Who needs rubber?

[conedodger]

During the restoration of my Porsche 914 I developed a relationship with a manufacturer of rubber weatherstripping. Well, more specifically, an engineer who works with manufacturing rubber parts. We were both frustrated by the complete abandonment by Porsche of parts to restore our cars. We aren't quite that bad off with the Z probably due to the Z Store project from the 90's but still, some of the rubber parts are NLA or of poor quality.

I was chatting with my friend Mark yesterday and I said that I was installing my Precision Rubber Kit and I was hoping that other stuff that wasn't available through that kit would be available through Datsun (Nissan). He offered that we could make Z car parts as well.

Now, I should tell you - what we did was to reproduce as faithfully as possible by reverse engineering the original parts when they could be found. Mark made everything from 914 Targa seals to clutch cable rollers. If he found that the original part had a longevity problem, he improved it like using aluminum when the steel mounting tabs tended to rust.

He didn't try to make money on it either. What we are trying to do is offset the cost of the R&D and set-up by making a hundred instead of the 2 we needed. In some cases, big 914 specialty stores like Automobile Atlanta did order 500 at a time but in most cases we just sold direct in group buys at very low prices.

Now here is the question. What do we need in the 240Z world that is no longer available and not reproduced?

In some cases we may need to find someone who has a NOS part they are willing to let us borrow to reverse engineer the parts. These kind souls would get their parts back intact with the only damage being they had been removed from their plastic bags.

Not trying to make money on this. In most cases, the parts we produce should be less than what Nissan sold them for. If there is interest, I will post pictures of some of the stuff Mark has made for the Porsche world.

One such project is the front bumper 'tits' that came on the 914. NLA and when they were, the were about $450 each, Mark reproduced them with stainless mounting studs instead of the originals which rusted badly for $80 each. Taillight gaskets for $2 each.

So, what should we make?

That is a pair our 'tits' on the green car in the pic. We even have the endorsement of the biggest concours weenie we know in the Porsche world. He poo-poo'd the effort until we produced something he desperately needed then tried it and bought more. Now he says Mark's work is indistinguishable from original.

Edited June 8, 2010 by conedodger

[rjracin240]

Thanks for the efforts would be interested in the grommets for the firewall and other parts. Gotta get home to take an inventory

[Zs-ondabrain]

The Engine harness firewall grommet from MSA is $45 friggen bucks for a peice of rubber.

The wiper motor firewall grommet from MSA is $25 for an ounce worth of rubber.

The radiator support wall rubber (where the harness goes thru) seems to be impossible to find. (This is the small circle of rubber that attaches to the harness feed thru hole, that keeps the harness from rubbing on the metal)

The under fender rubber strip (mounts to the body and keeps water from the wheel well from getting into the top area under the fender) Seem to be hard to find, last time I looked.

That's off the top of my head

Dave

Edited June 8, 2010 by Zs-ondabrain

[tlorber]

I've bought some replacement weatherstripping parts for my roadster that are made of neoprene instead of rubber. It seems to remain more pliable and has better longevity. Just something to consider. As far as which pieces are needed, I would think hatch seals are a pretty common problem.

[Curtis240Z]

The rubber clutch stop pad located on the firewall bracket is NLA.

[JohnnyO]

I agree that grommet costs seem out of hand. I'd be interested in a few items.

[conedodger]

Well, we certainly seem to have interest. Now all we need is for someone who has some NOS weatherstripping or grommets to allow some reverse engineering. We can work from old parts but it is a compromise.

[AZ-240z]

Well, we certainly seem to have interest. Now all we need is for someone who has some NOS weatherstripping or grommets to allow some reverse engineering. We can work from old parts but it is a compromise.

I have a small piece of NOS door weatherstripping that I trimmed off when installing. It is NOS Nissan, and just the rubber, as the weatherstrip I installed was the early two piece with separate welting which holds the rubber weatherstrips to the pinch welds on the door frame. I may even have a piece of the welting that was trimmed off, also, but will need to check. The welting appears to be a plastic with embedded metal mesh and is, also, NOS early part.

Let me know if this would help.

Dan

[conedodger]

I'm going to start with something simple. In the rear hatch on Series 1 cars there are two rubber plugs at the bottom on the inside of the hatch. I think I paid $12 for these. On the sides of the body are the two flat bumpers that guide the hatch. I think these were about the same. I will give mine to Mark for reverse engineering and I would bet we are talking a couple bucks each. Let's see...

[Arne]

Tail light seals? (Available but stupid expensive.) And what about the headlight bucket seals?

[Mike B]

This sounds familiar..... http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28957.

-Mike

[conedodger]

This sounds familiar..... http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28957.

-Mike

I had not seen that thread. I certainly don't want to step on any toes. We don't intend to try to make money at it. I am just trying to fix my car up. Perhaps if he gets back on track with this, we can coordinate.

I need taillight seals too. Anyone have a NOS set to use for reverse engineering?