An Answer for Your (240z) Weather Stripping Prayers: McMaster-Carr

[Tweeds]

DISCLAIMER: I did this on a '71 240z - I cannot confirm this works for later models.

 

Preliminary Notes:

In searching for new weather-stripping, I came across many forum posts recommending late 90's to early 2000's Kia Sportage weatherstrips. In some of the comment sections there was mention of McMaster-Carr, and one thread dedicated entirely to this stripping. I followed exactly what the guy did in his post, so I am ripping him off, however I thought it'd be worth making a post of my own not only to back up his findings, but also to (hopefully) give this weatherstripping a bit more publicity. 

Now, I originally had Precision's weatherstripping set, however their stuff made it impossible to close the doors, and was a bitch to get on in the first place. I looked into the Kia Sportage, however the weather stripping was discontinued, making it both very hard to find and exceedingly expensive. McMaster-Carr's weathersrtipping is everything you'd want - it's relatively inexpensive, easy to install (no glue required), and well made. I spent $80 in all (for both doors!) not including shipping, and the weatherstipping arrived 1-2 days after order. I may have bought more than I needed, but even so, it cost around half of anything else.

 

Parts Bought:

I bought two different kinds of weather-stripping from McMaster-Carr: 25ft of 1120A331 and 10ft of 1120A581. 331 is a bit smaller than the 581, however 331 is too small for the upper parts of the doors. Originally I only used 331 for the whole door, however, after vigorously spraying the car, water was allowed in at the top of the door - with the 581 this did not happen. This is evidenced by the third picture, where you can see a line of water across the weatherstripping that the water does not go below - if it did, I would have gotten wet. The forth and fifth picture are taken directly below, perpendicularly to the weatherstripping, and you can see quite obviously in the fifth picture that the 331 does not extend far enough to cover the gap of the original weatherstripping (this is where the original silver paint of the car meets the newer red), whereas the majority of the silver is obscured by the 581. 

 

Instillation:

First, I cut the weatherstripping in half, leaving me with two 12.5 ft. pieces of 331, and 5 ft. pieces of 581. Next, you measure the length from the top corner of the door, down to about where the side window ends. You'll cut a little more than this length from the 581 - one cut will be at a 45 degree angle so the 581's will meet nicely in the corner, and the other end will be where you will connect the 331 to the 581. You connect the 331 to the 581 by cutting about an inch of the vinyl part off of the 331, leaving just the rubber hose, and inserting the 331 hose into the 581. You do the same with the other connection. [NOTE: Before you make the 45 degree cuts on the 581, practice making these cuts on the 331 and connecting them at the corner such that they fit flush together (something like in the picture) as, by the end of this, you will have plenty of excess 331, but you will use all of the 581. Making the 45 degree cuts aren't hard, it's quite intuitive, but it's best to figure it out by trial and error with the 331 before you make any permanent decisions (and mistakes) with the 581.] You make the other 45 degree cut on the longer piece of 581 and run it as far as it goes down the frame, connecting it with 331. Cut the 331 to the necessary lengths such that the tube inserts into the 581, and the vinyls of both kiss each other.  It's easiest to start at one connection of the strips, get that one right, and then cut the other half as necessary to acquire the desired result. The stripping holds on to the door by a pinch welt, so all you really have to do is push it on with your fingers, though you could use a rubber mallet if you needed to. Also, don't pull the weatherstipping itself while applying, just press it down naturally - pulling it will allow it to invariably move back to it's natural length, thus not resting in the position you had intended worst case scenario leaving gaps at the seams. Be careful when applying on any curved parts of the door, such as the bottom right and left - you want to be sure they fit snugly on those corners, not letting them come off their grip as you continue farther down the weatherstripping. 

 

Conclusory Notes:

As you can see in the second to last picture, the design of the Precision stripping is entirely different. The Precision rubber, particularly on the curved bit, is far too thick and rigid, not allowing the door to fully shut. The design of Precision's is a bit more like OEM stripping in that, rather than be a full circle of rubber, it's only about half a circle - not connecting unto itself. Also, the lip where the Precision stripping fastens to the door is far too short to get a good hold, so it requires glue to hold it in place, and then a separate piece of vinyl over top of it to further hold it steady - a piece of vinyl which, if you wish to suffer through installing the Precision stuff,  you hopefully kept from the original stripping, and a piece of vinyl that comes pre attached to the McMaster. 

