The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Quality Rubber Parts

Needing a few new rubber parts for my '52 Panel: brake/clutch pedal covers, starter boot, etc. These were new in 2000 and have already worn out ! Most came from Carter's, who I was generally pleased with service-wise. However, some of these reproduction rubber parts are very thin and made from crappy rubber. "Chev's of the 40's" lists similar parts at much higher prices, but my question is: are these parts any better quality, i.e. a better grade of rubber? Has anyone found another source for higher quality rubber parts ?

Chevs of the 40s is expensive, and I do not know if the quality of their parts is the reason for the price. They do have some parts that the others do not have, check out their catalog.

But a lot of guys will tell you that Steele Rubber has the best rubber parts. At least that holds true with their windshield and door weatherstrips.

Steele Rubber is the manufacturing source for most repro rubber, and excellent quality - about the only other choice is SoffSeal, which is much lower quality in my experience [foreign?], all the repro vendors sell the same stuff at whatever price

some vendors resell Steele products cheaper than Steele's retail price, some sell higher

Bill

I've had limited, and mixed, experience with Steele's rubber parts. The weatherstriping has been of excellent quality. The country horn grommets were less than satisfactory and quite expensive. When there is no competition a manufacturer has little incentive to make excellent products.

I have bought rubber for my truck from various places through the years. Some of it rotted quickly and some has not. The floor mat, starter pedal bellows, grommets, assorted 'bumper' plugs, pedal pads. door seals and shifter boot I bought from The Filling Station have held up well. Their cowl seals were not the greatest. You might want to contact them and ask them where they buy their stock. They are freindly helpful people there but their products are not the cheapest. I'd just call a few vendors and ask them straight out where the part in question is made before you buy. I am sure they know but not everyone is going to tell you the truth. Good Luck!

Two U.S. that actually make rubber parts are Steele and Metro Molded Parts (Minneapolis). Steele is pricey but the parts they do that are molded to steel (or brass) inserts are very good. Their extruded parts have been both good and iffy. Metro still asks you to send a cross section of the old piece to where they can match it and can correct for shrinkage.