71 water seal

[Mike S.]

Is there a seal on upper front fender top that seals or deverts water between fender top and windsheild?

[Chuck S.]

Re: 71 water seal

Is there a seal on upper front fender top that seals or deverts water between fender top and windsheild?

Yes...at least there was in 70. But, I never found hide nor hair of them on my mostly original car...they were gone with the wind.

See if your 71 AIM has UPC 1, Sheet A17...that sheet shows Item 6, "Weatherstrip", PN 3938145/6 at that location. I seem to remember that Doc Rebuild once sold those. If they still have them, I believe that's the only place you'll find them...and probably the only vendor that even knows that they existed.

[Mike S.]

Re: 71 water seal

Thanks Chuck.MIKE

[Chuck S.]

Re: 71 water seal

Mike, I'm informed by someone that should know that the cowl seal was a 68-70 part only. By now, you may have confimed that from your AIM.

Anyway, I'm beginning to think that my very, very late 70 may not have used them either; I didn't find any, and I can't see how they could have been molested or "escaped", in spite of what the 70 AIM says.

[Alan S.]

Re: 71 water seal

Mike,
My 71, #6589, Jan build, had a VERY dense rubber material in the place where the 68-70's had the 'seal'. It looked to me like it was formed in place after having been discharged from something like a caulking gun . I have the material from each side in a baggy, saved for posterity.
Regards,
Alan

[Mike S.]

Re: 71 water seal

Alan and Chuck my car has the dense rubber material also.Doc rebuild no longer has them.Ecklers has the right side only.but i gave them the gm part #3938145/6 that is 68-70. any thoughts on what to use? thanks Mike

[Chuck S.]

Re: 71 water seal

Based on Alan's description of the material used on his 71, I believe 3M's Strip Calk will be the closest modern product you will find.

Build up a volume of the material by kneading maybe 10-12 of those strips together; stretch the "rope" out slightly and cut in half...this will be enough to do both sides. After positioning the material under the fender edge, add more strips as required to fully seal the void.

Don't build up so much material that it can be seen from the top; just enough to do the job without being visible. My concern is that Strip Calk won't stay in position...I could never see how the "weatherstrips" remained in there, but the answer is, they were glued.

I'm really surprised Eckler's had those seals...I never saw them in their catalog. I'm hoping DocRebuild had them in their body seal kit, but I don't think they were, because THEY WEREN'T REPROS. To paraphrase The Boss, "Boys, these parts are going...and they ain't coming back!"

[Mike S.]

Re: 71 water seal

Thanks. mike

[Alan S.]

Re: 71 water seal

Mike,
Since there is access to this area if you take the rear upper fender trim off I haven't put anything back in place even though my car is basically completed. I haven't been able to find a suitable material. It needs to be soft enough to squirt in there and yet set up as hard as the rubber in a tire.
Regards,
Alan

[Chuck S.]

Re: 71 water seal

Another option that may be closer to what Alan is describing is the urethane sealant/adhesive for installing windshield glass such as 3M's Windo-Weld (PN 051135-08607).

The only concern I would have about this product is does it have enough "body" in volume to stand or mound up to fill the void. Some kind of removeable dam on the back side would be a good idea...dams are often used for windshield installations to prevent the sealant from squeezing into the dash and interior surround moldings. It comes in tubes that fit in conventional calking guns. It's not cheap, but also not too expensive...maybe about $10-$15/tube.

I can tell you one thing...if you don't get this material placed properly, as in it slumps over on you, you will NEVER remove it from that cavity once it cures.

[Alan S.]

Re: 71 water seal

Chuck,
I hadn't thought about using what you've suggested. How 'firm' does that urethane get when it cures? Can it be built up? What came out of my fender/cowl joint was about the diameter of my thumb.
Regards,
Alan

[Chuck S.]

Re: 71 water seal

My opinion is durometer will probably be maybe half that of tire rubber. It cures hard, but remains flexible but firm; i.e. rubberlike. If you CAN build it up into an individual piece the diameter of your thumb, it will be TOUGH, meaning hard to stretch, but with little elongation before breaking.

It is really designed as a flexible sealant/adhesive to be contained between the pinchweld and the glass, and in some cases dammed on the interior to keep it from squeezing up onto the glass where it is visible. Most of the aftermarket glass replacers don't even bother with the dam, and consequently, you may find your interior trim glued to the windshield after having a windshield replaced.