door top weatherstrip solutions?

[72Dodge]

The door top weatherstrip stuff (whatever it's called) on my car is dry and cracked, and at least halfway completely gone. I've noticed a lot of other J-body (and probably F/M) cars have the same affliction.

I found these at dk hardware that look like they could be made to work... definitely not an exact match, but maybe close enough.

http://www.dkhardware.com/belt-weatherstrips-common-to-gm_ZC546M0P1.html

I don't really care if it looks original or not, just so it seals up the door better and looks better than dried up junk.

Anyone try these strips, or have some other solution? (Preferably something cheaper, as this would cost around $80 + shipping for enough to do one car, but I could live with that if it looked good and there wasn't a better option).

I want to have something to install next summer as it really makes the car look bad.

Pics are of my car and of the webpage linked above.

Thanks.

 

[72Dodge]

Ahhh... thanks for the bump of the other thread, I didn't see that one. No way I'm spending $200 if that's the case ha ha... mine is more of a street/strip car, so it doesn't need to be "correct". Cheap > correct in my case! I'm looking for "alternative" budget solutions that work.

Referring to:
http://www.forfmjbodiesonly.com/classicmopar/showthread.php?1872-Mirada-window-door-trim

 

[ruppster]

The door top weatherstrip stuff (whatever it's called) on my car is dry and cracked, and at least halfway completely gone. I've noticed a lot of other J-body (and probably F/M) cars have the same affliction.

I found these at dk hardware that look like they could be made to work... definitely not an exact match, but maybe close enough.

http://www.dkhardware.com/belt-weatherstrips-common-to-gm_ZC546M0P1.html

My Imperial has the same problem. One of their distribution hubs isn't too far from me. So I order a piece to try it out. Will post my findings when I get it and can compare it to what's on my car. That's if you are still interested in an answer to your original post.

 

[72Dodge]

Yes, I am! Since then, I also found the below site, but the dkhardware items still look like a better possibility.

Please let me/us know what you figure out. No way am I going to try to find and pay for NOS stuff (that would have the same issue probably sooner than later). I just want something that looks decent and seals it reasonably well, not that my car will be out in the rain often.

http://www.jenkinsrubber.com.au/?stg=62

 

[NoCar340]

Back in the good old days, one of the vendors was looking for belt weatherstrip samples of nearly any kind. If you caught his interest, you could send him your old ones as samples and he would give you the first set of repops for your efforts. We were all driving musclecars at the time, though, and the FMJ stuff never really occurred to us. I still have a set of '72 Charger SE strips in my garage attic, still in the bag. Perfect reproductions of the hatchet-job setup used only on that year and model.

Unfortunately, that vendor no longer exists... but I might know a guy that knows a guy. I'll have to see if I can find his phone number.

 

[ruppster]

Well, just wanted to update this as it's been a while. I ordered the stuff on the 16th and it wasn't shipped via UPS till the 26th. Since their warehouse isn't too far from us it was possible that it might be delivered today (their web site said deliver would be the 28th). Sure enough when I checked the status this morning it said it was in town and out for delivery. Since the UPS guy comes by our neighborhood some time after 2 pm I made sure I got my errands done this morning so I would be home the rest of the day. Five o'clock rolls around and as I look out the back window I see the UPS truck driving out of the neighbor and heading out of the base. So I go back to the computer and check the status again but it still said the same thing, out for delivery. Seven o'clock comes around and now I'm really getting ticked off. Headed back to the computer to check the status one more time and now I see this:

6:40 P.M. The customer was not available on the 1st attempt. A 2nd attempt will be made.

What the flock? No one ever knocked on the door at all and I was sitting 12 feet away from it the whole time. And the driver is saying I wasn't home? I called UPS and they tell me it was to be delivered to the base post office and it was the post office that wasn't present, not me. Well duh, it was after closing time. Now the UPS web site is saying the new deliver date is 3/01. I do not know why but for some reason it was shipped as a UPS/USPS joint deliver.

Will update this thread when I get the package and have a chance to see what it looks like.

 

[72Dodge]

Yeah, UPS and the USPS have joined together in some unholy union to birth more inefficiency. Thanks for the efforts, and hope they arrive soon!

 

[My imp]

Back in the good old days, one of the vendors was looking for belt weatherstrip samples of nearly any kind. If you caught his interest, you could send him your old ones as samples and he would give you the first set of repops for your efforts. We were all driving musclecars at the time, though, and the FMJ stuff never really occurred to us. I still have a set of '72 Charger SE strips in my garage attic, still in the bag. Perfect reproductions of the hatchet-job setup used only on that year and model.

Unfortunately, that vendor no longer exists... but I might know a guy that knows a guy. I'll have to see if I can find his phone number.

My '72 Charger needs a set.

 

[My imp]

Our letter carrier (mailman in real non PC speak) used to pull the same shite! He drives his route in a CJ, so he doesn't even have to waddle his extremely fat arse up & down driveways. All he has to do is to lean out of the door & stuff the mailbox. They're supposed to put the delivery attempt notice on your door. He'd put them in or on the mailbox at the end of the driveway. After the 1st & 2nd notices were left, I had to drive up to the post office & pick it up myself. We finally reported him to the Postmaster General. THEN he got his fat arse out of the vehicle. It is about 100' from the mailbox to my door, but this guy's every bit of 350-375 lbs.! Waddling up & down a driveway or two wouldn't be a bad idea. Especially since my taxes are paying him to do just that! Don't know if the Canadian Postmaster General carries the same whip as ours does, but it's worth a shot! Good luck!

