Striker plate vs weather stripping

[THE73Z]

I recently replaced my door latch (which needed to be done anyway) but it failed solve my door rattle problem. I've read Enrique's door article and I feel like I understand it. The problem is the striker plate on my car has almost no adjustablity. For some reason the holes are not elongated.

But then I remembered that the car came with new uninstalled weather stripping for the doors. It looks right for the application but seems really thick. The door fits in the opening properly, and it doesn't rattle anymore... but it takes 2 hands to close the door which is totally unacceptable.

I don't want to buy new weather stripping only to find out I already have the right stuff. And, I don't want to start drilling the striker if the weather stripping is totally wrong. So I'm hoping someone can tell me if the weather stripping I have is right or not. I currently have it installed (but not glued) in hopes that it will compress over time. I can compress it between my fingers to 5/16". Otherwise it is 3/4" wide from the body seam it rides on.

Thanks, Z

[240ZX]

IIRC, someone in the past posted about purchasing weather stripping kits that were the correct replacement however, the replacement weather stripping was on the fat side (larger than OEM). I believe it was just from a particular supplier. Might give the search function a try!

[a7dz]

The striker plate is not slotted the threaded plate behind it moves. See attached link for a picture of the door post with the fender cut away.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11821&d=1144374128

The kits sold are for 280's and the door frame on those are just a little wider from the crimp weld to the door hinge. Which makes the weather stripping hard to compress. Search for weather stripping and you will find that some of the guys have found a replacement from JC Whitney that works better.

[THE73Z]

Ok, I did the search (as I should have in the first place) and now I know that there is no simple answer to the weatherstripping problem. There doesn't seem to be any one product that everyone likes. From a few photos it looks like the 1 pc from Precision is the narrowest - although a tape measure or quarter would have helped.

Does anyone have a measurement on its thickness? And who sells it? The vendors don't seem to name the manufacturers of their weatherstripping. Is it this one from MSA?

http://www.thezstore.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=34-1075A&Category_Code=SWR01C

I am still toying with the idea of modifying what I have. What a PITA!

[THE73Z]

The striker plate is not slotted the threaded plate behind it moves. See attached link for a picture of the door post with the fender cut away.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11821&d=1144374128

The kits sold are for 280's and the door frame on those are just a little wider from the crimp weld to the door hinge. Which makes the weather stripping hard to compress. Search for weather stripping and you will find that some of the guys have found a replacement from JC Whitney that works better.

That's very helpful. That plate must be stuck. I'm sure a little love tap on the bolts will free it up. As far as the JC Whitney product is concerned, I would like to keep the moulded corner if possible, but I guess I could miter the corner and super glue it together - .

I'm going to try cutting away some of the material inside the WS tunnel with a dremel. I never dreamed this would be such a pain.

Thanks, Z

[a7dz]

Both of mine were stuck at one time as I took my car apart. Be careful when you tap on them they are not very thick and easy to strip. My 70 seal was just bent around the corner and glued in in place. the ends were at the bottom.

[Goose52]

Sorry, I was the one that posted the photos on the other thread - http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18761 I didn't think about laying out a ruler as the discussion was related more to the 1-pc vs. 2 pc configurations rather than the particular dimensions.

In any event, the link you posted to MSA is for the seal that worked on my car - 1-pc precision. If you press hard enough - this seal will compress to 3/16" against the welting.

As you noted in that other thread - no one seal works for everyone but in my case, the 2-pc (shown in your photo in the first post) absolutely wouldn't work in my car - neither would the JC Whitney. The 1-pc precision did work and my door rattles (really bad before on the passenger door) are now gone.

YMMV

[THE73Z]

Both of mine were stuck at one time as I took my car apart. Be careful when you tap on them they are not very thick and easy to strip. My 70 seal was just bent around the corner and glued in in place. the ends were at the bottom.

Well this was unexpected. The original owner covered the car with sound proofing and I guess he also filled a few cavities with expanding foam insulation. That plate isn't going anywhere. I'll have to open up the holes in the striker if I need to adjust it. This seemed like such a simple project.

Thanks, Z

[xray]

I just posted pics in the other thread of the MSA "genuine" door seal, which requires use of stock welting. I included pics of them without and with finger compression, and have to say that I think these might be the closest to stock replacement that I have come across...

Hope it helps,

Steve

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?p=173525#post173525

[THE73Z]

Sorry, I was the one that posted the photos on the other thread - http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18761 I didn't think about laying out a ruler as the discussion was related more to the 1-pc vs. 2 pc configurations rather than the particular dimensions.

In any event, the link you posted to MSA is for the seal that worked on my car - 1-pc precision. If you press hard enough - this seal will compress to 3/16" against the welting.

As you noted in that other thread - no one seal works for everyone but in my case, the 2-pc (shown in your photo in the first post) absolutely wouldn't work in my car - neither would the JC Whitney. The 1-pc precision did work and my door rattles (really bad before on the passenger door) are now gone.

YMMV

3/16" is a very nice sounding number. But, I wish I could use the stock welting. You shouldn't have to buy 3 different products to get one that works.

Thanks for the numbers, Z

[THE73Z]

I just posted pics in the other thread of the MSA "genuine" door seal, which requires use of stock welting. I included pics of them without and with finger compression, and have to say that I think these might be the closest to stock replacement that I have come across...

Hope it helps,

Steve

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?p=173525#post173525

Thank you. What I have looks identical in shape, but I think mine is more dense and yours more porous. I would think more porous would be better.

The original owner of my car got everything from MSA, so it's likely he got the WS there too. How thick is it when you squeeze it in the other direction (as the door would)?

Let me know what happens when you close your door...

The dremel worked pretty well for removing material but it's tedious work.

Thanks, Z

[Goose52]

You shouldn't have to buy 3 different products to get one that works.

Lucky for me that I live local to MSA. I ate the cost of the JC Whitney seals, but the 2-pc Precision (seal and welting) that I bought I took back to MSA and exchanged it for the 1-pc Precision. This was for the drivers door only. Once I found one that would work - then I bought for the passenger side.