door weatherstripping

[sc1956]

When the doors are not weatherstripped, they fit perfectly. Once they have the stripping installed, the doors stay flared out about 1/8". What's the solution for this? Before painting, I just installed the stripping at the dogleg and door latch to prevent leaks, and removed the rest, but I never liked the way it looks.

Suggestions?

[nomadbird]

Stephen,

This problem has plagued us Bird guys forever. In times gone by, the only items available was from Ford. There were three distinct types available depending who their vendor was and when you bought them. The three types were: bad, worse, and worst.

It was imperative that you shaved the surface that glues against the door in the following places: at the back of the door from the lock up to the wrap over the door top, at the bottom of the door about the rear- most 2',
finally the front from the dog leg to the feature line. There was a version that had a string core. We would pull out the string so the rubber would compress.

You don't have to put up with this anymore. Now I use repro rubber from Concours Parts 1-(800) 722- 0009. Their door weather strips are nice and soft reproductions. Other dealers probably handle the same repro rubber, but I don't know who they are.

Tom

[Brian]

Tom - is that applicable to '57's as well?

[nomadbird]

Brian,

Yes, the hard weatherstrip problem applies to all years. The soft repro stuff is soooo much better than anything available from Ford.

I was hoping T's & A's (Tom R.) would hop in on this discussion. He just finished his car and installed the weatherstrip within the last few months. There is a guy here locally who was installing Ford rubber a couple weeks ago. His passenger door is fine, but he had to do a lot of shaving on the driver side.

Tom D.

[sc1956]

Thanks. I was hoping you would say to shave the visible side, so I wouldn't have to take things apart again.

This is a repro type rubber, pretty soft, but I guess just not soft enough, or a bit too thick. So if I'm understanding correctly, you shave off the backside, where it glues to the door.

You want to keep all the rubber at the dogleg, I'd think, and shave off the stuff from the feature line around to the other end at the back of the door. Is this correct?

I'd also assume that you shave off the high point of the "V" in the material, and a bit on both sides so it fits further into the channel. At the very back, I guess you also take some off of that large moulded part where it faces the outside of the car.

Am I on the right path here?

[nomadbird]

Stephen,

You are ahead of the game by having the w/s already installed. What you do now, is take fairly crisp dollar bills and close them in the door all along the weatherstrip path. With the door closed tightly, you should be able to remove the bills from outside the car with some resistance, but not too much drag where the bill would be inclined to tear. (Boy, this really looks dumb in print) Where you feel too much resistance when pulling on the bill, that's where you want to do some artful trimming. Yes, trimming on the surface that is glued against the door will yield the best looking results.

Ignore my original post that specified the areas that should be trimmed. Those were for Ford W/S. Using the dollar bill pulling procedure will indicate areas to be trimmed. This procedure is recommended by refrigerator manufacturers for leveling refrgerators and checking to see the box isn't tweaked.

Don't let the neighbors see you doing this; they'll question your sanity! Tom

[Ts & As]

Well I/m finally back from a weekend trip sorry for missing this string ...

NO SHAVING OR TRIMMING REQUIRED on the new soft repro rubber. Fit like a dream with yellow weather stripping cement. Close door and let it compress for a day or two - will not buckle door out (unless you have a weak hinge). Dog Leg took the most care - is a two man job but I did it with patience by myself. If you do have an original Ford set of rubbers - DO NOT USE THEM.

[sc1956]

I'm using repro rubber, with newly repinned hinges. Without rubber, the doors fit PERFECTLY (with the lock striker adjusted correctly, of course). Once I put the rubber on, the door became hard to close, and the door sticks out about 3/16" at the rear edge. All of the gaps are equal all the way around the door, and the leading edge is dead flush with the front fenders.

Any ideas?

[nomadbird]

I understand there were/are two or more manufacturers of repro door w/s. In my first post I identified one of the sources of supply of the best w/s. Apparently, Ts & As source sells the same product as I used. If you don't want to trim your w/s, you'll have to start with the same product we used and hope you have as good luck as both of us had.

Tom D.

[Ts & As]

I got my set from Tee-Bird Products in Exton PA. 610-363-1725 You can check with them to find out who made them but as I said, they worked great. I know some of there rubber is supplied from Larry's but not sure on the door w/s.

[sc1956]

Thanks, guys. I'll let you know what happens.

[Ts & As]

Took the trash out last night and right on top of my garage can was the package from my Door Weatherstrip - The supplier was Dennis Carpenter. Hope that helps.

[rich morrill]

I recently bought weatherstripping from Hank Sunyak in New Jersey it seems very soft. My question is Any recommended way when, installing to keep the stripping in place while the adhesive drives prior to closing the doors.

[Ts & As]

Rich

Go to NAPA/PEP Boys/etc and buy yellow colored Weatherstripping adheasive (comes in a red tube). When used following the directions on the tube it acts as contact cement also.

Coat both surfaces with the adheasive and let set till not tacky any longer (around 10-15 minutes depending on the weather). Recoat the weatherstripping again with the same stuff and begin the install process. Do it carefully because once it sticks - it really sticks. You should have no trouble keeping it in place.

Start at the back side of the door (by the locks) and do the application of the adheasive in 4 steps following the directions above for each step:
1. The back vertical edge, 2. The bottom horizontal edge, 3. The front vertical (by the hinges and 4. (the fun part) the dog leg to finish the run. Took me about an hour per door - do each door in one sitting. Will be good to get wet and heat after overnight drying. I closed my doors after about 3 hours of drying time with no problems.

Good luck - it seemed worse than it actually was.

Oh yes ... if you have the small scalloped crimped w/s retainers still attached to the bottom of the door - uncrimp them first before you apply the glue. If they are not there any longer - you don't absolutely need them to do the job unless you are a stickler for 100% correctness.

Oh yes again ... A tip I learned from Tom D. Go to the store and buy some playdoe or if you have some body sealer that works too. Make small balls of the clay about the size of golf balls and stick it along the upper edge of where the dog leg will go. about two inches apart. Close the door and the door frame will leave a nice imprint in the caly to mark the proper location of the w/s in that area. Then give the playdoe to a kid in the neighborhood.

[sc1956]

Playdough does work well. Also, once it's stuck, you can take lipstick and put it on the weatherstrip at the dogleg. It'll leave a mark on the body where it hits, and won't mark where there's no contact. This works better in this area than paper or a dollar because leaks are often smaller in size than the paper will allow you to notice.

Additionaly, I use the black version of the same weatherstrip cement. That way it doesn't show at the edges.

Stephen.