The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Windlace question

Hi, Kevin...I have new unused windlace here and it is what I'm working with. The original stuff I have is very old now...but still seems softer than the new aftermarket stuff.

I haven't had a chance to dig out my new windlace, and probably won't for a few weeks, to compare to the original sample for hardness/softness. I'll try to remember to do that and report back, both on profile and hardness of each. I may just buy one of those testers I found and put some numbers on them.

Yeah, my new stuff is very firm in that area as well. Not like a pool ball, but more like tire rubber.

I got the pricing from the extruder. If we get 75 sets the price is $41.00. If we get 250 sets the price drops to $27.00. A quick survey maybe to see what interest we can get. The tooling has to be paid for to get samples, and then the price is per foot after that.
In my drawing I didn't put the grooves on the top face. Is that a deal breaker for anyone? I did ask what the cost change if any would be to add the grooves. And second the quote was for black. I also ask about color options.
Ron

I am going to need a set from somewhere, black should fine, and I am not smart enough to know one way or the other about the grooves.

I will only do the grooves if not big difference in price. Here is a photo of what it will look like with grooves.

I would like a set in black. How do you want to lock me in for 1?

One thing to think about when choosing how hard or how soft you want this to be made of, is where the sharp turn comes into play at the top rear of the door opening. If it is too soft, the tube will collapse. Some aftermarket windlace of colors other than black which used to be available from some vendors had that collapsing corner issue.

Count me in for a set. Black is my preference. Happy to send payment in advance.

David

Gents,

If you are trying to get a group of people to go in and buy a batch for a group discount, please coordinate in the correct forum!

Chris

Chris,
That was going to be my next question. How do I set up a place for anyone to sign up.
Thanks,
Ron

You'd be better advised to post your personal email address and handle it that way. My email address is jon_goodman@yahoo.com if you need it. I'd be interested in a set. Gray would be my preference. You've probably already done so, but I'd see if I could get a sample of what the gentleman might be talking about (rubber-wise). If you want a piece for a color sample, please contact me via email and give me your postal address. As far as collapsing at the bends, that can be overcome by pulling through a couple of 1 foot pieces of 3/8 inch rope spaced where the bends are...or what we used to do was get a common 3/8" OD screen door spring, cut it in half and pull each piece through until you get to where the bends are. That will make it turn a bend real nicely as there is no way that spring will collapse nor deform.

Ok I will start taking orders. my email is rdmachine@yahoo.com I won't take any payments until we have enough to bring the cost down. The first run, including tooling would be $3000.00. I am also going to post on oldgmctrucks forum as well. Pass the word around if anyone is interested. The extruder said only black and maybe brown available, so my choice would be black. The more we sign up the cheaper it gets.
Ron

Moto,

Start another thread state what you are doing and to contact you via PM or email. I will then lock your thread as a header. I will not however let people respond to it. Is that fair? I’m not sure how else to do it.

Chris

What years is this correct for?

This will fit 49-54. The 47-48 is different profile. If you have the track going around the door opening this will fit. If you want to convert the earlier years you can order the track and attach it. Then this will work.
Ron

motoxfamily That looks like it would be tough to get in the channel.

It shouldn't be any tougher than the other products on the market. I was working of original profile. They are all tough to get in.
As of today I have 12 orders. Not enough yet to place the order.

So far only have about 15 people signed up. If we don't get more, it will be expensive to split the cost of 1st run. Let everyone know so we can get more interest.
Thanks,
Ron

Have any more expressed interest in this?

It seems to have stalled out. I only have about 15 signed up. That comes out to $200 each. I guess I need to ask how many are willing to spend $200 to get this rolling.

Ron

Sorry Ron, but for that price, I will definitely pass. Too rich for my pocket.

So I dug out my chunk of windlace that came off my truck and the stuff I got from Jim Carter and measured the hardness of both of them. Surprisingly, they were pretty close at about Shore A 65. The profile of the replacement stuff isn't anywhere near right, and I'm guessing there will be a gap between the bulb and the door once installed. I noticed that there was a bevel cut on the piece of the old stuff (visible on the far end in the profile comparison pic), I'm assuming to make it a little easier to install.

$200 is a bit steep for me too.

Why is it so hard for these rubber companies to produce the correct profile?

The two in Kevin's picture are so close it doesn't look like it would take much to correct the tooling to produce the correct product. They all must know that their products are substandard. Why not take steps to correct it? Jim Carter shouldn't even bother carrying that stuff.

Otto, everyone but Steele (who only produce black, from what i can tell) likely get their stuff from the same offshore source. That source likely never gets any feedback about fit, even if the give a rip about it.

I'm thinking of calling Steele and see what their product profile looks like, and if they can produce it in the correct color for the trucks that use the tan color, which appears to match the original from Jim Carter, but with the gap, after installation, one can hardly call it windlace, as the wind will whistle right past it. I might send Steele a sample of both the original and the incorrect repop stuff.

