Technical Struggle with shoebox door weatherstripping

Hi All,

My chopped 50 ford shoebox custom didn’t have any weatherstripping on the door, or trunk when I bought it and the doors rattled a lot when driving. I bought new trunk and door seals (upper and lower) from shoebox central and installed them with 3m adhesive.

The trunk eventually closed and latched though it took a bit of time for that. It took a while to get the passenger side door to latch and even so it takes quite a bit of slamming/pushing hard to get it to do that. I took the side and door glass out for now as a precaution. I can’t get the driver side door to latch at all. There is no adjustment that I know of as it has shaved handles and poppers.

The photos below show a tie down I used from the passenger door to the driver door. It’s been almost a month and it still hasn't gotten much better. The photos show the driver side door as it sits with tension from the tie down and you can see the big gap still.

I read about baby powder but they don’t make it with talcum anymore. I thought about using a hair dryer or heat gun but worry about the paint. I already tried opening and closing the door many times (like 100 times!) Does anyone have any other tricks or suggestions? I guess eventually it will get hotter in my garage as the summer comes in but its been pretty cool here since I'm in San Diego.

 

My weatherstrip kit came from Dennis Carpenter for my 53, and it took two years for the trunk to settle down and close easily. I know it is going to cause the same issue on the doors so I have not installed it yet.

 

Oh wow! The seals that shoebox central sent me seem to originate from Dennis Carpenter (at least the packaging says Dennis Carpenter).

I don't know what else to try, maybe a hair dryer... I don't want to take the seals off or cut them off. I read somewhere the original material used on these were an open cell rubber/foam so it didn't take long for them to conform.

 

Hmmm not looking good I just found this from another post:

"I share the pain..I used Carpenter seal in my shoe box and had to adjust the latches out way too much..later discovered that the seal was about 25% too large, right shape but too large..Four years time and no differerence, got tired of slaming the doors.....Got another seal set from carpenter from a local supplier so I could check size before hand and the seal was the correct size...Carpenter admitted to nothing.."

 

25% oversize sounds like the door seals for my 1960 F100. Someone suggested using a 1/8 drill bit all the way down the rubber in order to substract some of the thickness. I dont know if that works.

 

Hmmm that's an interesting idea but would be kinda risky to the body doing that without ripping the seals off to modify them I'm guessing.

 

open the door, make horizontal drills in the rubber, no damage to paint or body

 

Hmmm yea I may have to look into removing some material unfortunately.

 

I have the same problem. I literally installed the seals two years ago and STRUGGLED to get the doors to close. Got them closed and haven’t opened them since. 2 years, no shit.

Mind you I have other toys to play with but damn I thought I was just an idiot for not installing them correctly. Now I know I am only an idiot for other reasons, not the door seals. My self esteem just went up about 10 points!

 

Oh wow that's crazy! Do you have an idea when you might open them again to see how they feel? I certainly don't want you to do that any not be able to close them or have a hard time but definitely would be interesting to know what 2 years has done.

 

I had the same if not worse problems since I had also installed bear claw latches with remote actuated solenoids.. it took a couple of years for it to settle down.. and yes the dennis Carpenter and the windshield and rear glass seals are too large or fat or whatever you want to call it.. I had to cut out 3/4 of an inch of the rear glass seal (of the length) just to make it stay on the glass long enough to get it crammed into the space. The other issue is that the rubber gets sticky.. and even when you unlatch the door the rubber sticks.. I tried talcum powder and scrubbing with soap and water and they are still sticking after 3 or 4 years.. oh well I just we will all survive

 

Thanks for sharing all that! I wonder if a heat gun can expedite things. I'm nervous to mess up my paint though but I don't know if I can wait so long for it to settle.

 

I didn't try a heat gun, but that could be a good idea, but maybe only heat only enough to feel "kinda hot", maybe 140-150 degrees... or perhaps heat the surface where they close to so the heat will transfer to the rubber over a longer period of time... not sure if that would do anything for the "sticking"... sure do wish somebody who has solved this problem to chime in....

 

Yea and I'm guessing it would be worthless to try with a hair dryer even though it might be a safer option.

 

yes a hair dryer.... that gets plenty hot...

 

Hi, I've kept the driver side door ratched with a tie down all this time. Right now I can close the passenger side a little easier but not very much, I still have to slam it very hard. I kept the window glass out of both doors until I get this resolved.

