Topic: door weatherstrip problems

[cobrajetchris]

I have a set of NOS door weatherstrips that I have installed on my 69 MACH 1 I am restoring, I fit the door first without the glass and my lines are good and the door shut perfect until I installed the rt. door weatherstrip that goes on the door itself. Now the door is very hard to close and I think most of the binding is at the front lower corner. I used a heat gun to soften and form the weatherstrip and that helped but it has a long way to go. Anyone have a similar problem and know of a solution. These are original doors, NOS weatherstrips and the hinge pillar and rocker/quarter panel are original and not damaged.

[joe747]

i have a freind that had the same issue , anyone have some input on this

[thefordshow]

Been there, done that.  learned the hard way to fit all seals and bumpers at the panel fitting stage of the project. That way you can tweek a little here and there and not have to worry about damage to a painted surface. Wrap your seals in clear plastic wrap and tape to the surface needed, that way you don't damage the seal. 

[bryancobb]

Hey! there's an idea.  Put them in one of those sweater bags that you suck flat with a vacuum, during the months your car is getting body work.
Then install them and let them expand to what they need to be instead of trying to force them into compression. 

[cobrajetchris]

Yes, I have been there too and in fact are installing the seals permanently as I painted the insides of the doors and the rocker panel/jamb area so I can install and fit the doors & glass. I will then mask off these parts while installed and the only paint line I will have to contend with is the vertical door jamb of the quarter panel. Since my last post I installed all the glass and hardware and shut the doors and left them shut for over a week and also using the heat of the summer to help shape these strips. The doors are closing much better now with time and heat helping. I may even start pulling the doors in a little further than what I want to set the strips even more because the doors still have a pop in it. Fitting and aligning the doors and glass on the 69-70 model is a real pain. I can replace a door on a late model car and install the weatherstrips with no problem as they clip in vs. messy glue and there is little to no adjustment on the glass and everything fits and shuts perfect. I guess that's what 40 years of technology does and if restoring these old cars was easy everybody would do it.

[joe747]

i have the same issue , will it help when i install all the glass and harware

[cobrajetchris]

The doors become much heavier when the glass and hardware is installed and does help however I am finding out that heat and time are the best thing. I would get all the hardware installed, shut the doors and leave them closed and move on to something else. Per my last post the doors are shutting better but still not all the way there yet. This is the only suggestion I have and very open to any other opinions or suggestions on this.

[sally_66]

Have the same issue with my galaxie in the trunk area ... the trunk would not be shut at all !
So my father had the idea to put the seals in fabric conditioner 3 durring winter time .... and it worked !

The seals will get smoother and the trunk now shuts very well

Will try that also on my mustang project now ....

Yours

Matthias