I’m hoping for some good news (translated as easy) on replacing the vent window weatherstrips on my 2 door hardtop 55 Super 88. I’m in the process of replacing all of the weatherstripping on the doors and side windows. I have already installed the seals between the back window where it meets the front window. That was relatively easy - a little soap works wonders. I’ve replaced the long weather seal on the passenger door and will do the driver side today. I’ve ordered the “J” moldings for the doors. FYI. The parts were within pennies of the same price at Fusick and Steele Rubber Products but the shipping was $6.00 less at Steele. So what do I have to look forward to when I get the vent weatherstripping?
I’m also having a little problem with my windshield wiper control. I have switched to the electric conversion. I can’t seem to get the retaining nut tight without the shaft turning as well. I can hold the shaft in its proper orientation but then can’t get to the little decorative nut (the one with a hole in the middle and two little grooves on the outside edges). Is there a tool available to tighten that little sucker? Also the set screw doesn’t seem to want to hold tightly allowing the original **** to spin and not engage the wipers. It’s not likely I’ll take it out of the garage in the rain anyway.
Thanks in advance for your insights and suggestions.

 

Sorry, no good news about the seals on your vent windows if they are related to my 62 Starfire. I had my vent window frames out of the door and it was still a job. The door window front channel is riveted to the vent window frame.

 

Section 16 (Body) of the 1955 Oldsmobile Shop Manual discusses weatherstrip and the vent windows.
Section 14 (Instrument Panel and Radio) says to use tool set BT-9 to remove the windshield wiper control bezel retainer.

 

Thanks for that. Any idea where one could find a BT-9? I’ll ask at O’Reilly’s tomorrow. I checked my Maintenance Manual and it only has 15 chapters. Is the Shop Manual a different book?

 

For the set screw, sometimes you can get by with a shim or wrapper around whatever the set screw bites into. In effect you’re increasing the diameter of the shaft it bite onto and restores the ability of the screw to bite & hold.

I’ve spent a lot of time on seals & what not on my ‘66’s. Steele is very, very good quality. I’ve had great success with them.

Get some of the good 3M black weatherstrip glue and it’s companion solvent. It’s great stuff and it’s black in color so a little over glue (overspray) won’t show much.

Consider oversized seals if you can’t find just the right thing. Sponge rubber and foam rubber they make these days might just seal better than the factory could in 1955.

If you’re interested, look under my username for other information on what I’ve learned about sealing & quieting older cars, maybe some of it will help you.

Cheers
Chris

 

The BT tools were produced by Borroughs Tool Co. There are many "BT" tools referenced in the 1955 Oldsmobile Shop Manual. (Similarly, the "J" prefixed tools were produced by Kent-Moore.) I'm unsure about availability of the BT-9 tool set. I don't have one. The shop manual was produced by the service department of Oldsmobile Division; General Motors Corporation; Lansing, Michigan. My copy is copyright 1954. The cover is blue-green in color. It has 425 pages and 16 sections.

 

That’s interesting. My maintenance manual was published in 1954 also but it has no page numbers except each chapter re-starts numbering at the beginning of each chapter like 3-93 and 8-17. And it only has 15 chapters. The last one is Chassis Sheet Metal. The cover is greenish with a drawing of an engine in the lower right corner.

 

Thanks for the reply. Good idea on the shim for the switch stem. I’ll try that. One of my neighbors,who’s into old Ford cars (but we shouldn’t hold that against him),put me onto the 3M glue and cleaner. You’re right, it works great. Whoever put weatherstripping on my car before me must have subscribed to the “more is better” theory. There was orangeish glue all over the place. It took a long time to get it all off. I have ordered parts from Steele and Fusick. Sometimes one is cheaper than the other so I order from that one. If the prices are the same, I go for the lowest shipping cost. I will check out your other posts.

 

I suspect that your maintenance manual was what was used in Canada, while the shop manual was used in USA. ??????? Your maintenance manual and my shop manual are very similar. There may be a little more in the shop manual. The chapter (section) page numbering exists in the shop manual also.

 

I have a post on Steele vs. Metro brands for mid-60’s big cars. Short version is Steele is the better quality these days. That may have always been true, but I ordered two sets of vent seals just to prove to myself that I have the best ones available. Look under my user name for the comparison.

I don’t know if it’s possible for the 50’s cars, but Steele makes a bunch of generic sponge rubber extrusions. I just installed an oversized (aka non-factory) one in my Starfire roof rail and the seals are as good as they’ve ever been. Thinking about doing a test on my convertible too.

Vent windows are a different animal since they’re hard rubber and need to hold a specific shape around the corners and curves, but you might see if there are some oversized or different seals that might work better than factory for your car. Hot rodders use all kinds of stuff when they chop tops, I wonder if some generic (but oversized?) vent window seals might help you.

See “Rubber The Right Way” for offerings that are generic. Soffseal, Steele and Metro may have some applicable generic stuff.

I dug into seals since I hate wind noise and water ingress (not that I drive ‘em all that much in the rain). Ultimately the vent windows produce some cabin noise, but you can try a few tricks to minimize it if you like.

Or stick with factory which is always a good choice.

Chris

 

I used a piece of old fashioned, white adhesive tape. Just one wrap filled up the “slop” in the connection making for a snug fit. The set screw now holds tightly but I had to really bear down it to get it tight. Now if can just remember to pull it out to the on position before I try to turn it . . .