For the driver side I still can't get it to close and latch. I tried a hair dryer earlier today for a while and it didn't do very much at all. I used a heat gun on the lower setting and it didn't do much and then I tried with the high setting briefly and quickly so as to not damage the paint. It helped just a small amount but still not enough to latch. I figured not to try any more and potentially damage the paint. I'm not sure how much heat my paint can take so I put the heat gun away and ratcheted it down again. I'd like to actually drive this car again its been sitting since early April.

I know there is the option to cut some material off.. not ideal I don't want it to look very ugly...

 

Refresh my memory where did you get the door gaskets?

 

Shoebox Central and the packaging says Dennis Carpenter.

 

Same as mine.. same problems.. also the windshield gasket was too thick, and the rear window gasket was too long, cut out about an inch and it worked out fine

 

Yea I'm thoroughly annoyed right now.

 

Going through the same thing with customers 46 Packard coupe, body shop added weather strip to doors without alignment, go figure, left door won't shut, pass door stuck closed. Pulled off their crap, aligned doors and latches, measure gaps, ordered weather strip from Steele Rubber, used their website catalog for street rod weather strip selections, expensive but perfect fit. They sell all types by the foot. Check their site, very good options and info.

 

Thanks! That is great feedback. I guess I'll see what Shoebox Central says regarding my issue... I was hoping to avoid having to spend money again on the same thing.

 

They sell the weatherstripping for the 50 ford.

https://www.steelerubber.com/front-door-weatherstrip-20-2595-72
You think I need to measure and buy material by the foot from a them and not get what they carry specific to the 50 ford?

 

I just remembered.. another thing that caused an issue was the new windlass...

 

70 year old car with chopped top, hot rod door, that said I start with a door that is aligned and latches correctly, with no weather strip. Go to Menards,etc. get a couple feet of cheap A/C or window self adhesive 1/2" weather strip or maybe 3/4" , cut several 2" strip's placed around door or door opening in several spots where you want to seal, dust on talcum powder or chalk dust on strips for witness marks, close door, see what happens, sometimes several pieces of clay accomplish the same thing, kinda like checking hood to air filter clearance, once some kind of gap dimensions are established, pick what ever seal design you want, self adhesive type or some black 3M weather strip adhesive will help. Wipe surface with acetone, brake clean or alcohol not good enough.

 

Thanks, the doors were aligned great and latched correctly with no weatherstripping.
I may have to try out your suggestion to measure the correct amount of rubber needed.

 

Sometimes a wipe down with silicone spray, both on the rubber and on the surface it seals agaist will help the seal move a little as the door shuts. This one sounds worse than that,
If starting over, the best 'tool' for measuring door clearance is play dough, putty, plasticene or modeling clay.
Take an impression at several places around the door. This will be useful when looking at catalogs like Steeles etc.
Aim for a seal thar will have only about 1/16" of compression to fit. More only makes the door hard to close

 

This is what Shoebox Central said:

"For cars that have been chopped this is a very common issue. Reason being is because alot
of times when the chop is done the distance for the door seal is not accounted for. For that very reason LOTS
of chopped cars do not even have the top portion of the door seal installed. Does the top of the seal seem like
the culprit in causing the door not to close all the way? This has been a very common conversation for chopped cars
for several years. The next step to try to get the door shutting is to either start trimming up the top portion of the door seals."

I saw that for the upper seal the transition in the shape happens before the where the chop started therefore I ran it all along the door and cut it short at the end to meet the bottom seal. I don't think it's the top seal causing the issue necessarily but it's a bit hard to tell.

@'49 Ford Coupe your 49 is un chopped?

 

Stock, unchopped.

Here is a link to my website with over 3, 000 pictures and videos of building The Judge..it is just one gallery of over 50 with the details of the glass installation.

https://49fordcoupe.smugmug.com/DAMN-Windshield-gasketSS-trim/

 

That's what I thought!!

Yet another response from Shoebox Central but this wouldn't apply since yours is unchopped but I think the chop is not the issue!

"I've seen this most commonly on chopped cars. You aren't the first guy trust me. What I'd do is leave the car out in the sun so it can get really hot and compress down. Otherwise depending on how tight the clearance is from the chop you may have to shave some rubber off. I've seen metal guys gap them so tight no rubber will fit up top at all."