The door closes all the way with McMaster (evidenced by the door being locked in the final picture as the lock won't engage otherwise), though it does require a bit of force. This, however, could be chalked up to the fact I only just installed the stripping, so it hasn't had time to 'break-in', as it were. The corner piece with the 45 degree cuts may also need some slight pruning.

When testing the reliability of this stripping, I absolutely blasted the doors with a hose, subjecting it to forces and quantities of water no storm short of a CAT5 hurricane could posses. I even blasted directly into the seams of the doors, but the stripping still held strong. Water did, however, just barely find it's way into the bottom of the door, but I think this is because I need to replace some gaskets. At any rate, McMaster-Carr survived my brutal tests. Hopefully the weather-stripping stays as resilient as it is now after it breaks in, otherwise I have jumped the gun on this post. 

I have yet to do the driver side, so if anyone wants me to make a video of that installation to better explain the process, I'm willing to do so - but you'd better ask fast because I plan to do it tonight or tomorrow. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. 

[cgsheen1]

Just as a side note, this type of side-bulb welt can be acquired from many different sources including Amazon. Just be sure the "bulb" is large enough diameter to fill the largest gap space you have between door and body. If your door is still a bit hard to close after installing this type of welt, it's likely due to a place where the gap is much too small and part of the door is actually hitting the "pinch" portion of the welt. The bulb is generally super soft. You may need to adjust the flange (ya, bend it in a bit) on the body at the pinch point to increase the gap a bit. 

[adivin]

I'm going to give the McMaster Carr stuff a try.  I have tried Precision and Vintage Rubber with no luck.

[Tweeds]

On 8/27/2022 at 6:34 PM, adivin said:

I'm going to give the McMaster Carr stuff a try.  I have tried Precision and Vintage Rubber with no luck.

Yeah, I had used Precision first to no avail. From what I remember, it was super hard to get the lip of the rubber to stay on around the door without using some kind adhesive or clamp arrangement as you worked your way around, and then you had to put that hard piece of vinyl over that. Suuuppper annoying, especially to get it perfect. The McMaster stuff combines the rubber and vinyl in one, so all you really gotta do is run it along the door and cut it to length. Fast, simple, effective. The only thing you gotta make sure is that you get a good seal where you mate up the weatherstipping, and goodbye water.

If you still get water through your door, odds are the weatherstipping on the outside part of the window are trashed. Mine sure are - dryrotted to Hell.

[adivin]

I got the McMaster stuff in and it looks promising.  It's definitely more compliant.  However, it doesn't seem that it's going to stay on the door flange without some type of sealant.

[SteveJ]

I bought some generic door weatherstrip from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NELWRJ4

I believe it worked well, and it installed easily. I go into more detail in my thread on waking up my 73.

[adivin]

32 minutes ago, SteveJ said:

I bought some generic door weatherstrip from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NELWRJ4

I believe it worked well, and it installed easily. I go into more detail in my thread on waking up my 73.

Did you have to use adhesive?  Tweeds, what say you?

[SteveJ]

6 minutes ago, adivin said:

Did you have to use adhesive?  Tweeds, what say you?

No, it clamps onto the ridge around the doorframe, just like the stock weatherstrip.

[adivin]

12 hours ago, SteveJ said:

No, it clamps onto the ridge around the doorframe, just like the stock weatherstrip.

It seems like a very loose fit. Did you just press it on, or did you have to crimp it or anything?

[SteveJ]

No, it's not a loose fit. You press it on.

[26th-Z]

I just ordered some footage from McMaster.  I've ordered stuff from them before.  All good high quality.  Anxious to see how it looks and fits.

[adivin]

Well, this was a win!  Thanks for posting this Tweeds.  Cutting the 45s and getting them to match up nice is the hardest part.