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verticle vent window rubber seal for 52 plymouth ?


Dartgame

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Okay - I just spent 2-3 hours searching the site for info on this topic. Seems no one has posted about this.

 

My 52 ply coupe needs the vent window seals replaced. I am comfortable with what I learned about the window channels, and the curved portion of the vent window gasket.

 

So my main question is about the verticle L shaped piece, that kind acts as a check rail/seal on the back (rear) edge of the vent glass.

 

On my car these are steel backed L shaped rubber pieces and are riveted to the steel window channel. If I take those out I am under the impression that the replacements need to be riveted back in place for strength, gluing seems inappropriate as the weatherstrip glue wont hold it in place for long, it needs mechanical fasteners. In order to rivet these the rivet must be flat on both sides - so a pop rivet wont work - because the area for the door window channel and the vent window where these go must be flat for both pieces of glass to fit and operate correctly.

 

Has anyone done this operation and if not can you offer a comment about how best to re-rivet the new piece of weather strip back in place. I have not removed the old L shaped pieces yet. I am familiar with pop rivets but have done nothing with semi hollow rivets - ever

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Okay I played around with some small pop rivets I have. These are small 1/8 inch size. I drove the “nail” out of the rivet and then put them in some 1/8 inch holes I drilled in heavy sheet metal. Backed up the flat side and beat the hollow side into an inverted cone using a tapered point punch. Then I flattened that side with a flat faced punch. Seems to work fine. This was using Aluminum rivets. I’d imagine brass or steel would be better for galvanic corrosion resistance ? 

 

Any feel like commenting ?

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sounds like you have found a solution.  My 51 and 2 are convertibles but my 50 will be very much like yours.  Riveting is a skill in itself and sometimes requires special tools to get good results.

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I talked with Restoration specialities about these rivets. The tech guy knew immediately what I was talking about. Their size is actually a little smaller - their part # riv 1. Something like a .089 stainless diameter rivet. My guess is the rivet crushes and spreads into the hole when set, because the hole appears to be about 1/8 inch. I asked them how to best set these - Flat tipped punch and a cone shaped punch - just like I described above.

 

I went on to ask them about the L shape rubber check rail - theirs has no metal core on the rubber L shape, and neither does Steele’s they both said to glue it on. Hmmmm. I seriously doubt glue will hold. My check rails are actually serviceable - just need some revitalizing. I’ve resurrected old rubber parts like these using waterless hand cleaner. Gonna try that.

 

 

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  • 4 months later...

Well, my inquiry back in February was a little early. I did use the waterless hand cleaner and that seems okay to soften the rubber somewhat. I have not installed these as I ran into problems with the curved vent window gasket. The gaskets I got from Andy B’s don’t function well. The upper pivot was misplaced and the sealing lips did not engage the glass properly for a good seal. So, i returned them and got some from Steele. The Steele rubber seals fit the pivot points, but the seal puckered very badly in the sharp radius turn. I complained to them and they asked for my old seals to examine and possibly replicate, as they are different design, but serve the same function. That was in April. I finally heard back from Steele last week that they do not intend to copy my old seals. They sent them back to me last week and a new set of their vent window seals. I spoke with Eddie Lail at Steele and he made some recommendations about modifying their seal to make it work. I just got the car back from the paint shop. Looks great except for the added bonus shop dust. I plan to start tackling these kinds of issues in the coming weeks and months. Will keep you posted as I progress through this mess.

Edited by Dartgame
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2 hours ago, Dartgame said:

Well, my inquiry back in February was a little early. I did use the waterless hand cleaner and that seems okay to soften the rubber somewhat.  ....  Will keep you posted as I progress through this mess.

Thanks for the reply.  Do you just rub the hand cleaner onto the rubber, and what brand?  I don't remember for sure what I did (because it was over 35 years ago), but my body mount "bisquets" were caked in tar & road dirt, grease, etc., and I may have used gasoline to clean them first, and I kinda' remember buffing them on the wire wheel (on the bench grinder).  Anyway, now they are badly deteriorated, cracked, and kinda' look like at some time over the last 35 + years (while the car sat in my Dad's shop) they oozed.  So this means I will need to replace them now, before I finish the car.  (We lived overseas for 18 years, then moved here to Ohio, and i just now got my car moved here from Oklahoma.)

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It sounds like your mounting biscuits are shot. I used the old fashioned gojo gel hand cleaner that comes in a tub. I think it’s basically diesel fuel or kerosene gelled with surfactant. So the softening effect is from the diesel or what ever solvent mixture is in the stuff. I apply it work it in by hand and let it set for a few days and wipe off. Mine were not too bad to begin with but my car was garage kept and stored in a mild climate most of its life.

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Thanks for the info.  I defer to experience, but I would think that the effect of oil on rubber will not stop, but continue until eventually the rubber turns into a gooey mess.  I've seen rubber turn to a runny glue, but that was in the tropics, and I always figured it was a bacterial growth, not oil per se.  But there are also certain natural oils (like copaiba) that dissolve plastics.  Obviously some rubber products are made to be exposed to oil on a constant basis, but I wonder if it isn't a different composition.

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How rubber ages has a lot to do with the conditions its exposed to and the rubber formulation. The vertical seals on my car were not too bad, but the curved vent window seals were brittle and done. Same for the door gaskets. Trunk gasket is darn near perfect.

 

I will have the fun prospect of figuring out how to make the door hinge gaskets. You may know that these perform two functions. Seals the fender and the front edge of the door...I made some according to info I found on the now defunct old plymouths website. I installed them at the paint shop and later the paint shop took them off because they were too thick to allow good panel alignment. Ugh. Back to square one. 

 

I will be starting the trim window raubber gasket installation soon, and will post as progress is made..

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Dartgame.

   If you find yourself having to “replicate” some rubber pieces with non-premade items, you might consider checking with Wichita Trimming in Wichita, Kansas. They have a vast array of bulk rubber, and may be able to provide you with some samples so you can determine if a particular profile would work for you. Steele, Danchuck, and Mac, have similar programs.

   I grew up in Wichita, and found them to be incredibly helpful when I put a new seal on our ’46 Plymouth Club Coupe, using bulk-profile rolls of material.

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2 hours ago, DrDoctor said:

Dartgame.

 

   If you find yourself having to “replicate” some rubber pieces with non-premade items, you might consider checking with Wichita Trimming in Wichita, Kansas. They have a vast array of bulk rubber, and may be able to provide you with some samples so you can determine if a particular profile would work for you. Steele, Danchuck, and Mac, have similar programs.

 

   I grew up in Wichita, and found them to be incredibly helpful when I put a new seal on our ’46 Plymouth Club Coupe, using bulk-profile rolls of material.

 

Thanks for the tip. I bookmarked it for possible future use.

 

https://www.yellowpages.com/wichita-ks/mip/wichita-trim-6927773

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