Weatherstrip???

[HIZNHRZ]

Originally Posted by Route 66

Thank you I'll look into that.

I purchased a couple of the Corvette-Rubber pieces of weatherstrip just to check them out. I also had a piece of weatherstrip sent to Marc Haibeck to get his feedback.

The piece I had appears to be quality stuff. It has a finish of some type on it that matches the OE product nicely. The only difference I could detect is the Corvette-Rubber product feels denser (as in firmer).

They say they are "Corvette enthusiasts" and offer a "Satisfaction Guaranteed" policy with everything they sell.

http://www.corvette-rubber.com/

[PhillipsLT5]

I did use corvette rubber on my 92 LT 1 car, no complaints

[KILLSHOTS]

So here's my experience, guys. Hopefully I can explain this so it will make sense...

When I restored my 87 convertible and I replaced the top, headliner, etc., I decided to replace all the weatherstripping as a "while I'm in there" measure, even though it didn't need to be replaced. BIG mistake! I'm not going to bash anybody here; Tommy at Willcox is an AWESOME guy who has gone out of his way for me, and I think Corvette-Rubber is a quality company, too. That being said, I will personally never use a weatherstrip again that is not the OE-style latex product. I found the new stuff to have a smooth rubber-like coating on it, and it made the product far too stiff. Our door windows bow in slightly at the top, and are designed to come in contact with the B-pillar strip first so that the window will slide along that strip and tuck into the channel of the upper strip on either the targa or convertible top. In my case, after I replaced the weatherstripping, my window would not tuck into the channel of the B-pillar convertible strip any longer; it would only close OVER it and crush it. The car wouldn't seal and leaked badly. After much investigation, I found the culprit: the windshield header/A-pillar strip. It was far too stiff, and the window was coming in contact with it first, and not sliding along the B-pillar strip and into the channel of the top's upper strip. Hopefully this makes sense.

My point is this: in my case, replacing weatherstripping permanently altered the way the car sealed, and it was never right again. If I had chosen to spend the extra dough on OE latex stripping, I am confident that my experience would have been very different. Do yourself a favor and don't cheap out when considering replacing weatherstripping.

[cvette98pacecar]

That is correct. Sorry, Was having to much fun the last 8 days.

http://corvette-rubber.com/8489door.shtml

[secondchance]

Certainly I did not try all aftermarket pieces but my experience is that the A pillar, B pillar and targa top piece are problematic with aftermarket pieces I tried. Friction was such that the windows would get hung up and refuse to roll up to the top.
Even factory OEM piece was a problem. The first A pillar I got at the dealership was packaged in aluminum foil type of material and sealed airtight to protect from air and UV. Nonetheless, after about a year started to disintegrate. As it was falling apart I could tell it was formed out of bunch of small rubber spheres, sort of like Styrofoam, and sealed with some type of sprayed on finish (I could tell because I saw runs like paint run when sprayed too much). It seemed this particular defect was due to insufficient sprayed on finish which allowed these rubber balls separate and fall out. Second set I bought is holding after 2 years with no issue.
As for the door and glass hatch, since there are no sliding parts to slide over and purely compression seal, aftermarket piece seem to work with no issue. Only concern with hatch seal is if the product is too thick and difficult to compress, this will force the glass hatch bottom edge against the halo will bow out. If sever, this could cause air hitting the seal area as opposed to flowing over the glass.
I just wanted to share my observation.

[cvette98pacecar]

Originally Posted by secondchance

Certainly I did not try all aftermarket pieces but my experience is that the A pillar, B pillar and targa top piece are problematic with aftermarket pieces I tried. Friction was such that the windows would get hung up and refuse to roll up to the top.
Even factory OEM piece was a problem. The first A pillar I got at the dealership was packaged in aluminum foil type of material and sealed airtight to protect from air and UV. Nonetheless, after about a year started to disintegrate. As it was falling apart I could tell it was formed out of bunch of small rubber spheres, sort of like Styrofoam, and sealed with some type of sprayed on finish (I could tell because I saw runs like paint run when sprayed too much). It seemed this particular defect was due to insufficient sprayed on finish which allowed these rubber balls separate and fall out. Second set I bought is holding after 2 years with no issue.
As for the door and glass hatch, since there are no sliding parts to slide over and purely compression seal, aftermarket piece seem to work with no issue. Only concern with hatch seal is if the product is too thick and difficult to compress, this will force the glass hatch bottom edge against the halo will bow out. If sever, this could cause air hitting the seal area as opposed to flowing over the glass.
I just wanted to share my observation.

These are top notch weatherstrips. They are a better quality than GM original. I will bring my extra rear seal when I come to Carlisle.

[Fully Vetted]

I bought mine from Keene last year and am getting ready to install them. Here's hoping they are quality pieces...

[secondchance]

Originally Posted by cvette98pacecar

These are top notch weatherstrips. They are a better quality than GM original. I will bring my extra rear seal when I come to Carlisle.

Look forward to it.