to post a picture tomorrow of the area I am talking about. I'm sure other5s will chime in here.
JeffComment
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Re: C3 weather stripping
I use it on interior vinyl as well as weather strip on ALL my cars. The 2008 Ebony door panels get white smudges on them where they touch human skin. The AP 303 minimizes that issue. It has worked well on the dash panels of the 1995 Caprices. They sit outside all the time, and so far no dash cracks -- hard to believe for almost 14-year old cars. Of course, now that I have bragged about it guess what will happen this summer.TerryComment
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Re: C3 weather stripping
The JG says the '69 has a two piece door main. I got a deduct for a one piece door main on mine. Do I need to simply cut mine at some location or is the configuration different?Comment
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Re: C3 weather stripping
All I did was cut mine right in the middle.
Then glued to the door. You will end up with a gap approximately 3"-5" wide.
I had no issue durring judging.Comment
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Re: C3 weather stripping
If we are now talking about the door weather-stripping:
The originals were cut on the bottom of the door. I have not seen a substantial gap on original Corvettes; however, I haven't had a chance to examine the bottom of the doors on ALL Corvettes produced from 1968-1972.
Maybe 1/4-inch gap at most is what I usually see. I thought the purpose was 1) ease of install, and 2) a place for trapped air to exit the hollow weather-strip.
TerryComment
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Re: C3 weather stripping
Hey --
I just went and looked at my car. The gap is around 1" on the DVR side and around 3/4" on the PASS side.
I stand corrected.
I took the NOS ws and cut them dead center. Made it a whole lt easier to install.
Sorry for the bad info on th elast post.
Guess I should check before I write
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