The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Doors 57 3100 Door Weatherstrip

Ok; I have been having trouble getting my doors to close so I checked out the discussions on this site to see why. I decided that perhaps the doors had the wrong rubber so I looked for advice on which manufacturer's weatherstrip to use. I bought it and the metal strips for the bottom of the doors.

I removed one door's weatherstrip yesterday; cleaned the surface of all adhesive and followed the instructions exactly for using the Permatex adhesive. It worked. Well; kind of. I seemed to have a choice. I could put a tapered side toward the door jam or a 'lip edge'. The one I took off had the lip edge in so that's how I installed it. I now have exactly the same condition that I had before. The door just doesn't want to close. What's up? My trouble seems to be along the forward edge of the door at the cowl area.

The metal strips didn't come with instructions (neither did the rubber for that matter). I don't see anything on the bottom of the doors where screws would have held those strips on. Did I need them? If so, where do they go?

the strips on the bottom do help in keeping that section of the rubber from getting trashed quickly, it tends to sag and get mangled - the screw holes may have been filled sometime, they should be there, right along the slight ridge the rubber sits on - an original [after chem strip and sitting for years ] - it just jams against the rubber where there's a slight sholder it sits on, keeps it from getting stuck against the step when cold and wet and getting pulled every time the door is used

if the weatherstrip is the right stuff [Steele, from many vendors] it has the pegs that go in the holes and has corners molded, so the piece should only be able to go on one way - the higher lip toward the opening - note little clips at the bend also, they're factory

the closing problem is prolly adjustment, maybe need a wider gap at the front, less at back, and maybe they need to be adjusted slightly outward .... the TF doors are definitely a bear to get right, I'd bet the assembly line guys cussed'em all day long

Bill

Thanks Bill. I've adjusted the forward edge of the door 'out' as far as it will go without rounding out the hinge holes more. I've also pushed the door as far to the rear as it will go without rounding out those holes. It seems like it would be appropriate to move both directions about 1/8" or so. It doesn't seem right that I'd have to cut those hinges. Your thoughts?

Oh; the rubber is installed as your picture shows.

geez Jerry, without seein it I just can't say - I've closed a piece of 2x4 in the hinge side to persuade it, and the ol 57 got a portapower across the drivers opening and across the cab to boot, but I knew that one had been in a wreck ... have you tried out at top/in at bottom and the reverse? if both doors act just the same, maybe adjust the strikers and latches? .... was that profile rubber on it when you got it?

I have seen different profile rubber on a couple trucks, roundish instead of the tear shape that's on most, although the round rubber from SoffSeal is definitely too big .... Steele does have 2 different numbers listed, you might give them a call

Bill

The new rubber is the same as the old and looks just like yours. That's interesting about pushing the bottom in. I have been trying to pull the top out. But, if you look at the location of the top hinge, moving the bottom hinge in will push the top out. I'll give that a shot.

This truck only has 20K miles on it and I'm pretty sure it's never been wrecked.

Jim; thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.

Quick question. I noticed if I adjust the striker and latch I could get the door to hold more snug. I ran in the get a phillips screwdriver only to find the screw head requires a type of driver I do not have handy. It appears to be in the form of an 8. Any quick advise?

You need a Clutch-Head screwdriver -- Classic Parts sells a set of 4 for $18:
See Here

Thanks Alan. I've seen those in the various catalogs and just figured they were for clutch adjustment.

Buy a set at Home Depot/Lowes and couple other box stores and save the shipping.

When removing the weatherstrip as it goes around the front of the door behind the hinges it is difficult to get access to remove the old rubber and glue. It seems the only way to get access is to remove the door from the frame. The opening is not large enough. Any suggestions?

I didn't have any trouble ... I *did* put some masking tape in that area to be sure not to scratch the body:
See Here

But you sure don't have to remove the door.

Thanks Alan- BTW I also own a fender of another sort and that would be a 1964 Stratocaster. Noticed you play a acoustic guitar. I was'nt able to hear the audio as my speakers on this windows 98 don't work anymore. I'll check out your tunes on my office machine. I used to play with an old Chicago bluesman, King Ernest. He last recorded with Aligator records just before the car accident that took his life. I don't think it gets any better than an old truck and an old guitar. Be Well, Strat

Hey, Strat

Yup. All acoustic ... my favorite, of course, is my 1968 Gibson Hummingbird but I also have a new acoustic-electric Takamine.

PS - If you have an MP3 player, all 60 songs on my site are free full-length downloads.

I'm back. I did adjust the bottom of the door out and that seemed to help. I'm still having trouble though. It seems that the rubber is binding in the area adjacent to the top of the fender. It seems like I should be lifting the door. Is there an adjustment up? Is the adjustment in the door or the door jam?

you might get a very slight up/down with the door side of the hinges - also by letting the top out to 'tip' the door to the rear, if the gap around allows it - that area around the dog leg is always a problem, I'd bet the assembly line guys cussed it all day long

Bill

I purchased a set of weatherstrip from The Truck Shop here in Fullerton CA. The sales assistant advised glue is not necessary as the rubber has clips imbedded every 4 inches or so that match up pretty closely to existing screw holes. I've progressed behind the hinges and now I need to figure out how to fasten the bottom edge as there seems to be no holes to match the clip locations. Either drill or glue, I'll figure it out tomorrow morning when there is better light.

Jerry- Your 57 is in great shape as are the Impala and 225. Is the paint a stock 57 Chevy color? Either way it is a good color for the truck. What type of wood is used in the bed?

stratkat - there should be holes for the rubber clips + holes to screw on the ss strip that is supposed to be there to hold the rubber [see towards bottom here - also a good idea to use the glue around the dogleg

Bill

stratkat64: Thanks for the compliments on the cars. The Buick and the truck are nice driver quality cars. I'd put both of them in the #3 category. The truck was an Air Force truck so the original color was OD Green. This paint has a lot of metalflake in it and was put on the truck in 1969. The truck was bought in Charlotte, NC and later moved to San Diego, CA for sale. That's where I bought it. It's a good solid vehicle and was supposed to have had 18,000 miles on it when I bought it. I believe that is true but can't confirm it except that I have the registration slips from 1969 to present and it looks like the truck was bought with only 1100 miles on it. I don't know what the Air Force did with it to only put 1100 miles on it in 12 years.

Welcome to Stovebolt. This is a great place to share stories about your truck and get valuable information. There are some true experts lurking in these forums.

Bill: I bought the stainless strips for mine but didn't find any holes in the bottom of the door for it.

All: How much gap do you have between the top of your doors and the door frame? I'm wondering if I need to lift my doors a bit. Are they adjustable up and down? Thanks.

from the outside, there should be about the same gap at the top as there is front and back, and both halves of the hinges should have a small amount of up/down movement

what I always do is leave the hinge bolts slightly loose and close the door, levering it as needed to get the best position, then tighten bolts from inside the cab - you can tighten enuff of them to secure it then open the door for final tightening

also, I'd make the holes and install the retainer, the rubber always comes loose at the bottom eventually - I think that piece was a "running change" that was added after 55, and may not have been used at all plants

Bill

Thanks Bill. Sounds like a plan. I'll give it a shot.