I am in the process of stripping and parting out a 1973 240z. I have the fresh air vents out and looking at the rubber damper I see, after 40 years, that the rubber is cracked and disintegrating. Wondering if anyone has refurbished these and what was used as replacement rubber. The material is very thin and goes onto a backing plate.

I have used several things over the years, from Home Improvement store weatherstripping to headliner to Neoprene, Of the off the shelf materials, the headliner material worked the best. I bought it from a local Handcock Fabrics store, far more than I needed for $5, but it has come in handy for Door covering the rear panel on several hatches as well. Obviously color in your situation does not matter, I bought black because it was there, and I could use it elsewhere. As a material is is very supple, and forms so easily a seal is assured- I also used it on all of the crumbling foam gaskets through out the hvac/defrost systems and on the edges of the ridgid plastic interior panels to stop squeeks-even on my Z32 convertible. The foam is about 1.8" thick and compresses to nothing if look at it too hard! The covering material is seriously thin as well-seemed to me to be the perfect answer-and readily available.

Will

PS if this helps you, give Greg and Roger a hand in Phoenix if they aren't already putting you to work-tell Will sent you!

Edited July 29, 201212 yr by hls30.com

Thanks for the reply but I think your talking the vents in the heater box. I'm talking about the fresh air vents that bolt into the corners of the firewall. I didn't think to use vinyl, the only problem would using the right adhesive.