I'm getting ready to order all weatherstripping/seals/felts/etc for my car. I'm always looking to save a buck so in comparing prices between Dennis Carpenter, RubberTheRightWay, Obsolete and Steele, I notice everything that Steele sells is almost double the price of the others. Steele has a good reputation but I'm inclined to go with RubberTheRightWay as they have everythng I need, in stock and at good prices. I'd like everything to fit and not look like it was made in Bangladesh! For those who've used their products, is there a big difference in quality/durability/etc between the vendors or are all products made overseas in the same factory and simply marked up in price by each vendor?
You get what you pay for as with most I have used them all. Steele is superior and when it comes to weather seals I want the best.
I noticed a Steele and DC make their own parts. Not sure about the Rubber the right way. some resellers on eBay just sell old DC stock. Double check the pricing on rubber also check the part number. After shopping for my 57. I got most of it at DC. As they combine shipping. I got some pretty pricey rubber for my Cadillac from Steele. And it almost ripped installing. there is a slo Metro Rubber but I noticed some of these companies either having exclusive parts. Of just not making certain parts anymore. Is Obsolete part of the Mac’s groups either way I stay away from Mac’s as they seems to be resellers and pricy shipping for some reason on rubber I would tend to stay with made in states stuff. Unless they have a good return policy. Double check your parts when you get them in.
I got almost all of mine direct from Dennis Carpenter, mainly because I figured getting the stuff direct from the manufacturer has got to result in the freshest rubber. Most of the distributors get their stuff from DC, so why not buy direct. I ***ume the "Obsolete" Evintho refered to is Obsolete Ford in Oklahoma City........their old name. It is now Cl***ic Auto Parts.
Carpenter's stuff may or may not be made overseas (china). Steel advertises all USA made. Make your decision based on that.
When Dennis Carpenters son took over, a lot of the rubber goods are now offshore made and no longer the quality of the past. We have had some members even complain about things like motor mounts and suspension bushings cracking in under a year of use. So don't let price be your guide, it won't be worth it in the long run. One item Steele does not make are the air duct rubbers, even they get them from Carpenter mine fell apart in about six months as they are very thin, almost all vendors get them from them. Ran across a guy on facebook who is making them from leather, I'll see if he will be doing more and post contact info here when he does.
I bought a lot from Steele and the quality is good. These guys are pretty good too. I got my fuzzies from them. https://www.frpartsstore.com/index.htm
My experience with Dennis Carpenter rubber has been very good overall, the air duct rubbers Jeff talked about are the only ones I know of that are reproduced and they don't hold up, excuse my comparison but they are like a condom, thin and are for temporary use. I talked to Dennis about 6 years ago about the product and told him I was the Administrator of the '54 Ford Club of America trying to convince him I was someone he should listen too, he ***ured me that the problem would be corrected and within a couple of months I received a set in the mail with a phone call telling me he had a different company making the air duct rubbers from a premium material. The new ones looked exactly like the ones in the past and lasted about six months before splitting like the previous ones. HRP
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