New weatherstrip and doors close hard
I installed new weatherstrip on my 75 about a month ago and need to slam doors shut. Is their any trick to age the weatherstrip other than wait for it to wear in.
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Lyle
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Re: New weatherstrip and doors close hard
I used reproduction weatherstrip is their any other option?Lyle
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Re: New weatherstrip and doors close hard
Lyle-------
NOS, if one can find it, is another option. Many, many years ago when I first realized the problem with reproduction weatherstrip, I acquired GM weatherstrip for all locations on my car. I realize it's too late for folks to do that now, though.
However, there are different manufacturers of reproduction weatherstrip and some is better than others. In general, Dr. Rebuild has identified the best supplier for each of the weatherstrip applications on a Corvette and carries that manufacturer's weatherstrip for each application.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: New weatherstrip and doors close hard
Lyle,
Get you some Silicone spray and soak the door weatherstrips. Close them and leave closed as long as you can. That sometimes will solve the problem. Even with NOS GM weatherstrip the problem with oversize or hardened pieces becomes a problem. Like with 60's coupe NOS weatherstrip. Its impossible to use.
JRComment
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Re: New weatherstrip and doors close hard
JR------
I don't know that oversize is the problem with these reproduction weatherstrips. I think it's a problem with the "compressibility" of the weatherstrip. The original weatherstrip was quite soft and extremely compressible. A lot of the reproduction is not. I agree that some NOS of later manufacture shares the same traits as some of the reproduction. I've never seen original weatherstrip of the original compressibility harden and become like the reproductions.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: New weatherstrip and doors close hard
I had NOS w/s that I bought from GM back in 84 for my 66. when I installed them the passenger door closed rather hard. After about a month I noticed that the w/strips had cracked the fiberglass door skin. I had to remove them and install repo which were softer. They worked very well.Comment
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Re: New weatherstrip and doors close hard
Russ-------
By the 80's some of the GM weatherstrip for early applications had "morphed" and exhibited the problems you experienced. Here's what I believe occurred:
There were only a few manufacturers of weatherstrip for the major vehicle manufacturers. One of those manufacturers for GM was GM, itself. When vehicles were in production the weatherstrip volumes were high. So, at this time the Inland Fisher Guide Division of GM manufactured the weatherstrip for both PRODUCTION and SERVICE. However, after vehicles went out-of-production, SERVICE requirements, especially for a low volume vehicle like Corvette, meant a much lower volume of parts requirements. GM internal parts divisions did not really like manufacturing low volume items. So, I expect that's when the tooling was turned over to another manufacturer to produce the low volumes for SERVICE. Those manufacturers probably used different formulations for the rubber.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: New weatherstrip and doors close hard
Lyle, I used Doc rebuild weatherstrips on my 72 without problems, and my 63 I used Corvette rubber without problems. I would say try and let the doors sit closed over the winter a see what happens after there are compressed for a while. I have a friend with a 67 that improved as time went on. as said above some w/strip's are better than others.New England chapter member, 63 Convert. 327/340- Chapter/Regional/national Top Flight, 72 coupe- chapter and regional Top Flight.Comment
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