 

[NoCar340]

My '72 Charger needs a set.

The ones I have only fit an SE. If that's what you've got, I'll go digging when it warms a little.

 

[My imp]

Yes I do, I have (2)!

 

[My imp]

Do you have any other '72 Charger parts?

 

[NoCar340]

Not so much anymore. I still have some black interior stuff, but none of it is SE. All the big stuff is gone. You're about a decade late; I had some stuff guys only dream of finding, much of it left over from my '72 Rallye and '71 Super Bee (WM23V1G). My '72 SE was originally a triple-white 400 Magnum/console auto with all the trinkets except power windows & locks. 15x7 Rallyes, tach, AC, "bazooka" tips, you name it. Of course, all the good stuff was gone by the time I got it.

 

[ruppster]

Well, thought things were going to get better this morning because early today I checked the UPS tracking info and it had an interesting update from first thing this morning:

3:59 A.M. UPS will attempt delivery; package will not be transferred to local post office for delivery

Cool! Normally I work nights on Friday but I needed to go in during the afternoon today to finish work on some network mods to the arena before we opened for the evening. So I would have to wait till I got home from work. Darn it. Fast forward to 4 pm I get home and there's no box. UPS usually doesn't show up till after 4 so I figured I got home before he came by. Fired the computer up and checked the tracking info and here's what I found.

Left at door at 3pm? There sure as heck isn't a box on the porch. Since the military housing unit we are in is on stilts I head downstairs to see if the left under the house in the carport. Nope, nothing there either. Now I'm really getting ticked off. Called UPS again and the first person I talked to listened to my ranting and raving and said that the driver left it at the door and if it's not there then we have a missing package. She switches me over to a different department to start the ball rolling on a missing package claim and that guy over there says no, it's not missing. "It's at the post office and that's were it was supposed to go to in the first place." :BangHead:

By this time it's almost 4:15 and the base post office is about to close for the weekend in 15 minutes. Grabbed my car keys and dashed over there to see if they would be willing to give it to me now. But they informed me they got in 5 bags from UPS today and they haven't been processed yet. After I give them the background story on this goat rope one lady says she will take a quick look but didn't promise anything. She comes back in less then 2 minutes and says I lucked out, it was the one item not in a bag (it was an 8 foot long tube). :icon_thumright:

Okay, now that I have that out of my system on to the parts. I actually ordered one of each of the 3 types. I don't have time right now to pull the door apart but looking at the 2 with the metal reinforcement I think there may be some potential here. Will post some pics when I get the door apart and see what can be done.

 

[72Dodge]

Sweet, thanks! Looking forward to the pics!

 

[ruppster]

Okay, before I went to bed last night I was able to sneak away and play with the Imperial while the wife made dinner. It helped that her van needed an oil change so while the oil was draining I took the driver's door on the Imperial apart.

And the answer to the question of the day is: yes it could be made to work but as a last resort. The biggest problem is the backbone/spine of the belt molding is not tall enough (as seen in the first pic). It barely comes down to the top part of the mounting hole locations and there's not much room left to drill higher mounting holes in the door panel. Second item is the medal lip that points away from the glass. It's not as wide as the old one so there is a larger gap in the recess for it (as seen in pic 2).

Found another thread about this and think I will just buy a set from them instead of trying to make the one in the pics above work.

http://www.forfmjbodiesonly.com/classicmopar/showthread.php?485-Mirada-Window-Seals

 

[72Dodge]

Cool, thank you very much for checking that out. For the about $70 they would cost, I may end up just using those anyway, instead of spending over $200 on the ones from restoration specialties. I doubt if my car will ever see rain, and I'm trying to spend as little as possible since these cars tend to not be worth squat.

I can't quite tell for sure which one you are showing there... is it part # YMR256X96 or YMR255X96 from dkhardware?

(Thanks for digging up that other thread too, despite my searches, I never saw that one).

Thanks again.

 

[ruppster]

I believe it was the 255. Will have to check later on to be sure. I tried to get a pic of the two side by side but it didn't come out to well. I think the only real difference between the two is the spot where the rubber attaches to the spine is a little lower on the 256.

If you still want to go this route I would be willing to sell you both the 255 and 256 for $40 plus shipping (I still have the 8 foot tube they came in).

 

[72Dodge]

PM sent.

 

[ruppster]

Well, this afternoon I made an interesting discovery. Went up to my buddy's house in Brooksville to help him with front end repairs to his van today. While I was there I spent some time taking apart the driver's door on a 1981 Imperial parts car he's letting me store on his property. Turned out someone did just what you are talking about 72Dodge, they used a belt molding that looks just like the 255 above and riveted it on top of the original metal backbone of the old belt molding after cutting off the old rubber section. The rivets look like a special low profile type and not the usual pop rivets. The low profile side goes on the backside of the original belt molding as it is mounted on top of another trim piece and thick rivets would cause the new seal to be much closer to the glass.