[on edit] I just posted that question to Steele on their website. The have a picture of the profile that looks correct. I let them know that there was definite interest in this product if the correct color. They have it in black for a bit over $100, and I'd pay that for the correct color.

Lynn Steele used to be very interested and excited to get real samples from people and tool up to make stuff if he thought there was a demand for it.

23 years on since I first dealt with Steele, I think he's not as enthusiastic as he once was.

I'm just amazed that the stuff for the AD truck isn't correct. They're nearly as popular and common as Mustangs, for which you can get every single part correctly reproduced.

Even black would be fine if it worked.

Even with the perfectly designed windlace, I'll bet there will be wind whistling Dixie around the door openings somewhere. The doors just were not designed to seal well.
Just enough so that a chicken or a small child wouldn't get sucked out at 50 MPH.

As long as it will fit a 55.1 3100 and works for what it is intended for, I'll go as high as 100. Prefer MOTOXFAMILY price a whole lot better, but didn't know about signing up. Sorry. Also sorry if this is in the wrong section, ndkid275. Place where it will be seen and my name put on the list. PLEASE

S2

So I corresponded with Steele about the possibility of them doing windlace in the Tan-grey color, since they seem to have the correct profile. The closest I got was them saying if they did them in white (no idea why they mentioned that color ??? ) was they'd have to do a 1000 ft run "and probably couldn't sell it all." They didn't even say how much they'd have to charge if they did that.
They did give me some options. Chevy's of the 40's, which looks just like the stuff I got from Jim Carter as far as profile. Also Restoration Specialties (their item 99007GRY-WS, listed for '55-'56 International trucks), which looks like a closer profile, but they want $168 for a set.
I plan on sending a sample of my original to Restoration Specialties to check the profile of their product to see if it would fit a Chevy.
I'll also send a sample to Steele to confirm their profile is correct and get a better response for whether they can match the color and what the price might be if they produce 1000 ft (which is 50 sets.) It sounds like we might have about 20 interested at this point (maybe not all of them interested in the gray-tan color.) so that might convince them that they could eventually sell those 50 sets.

As my p/u is not 100% period correct, I'll take it in orange with pink polka dots if I have to. As long as it fits right.

S2

....be what it may but a few short years ago I decided to buy the weather stripping from The Truck Shop. I don't know what shore it should have been but it felt a little softer than the ones I had gotten from Steele so I had my doubts.
I drove that panel to Homecomimg in Pa. and to the Reunion in K.C. After 7 years it still held up very well and no "wind" noise. Maybe it was just the luck of the draw and my time to win.
For those close to Charlotte N.C. you can go to Concord Mills as The Truck Shop now has a place there......and of course Denver N.C. (Steele is not far from there either)

Alvin,

Steele pointed me at The Truck Shop also, but their catalog only shows black. Might be the correct profile, or maybe they're just reselling Steele's product. I bought a few items from The Filling Station that had Steele part labels on them.

Update. I talked with Restoration Specialties, and Steele They're not really interested in making a run with the correct color.
Restoration Specialties sent me another set of samples. Their profile is very close to the original and they have gray, brown and black. The attached pics are of the samples they sent as well as what I got from Jim Carter. I also talked with Jim Carter's General Manager, and he said they had basically no complaints about their windlace and looked up how many returns they had of the windlace and it was very few.
Anyway, the pics show the samples in the windlace track on my truck, recently painted on the interior. Top is the original windlace, followed by Jim Carter's product, then the three colors from Restoration Specialties. The gray one is actually a bit of a loose fit, while the others are relatively snug in the channel. Note the position of the bulb on Jim Carter's windlace - it's further from where the door would be as well as farther from the channel which will likely cause more tendency to pucker as it turns the corners of the door opening.

Also Restoration Specialties sent me a catalog of their offerings, and they have a ton of small items, from window channels, weatherstrip, windlace to clips for trim and brake lines, and other fasteners, etc. If anyone is looking for bits for their restoration that they're having trouble finding, I'd recommend Restoration Specialties.. I talked with Jeff, the owner, and he was very helpful.

I personally like the look and shape of the brown one from restoration specialties.
Thanks for the info.

Although the one from Jim Carter matches the original color pretty well (and the interior color), I was thinking of getting the brown from Restoration Specialties also. Since the door panels on my truck are a dark brown (supposedly original color obtained from Jim Carter) the brown windlace will complement that color scheme.

The bulb on the light brown sample looks to be possibly the best one to actually make contact with the door when closed, or am I off-base in that thought???

I will be interested to hear and see how that works out on your truck Kevin.

I'm thinking that any of the 3 that Restoration Specialties has would work well. Not enough difference in them to be significant on fit. I'm waiting to pull the trigger on the brown windlace till I figure out a few other items that I might order from RS.