Question about front fender weatherstrip

[SuomiZ]

I've heard people say that I should go to Home Depot and buy their weathership material for some of the foam-like strips under my front fender. I did buy the MSA inner to outer fender weatherstrip pieces.

What about those square pieces on the top of the inner fender. Any recommendations? What's there now (see picture) has crumbled to dust.

[EScanlon]

Closed Cell Foam.

The same stuff you would buy to put between a camper / top and the sides of a pick-up truck. You can get it in various thicknesses and widths.

Do NOT use plain old foam as it's more than likely OPEN cell foam. Another name for open cell foam is SPONGE, definitely NOT what you want under your fender.

The Camper / Top closed cell foam can be obtained at RV shops, but it can also be found at home building supply homes since that's the stuff they pack around air conditioners etc.

You can usually tell if it's closed cell or open cell by looking at the foam itself. If the bubbles are generally even sized and tiny and it has somewhat of a shine (gloss), then it's closed cell (very obvious on one side of the foam usually). Open cell has a tendency to have irregular shaped bubbles and in different sizes. As a second test, squeese a small piece of it. Open cell will generally spring back readily, closed cell will take more time. Note that this is a general rule of thumb and not a definitive mode of identifying between the two.

As far as thickness don't get carried away. While it does need to be thick enough to give support to the fender in those areas, you do NOT want it so thick that it ends up crushed and therefore pushing on the metal as the distortion on the metal WILL be noticeable.

Lastly, since you have the fenders off, do yourself a favor and extend the cowl drain hose all the way OUT from underneath the fender.

Here are a couple of links to help you understand what I'm referring to:

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19467

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24649

And some pictures:

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2601&cat=500&page=5&sortby=v&sorttime=all&way=asc

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2602&sortby=v&sorttime=all&way=asc

FWIW

Enrique

[Zs-ondabrain]

I personally went to the store and bought one of those 1/2" thick foam soda can insolators. You can pick them up at your local craft store like I did.

Anyways, it's a soft yet thick foam (Neoprene I think) so I just made a slice down one side and cut the bottom off. Cut the peices to fit and glue them on. It'll last WAY longer than the desintegrating foam that WAS on there.

I attached a picture that you can kinda see what I'm talking about. You'll never see them again so color doesn't matter.

Edited November 30, 2009 by Zs-ondabrain