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Convertible window / door seal question

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Old May 31, 2024 | 04:15 AM
  #1  
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Convertible window / door seal question

Does anybody have a picture of how the rear door panel and rubber door seal are installed correctly it's been so long. I can't remember which way they go thank you


Old May 31, 2024 | 10:30 AM
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Your rear interior trim goes under that rubber seal. There's a small phillips head screw that goes through the rubber and your trim panel to cinch everything down against the sheetmetal.
Old May 31, 2024 | 01:11 PM
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It will use a #8 philips screw with a 5/8" or 3/4" thread length.....a sheet metal screw.

I'm gonna take the "other side" on this....the proper "sequence" is shown in your LAST pic...."door panel" drop-off goes OVER the rubber U-jamb molding. In other words, the philips screw head would contact the panel "drop off" portion and that "drop off" panel portion is ON TOP OF the U-jamb rubber piece.

I'll follow up w/evidence as I find it.



Last edited by 70Post; May 31, 2024 at 01:33 PM.
Old May 31, 2024 | 01:36 PM
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Here's one pic showing a '71 or 72 Olds Abody convert....shows the "sequence" that I think is correct.

May be able to follow up tomorrow w/a pic from a survivor '72.



Old May 31, 2024 | 02:59 PM
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...and two pics from a '71 survivor 442 convert...same sequence - door panel "drop off" lip ON TOP OF the U-jamb rubber.

It was done that way to eliminate any gaps you would have had if the sequence was reversed....and it also helps hold the round vinyl door opening windlace in there tight (round vinyl door panel windlace shown in pic of blue car in prior post).

Big thanks to "Texas442" for taking and providing these pics.




Last edited by 70Post; May 31, 2024 at 03:05 PM.
Old May 31, 2024 | 03:05 PM
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So we have one of each🙂
The pic is evidence of panel over rubber but the holes won't line up for me, could be the new 1/4 panels....not sure. Any more pics would be appreciated for both ways. Thanks to all for taking the time. Just trying to finish up my 14-year restoration and it's funny that this is the thing holding me up after everything else. 😂
Old May 31, 2024 | 04:36 PM
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The factory only did it one way and that's what the pics show. Could be your new QP's (I assume you mean new outer sheet metal quarter panels) or it could also be your new Ujamb rubber pieces shaped/made incorrectly (who'd a thunk it?....a repro part that's not shaped correctly).

The other way creates too many/too large gaps.

Another thing - In doing GM Abody interior work I've run into repro Ujamb moldings that don't fit correctly....probably along the top of the QP metal....the upper edge. Such that the Ujamb molding is preventing the interior panel from going down over the QP metal as far as it needs to at the front of the panel.

Last edited by 70Post; May 31, 2024 at 05:21 PM.
Old May 31, 2024 | 05:43 PM
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Two more pics....

First Pic - shows an original rubber Ujamb molding loosely installed on a '70 Cutlass "S" hardtop. Car has original QP's and it's the Driver's side

Second Pic - shows a repro rubber Ujamb molding loosely installed on the same car/QP/Driver's side

Take note of the TOP EDGE of the rubber molding on the part where the interior panel lip is involved....that edge is BELOW the top edge of the QP metal edge.




Old Jun 1, 2024 | 03:08 PM
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Windlace

So now I'm not sure which way the windlace goes. Does it tuck underneath or go all the way next to the interior panel edge. Funny. I went to a car show today and looked at a 442 to see which way it went and his windlace was missing



Old Jun 1, 2024 | 03:17 PM
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New pic

I found this from an old picture I took at a car show a while back. This can't possibly be right, can it.

Old Jun 1, 2024 | 03:39 PM
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Originally Posted by 70convert
It should be tucked into the notch the metal like above. Try to make more of a 90 degree bend so it sits lower in the notch similar to what Patton showed in post #4 above.
Old Jun 1, 2024 | 04:29 PM
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As Kenneth noted above, the pic in my #4 post shows how the windlace is tucked into/runs into that clearance notch in the QP sheetmetal. Keeps the top of the windlace from interfering with the panel fitment.

You can use a hair dryer to warm up old stiff windlace and make it temporarily more pliable....if you need to get a new or better "bend" in it.
Old Jun 1, 2024 | 05:32 PM
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Ok

Thanks everybody. I really appreciate all the advice and help
Old Jun 1, 2024 | 10:21 PM
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Just so you know, if you’re going to work on window alignment, noise minimizationm and correct fit, you’re going to need a lot of time.

Like, get the wife & kids out of town for a few days time.

Window alignment and the related noise minimization topic are particularly frustrating since the factory documentation is minimal. Trial and error fitting method consumes wild hours since the physical fit can be good/perfect, but on-the-road use still produces too much noise. This condition leads to another 2 hour adjustment process & road test. And on. And on.

I suspect the factory had specialists who knew just what to do, but never really wrote anything down. Smart - job security for them - but it leaves hobbyists like us guessing as to their procedures and standards like archeologists.

The thing to remember is that standards for car quietness are much better since, say 2000 or so, and the older designs simply produce more noise. Or, more correctly, don’t eliminate the noise the way the modern cars do.

For your convertible try to have the rear windows roll up through the rear quarter front channel as “middled” (inboard vs.l outboard to the car sides) as you can to minimize binding.

You’re aiming to have the curved window roll up through the curved track as smooth & “straight” as you can, but the real end goal is making sure the window edges are tight enough against the rubber seals to stop water and wind getting in. I’m not there yet on my ‘66 hardtop and convertibles are even harder since the top frame and fabric move around.

With a hardtop, you fit the windows to make best seal against a fixed frame. With a convertible, you fit the windows to a frame that moves. Hardtops are high school. Convertibles are college. Maybe GradSchool…

Much more to say as an interested (and sort of failing) hobbyist, but I hope you get there.

Finally, if you haven’t heard of the $ dollar bill test, I recommend you look it up. It seems that resistance to a $1.00 bill being pulled through a window/rubber connection will tell us a lot about what’s right & wrong.

Hope this helps
Chris
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