Door Weatherstripping

[justacruzr2]

Yeah, I had the same trouble with weatherstripping. Got one from Metro, supposed to fit both Monte and GP, but no luck. Ends were too fat, doors wouldn't close. Found the right one eventually. Try looking at [Insert Brand/Store].

That's exactly where I got mine from and the exact same problem. The ends are too fat and the part of the end that's supposed to go under the ledge of the front door is too long. I trimmed it but it still didn't work. I couldn't close the door. Wasted money on this . Also, every picture of these weatherstrips that I saw on the web from everyone selling them looked exactly the same. The only place I found that still might be a possibility is Original Parts Group. However the web page on their site for these weatherstrips says "coming soon". That might be because they are engineering the correct ones for a GP. If not, they would already be selling the same ones as everyone else is. But it also crosses my mind that they might be waiting for enough people to order them before going ahead with creating the molds. I really don't want to have my money sitting somewhere for who knows how long before they actually have them ready. I will only purchase them when they are in stock. At least that's my thinking on it. Worst case scenario would be for me to have to reuse the 40 year old weatherstrips from my donor GP. Not a real good solution.

 

[doood]

So, you're telling me I might as well leave these in the bag??? Bought them in 2021, but haven't had the guts to rip out the barely adequate 46 year old weatherstripping. It keeps the wind out - I wish it wasn't flattened, but it is as I said, adequate.

 

[justacruzr2]

So, you're telling me I might as well leave these in the bag??? Bought them in 2021, but haven't had the guts to rip out the barely adequate 46 year old weatherstripping. It keeps the wind out - I wish it wasn't flattened, but it is as I said, adequate.

I'd hate to tell you they're wrong before you take a look at them. But if the ends look like the pictures on the web of the same weatherstrips they're not going to be right unless you do a lot of trimming to make them work. And then they're going to look like sh*t anyway. I'm only speaking about the Grand Prix though. If you have one of the other G bodies they may be correct and work just fine. It wouldn't hurt to open the bag and check them. It's already to late to return them now. The ones I'm talking about at OPG were specifically for the GP. Luckily I still have the donor car for this project and was able to take a look at it's factory weatherstrips and could easily see why the ones I bought were wrong. If you do open the bag, could you take a picture of the ends and post it in a reply. I'd be interested to see if they were still the same back then (2021). Thanks.

 

[pagrunt]

So, you're telling me I might as well leave these in the bag??? Bought them in 2021, but haven't had the guts to rip out the barely adequate 46 year old weatherstripping. It keeps the wind out - I wish it wasn't flattened, but it is as I said, adequate. View attachment 233184

Those may fit either the Monte/GP or the Cutlass/Regal but not all. This is an example of "well they all are the same platform so they should fit regardless" idea from a car guy company. I'm surprised the fit any Cutlass with their applications. I'd contact Soft Seal on how they figure those will fit a group of cars that there are three pairs of GM p/n's: '78-'88 Chevy/Pontiac 37 coupe, '78-'80 Buick/Olds 47 coupe, '81-'88 Buick/Olds 47 coupe. The needed p/n are in my other posting if their "expert" needs proof.

 

[doood]

Those may fit either the Monte/GP or the Cutlass/Regal but not all. This is an example of "well they all are the same platform so they should fit regardless" idea from a car guy company. I'm surprised the fit any Cutlass with their applications. I'd contact Soft Seal on how they figure those will fit a group of cars that there are three pairs of GM p/n's: '78-'88 Chevy/Pontiac 37 coupe, '78-'80 Buick/Olds 47 coupe, '81-'88 Buick/Olds 47 coupe. The needed p/n are in my other posting if their "expert" needs proof.

Thanks as always pagrunt. I bought these for the 84 Monte... I never put them on because the weather stripping on the Monte is almost good compared to most other cars I've seen... I'm kind of in the same situation with the 78 Cutlass. The weather stripping doesn't look bad on either car in a 2AM last call at the bar, beer goggles kinda way...

 

[justacruzr2]

Thanks as always pagrunt. I bought these for the 84 Monte... I never put them on because the weather stripping on the Monte is almost good compared to most other cars I've seen... I'm kind of in the same situation with the 78 Cutlass. The weather stripping doesn't look bad on either car in a 2AM last call at the bar, beer goggles kinda way...

There is one alternative I've been thinking of should correct ones never come up. One could reuse the ends of your existing weatherstrips and cut the long skinny section off (that goes down the front of the door, runs underneath and then comes up the back of the door) and then use the long skinny section from the new ones and use weatherstrip adhesive to join them togehter. Not the best solutiion but it's a solution.

 

[69hurstolds]

There is one alternative I've been thinking of should correct ones never come up. One could reuse the ends of your existing weatherstrips and cut the long skinny section off (that goes down the front of the door, runs underneath and then comes up the back of the door) and then use the long skinny section from the new ones and use weatherstrip adhesive to join them togehter. Not the best solutiion but it's a solution.

That is true. Although exactly what kind of glue would be another story. Those things flex and bend all the time, and while a "vulcanizing" type of arrangement would be best, The other part of it is the density difference between OEM and aftermarket.

There is one OTHER alternative to that is to find any old G-body door weatherstrip and cut the ends off and do exactly what you speak of. It would still likely be pricey, but depending on the style you can find, it is just another alternative.

I'd be interested in seeing how this turns out should things have to go under the knife.

 

[justacruzr2]

That is true. Although exactly what kind of glue would be another story. Those things flex and bend all the time, and while a "vulcanizing" type of arrangement would be best, The other part of it is the density difference between OEM and aftermarket.

There is one OTHER alternative to that is to find any old G-body door weatherstrip and cut the ends off and do exactly what you speak of. It would still likely be pricey, but depending on the style you can find, it is just another alternative.

I'd be interested in seeing how this turns out should things have to go under the knife.

I still have the 84 I was driving before I did this project on the 84 I'm driving now. It;s ends aren't great but they are there. I won't be actually doing this weatherstrip until spring. It's too cold outside and we're expecting a snowstorm tonight. It can wait till spring. And I did put the bottom of the door weatherstrip on a week ago. It's the one that goes between the door panel and the inner door shell. At least it's blocking anything from coming in thru the bottom. As far as weatherstrip adhesive goes, I'm using Permatex #81852.

 

[69hurstolds]

The permatex you mentioned works very well. Remember, though, you're better off with a THIN bead of the stuff than globbing it on. You just want a good seal between the metal and the weatherstrip. If you ever have to remove it, you'll thank me later for that tip.