70convert

Hoping someone knows who might have the correct weatherstrip for the trunk. I have bought some from Steel Rubber but when i close the lid it is to big so the lid doesn't close properly. Now i'm concerned the door , hood and other ones I bought are going to be an issue.
Soft Seal? which one does Fusick carry? Thanyou

35tac

I have used the Steele Rubber Products on my 66 Cutlass. When installing the weather strip on the trunk I slightly remember that there was a statement to close the trunk any how and that will force the strip to take the proper fit. There are instuctions on there web site for installation. Consult the web site.

Wayne

droldsmorland

Without the seal installed adjust the trunk to get the correct gap when closed. Do it with the bumpers installed. If you haven't moved the catch yet don't. It is likely in a good spot from the factory.
Next, install the seal and close the trunk and let it sit...for a while. The rubber needs to settle sometimes for months. Same procedure applies for the other panel seals.

You purchased from a reputable company, I'm sure if you called their tech line they'd say the same thing, it needs to settle.

I learned to crack the door open (on a Holiday coupe) to allow the windows to roll up/down with ease. Been that way since 1990. But the seals don't leak.

I didn't glue in the trunk seal. Been this way for years. This allows me to pull it out of the channel to dry it out on the rare occasion it gets washed. Water will settle at the bottom unless you completely fill the channel. Then it squishes out and runs all over the place. I thought it was a better move to not glue it.
Cut the trunk seal a little longer than needed to allow for shrinkage as it ages.

Fun71

The new trunk seal will be “tight” but will compress over time.

After replacing the seal on my car, I dented my deck lid trying to close it. I was pressing down with my hand contacting the lid. I learned to “slam” the lid, throwing it downward, removing my hand, and letting inertia close it. The seal eventually compressed and the lid closes and latches easily now.

FStanley

the problem I've found is that our cars don't have the nice crisp stampings of todays modern cars. We are spoiled by that my kids Honda, everthing fits like a glove. everything on my 1969 is an approximation it seems.

Some days in the hot sun might help over time, they want to make sure it seals...

70convert

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll give it a try and see how it goes on the deck lid.

cfair

I’ve used Steele and SoffSeal and RubberTheRightWay for years. They’re all good at certain things so my cars have a mix of rubber from those sources.

Fresh sponge seals will always take a few months or so to settle. The good news is you should get a nice watertight seal when it has settled. One way to handle it is to install the seals when you won’t be using the car for a while.

Glue or no glue is your call. Advantages to each way. There are lots of sizes of seals available from the vendors if you don’t like how the factory one sits. Went oversize on the roof rail seals for my ‘66 Starfire and like them a bit better than factory for wind/noise reduction.

And yeah, modern cars are light years away from old Oldses in terms of sealing and noise reduction. Things came a long, long way in 50 years. I’m with FStanley - I got a modern SUV in 2016 and the doors were actually a tiny bit hard to close when it was new. But boy it was (and is) very quiet.

Cheers
cf