78RedShark

Some of the weatherstrip pieces around my doors are dried out or non-existent...thinking of buying replacement pieces for mine. Is this a difficult job? :confused:

71-LS5

Did it a while back on my '71 it was not difficult at all. Used 3M adhesive remover to clean everything before putting the new stuff on.

Chris@VetteFinders

PITA! Not bad putting it on. Making it water and air tight is the pain.

gearheadz

One of the easiest jobs IMHO. Essentially its a remove & replace operation. Most difficult part is removing all of the old broken off stripping & glue from the doors. It can be super easy if your strips are already off or falling off (which sounds like yours is). 3M makes a weatherstrip adhesive remover you can use to prep the areas for the new ones. Use 3M weatherstrip adhesive on the new ones. Follow the directions and the stuff works great. Apply to both surfaces, let dry then apply to again to the strip and press on. Use masking tape to hold them on until set.

Mark

Easy Mike

Not difficult. You should expect the doors to be a little hard to close after the new door mains are installed. The condition will improve after the mains take a set.
:)

Vettelaw

Removing and reinstalling the new w/s is really easy. However, if you do the windshield pillar post and the T-top (if such are applicable :) ) you may have some fun with aligning the window glass. Get whatever factory manual that is at hand, remove the inner door panels and start adjusting. :cheers: :smash:

UKPaul

Fitting is easy, getting it air/water tight may/may not be easy. If I had to do mine again I'd do the following:
Check if the rear strip for the side window is up snug against the glass when it is placed on the body. If not, then fix it on with black silicon with enough thickness to hold the strip out against the glass (it can be a nightmare trying to move the glass to contact this strip and not get air/water leaks). The front seal can be jiggled around to suit the window position, as can be the T Top seal. In short, try to get the weatherstrip fixed to line up with the existing window glass position (assuming that the glass is positioned OK to start with).
Having to repeatedly adjust the glass gets really frustrating - just when you think its OK you find that there is a LOUD air leak at about 80mph. :mad
The passenger side on mine was easy, a quick adjustment of the window & all was OK. The drivers side has become a type of penance for me & it all comes down to trying to get the glass to sit against that cursed rear weatherstrip.
Somebody on this forum mentioned that new weatherstripping is slightly thinner than the original. I think that they're right as that is what my problem would be caused by.
Have fun :yesnod:
Paul

SuperFast80

Save your money and spend it on straight pipes.

78RedShark

money?
:confused:

Maxd_out

Not difficult at all. I just had a hard time closing the doors after the installation. It took some time for the weatherstripping to seat. Works great though. :cheers:

Blues77

I have to do the same, but noticed how expensive it was from the vette catalogs. is there a cheap buy anywhere for the same material?

Desertdawg

I just placed my order last week and this place seems to have the best prices around.
Other forum members say they have had good results with Corvette Rubber, give them a look...
http://www.corvette-rubber.com./

Dino_'72

Use the black 3M adhesive. The factory used the yellow pussee stuff, but unless your car is going to Bloomington or you're really a pro at the install - use black.

For the door main seals, do a trial fit without adhesive. Use chalk to mark the seal and the door frame, this way you will have a reference as to how much to stretch the door seal when you apply the glue. You don't want to be a 1/2 inch short because the glue sets up fast and cannot be moved. You also don't want to really stretch it to make up the last 1/2 inch.

I replaced all my weatherstripping. Take your time, plan on two days (includes beer time). :)

Dino


[Modified by Dino_'72, 12:43 AM 12/11/2001]

78RedShark

Thanks all...I'll give it a go while shovelling snow!

:cheers:

corvettemaster

I bought mine from TLD. They say they buy their weatherstripping from Corvette Rubber, but they are about $15 cheaper. I think it is like $210 for the complete 78-82 weatherstrip kit. Their website is: http://www.tld-corvette.com

78RedShark

How was the quality of the weatherstrip you bought from TLD?

corvettemaster

The quality was pretty good I thought. It wasn't as heavy duty as the original stuff, and not as thick. TLD says they buy their weatherstripping from Corvette Rubber so I would think that it would be close to the best stuff you can buy. I am satisfied with it.