Door Seals

[sithot]

I think they came from Sierra Madre. Pretty sure everyone is carrying the same thing. I wanted to check with International Mercantile but never got around to it. Steele Rubber Products could probably squirt 'em out like cookie dough if they had a pattern and demand. Demand being the key element of course.

[cmcfaul]

A note of caution. I did mine twice about a month ago. The solid type did not seal all the way and leaked air badly. Went to the hollow ones and they are twice the size but because they are hollow squish down when the door is closed. The door is just a tad harder to close but there are absolutly no air or water leaks at any speed.

Chris
73 911 E

[Fishcop]

A note of caution. I did mine twice about a month ago. The solid type did not seal all the way and leaked air badly. Went to the hollow ones and they are twice the size but because they are hollow squish down when the door is closed. The door is just a tad harder to close but there are absolutly no air or water leaks at any speed.

Chris
73 911 E

+1 I've been very happy with the tube type (but I'm guessing they're not correct for the the earlier years?)

[beh911]

... I've been very happy with the tube type (but I'm guessing they're not correct for the the earlier years?)

That's right. Here is a picture of original seals:

http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...l=1#post576959

[Sepia911S]

This last June, I replaced the original door seals on the '73 911S. I kept the original seals and will post a photograph tomorrow. I ordered the original profile seal from Stoddard. After the new seals were installed, there was quite a bit of "whistling" that I had not noticed before. Not knowing what was going on, I panicked and contacted Ed Mayo.

The Stoddard reproductions are similar but not exactly like the originals. If you look at the photograph in post #9, the original seal just to the left and a bit below the mirror is wider and thicker for about 6 to 8 inches in that particular spot. The Stoddard seals are uniform from end to end. Ed Mayo explained how to "build up" the seal in that area. With his directions in hand, I returned to the shop for additional work. The window still whistles a bit and I do need to revisit that again. I think it is a time consuming and expensive matter of "tweaking" the thickness of the seal in that spot. If I press on the seal at the spot while driving at speed, I can eliminate the whistling completely. But that is not a wise thing to do.

At the Salt Lake City Parade, the seals were closely examined. I was pleased the judges did not realize the seals had been replaced.

Curious, I contacted Stoddard about the difference between the original and replacement seals. They said no one had ever asked about that before. I even sent them photographs of the wider original seal but did not receive a reply. I understand the concept of "original profile" seal. But, just don't understand why they are not exactly alike ... it is not much of a difference. The terms OEM, original, replacement, reproduction, etc. are confusing.

[Neil '67 911S]

I used the International Merchantile door seals on both Ol' Ivoryh ('67 911S) and Ol' Blue ('67 912). They look right but generate lots of wind noise. Once they have been contact cemented in place, it is no longer possible to pull them back from the channel and shim them out to cut the wind noise without risking tearing the seal. They are especially leaky where the channel goes from vertical to angle on the A pillar.

I didn't have to make any cuts.

[sithot]

The mitre cut I made is incorrect from what I gather. It's how somebody who has been around carpenters and fabricators would do it.

An assembly line wouldn't have time for somebody to make this cut. As I told Ed Mayo the guy doing this was probably fast as crap through a goose!

I'll re-visit the issue this weekend when I can get my hands on the car.

In the meantime keep the photos and experiences coming!

Tom

[sithot]

The late seal was mitre cut. By the time they made these the dimensions were "know" and they pre-fabricated them.

Here are what is available from Stoddard NLA.

[ejboyd5]

After the new seals were installed, there was quite a bit of "whistling" that I had not noticed before. Not knowing what was going on, I panicked and contacted Ed Mayo who explained how to "build up" the seal in that area.

I'm curious as to the instructions you received and how you built up the area in question. I used different sized oxygen tubing from a nasal cannula to act as a shim behind the seal - not perfect, but a lot better than it was.

[sithot]

Here is the page from the parts catalog. I believe the "Desk Pad" is what is needed. Way back when you couldn't get the real thing "tubes" were it. My car had home made shims installed for the tube seals. The rear ones worked pretty well. The front ones, not so much.

The picture of the seal profile is interesting. Dead Fish with its head cut off and a Dead Whale. Rorschach
Tom