Tailgate Seal

[tjsblazer]

What is everyone using for rubber for their Tailgate seal. I see aftermarket is available through the normal suppliers for at the bottom under the carpet strip but I don't see anything for the vertical pieces on each side.
Are they available somewhere, cut a bottom one shorter to fit, or ??

[hemi43]

I'm in the same boat !! I was going to wait until my tailgate was installed before fabricating something. How are your metal vertical strips? Mine are rotted !! I'll have to make new ones.

[ClassicStyle]

Mine was all one piece, it runs from the top of the bed down under the carpet strip and back up the other side. I bought it locally,from http://thechromeguy.com

[tjsblazer]

Originally Posted by hemi43

I'm in the same boat !! I was going to wait until my tailgate was installed before fabricating something. How are your metal vertical strips? Mine are rotted !! I'll have to make new ones.

Fortunately my strips were all good except for an extra hole that was welded up.

Originally Posted by ClassicStyle

Mine was all one piece, it runs from the top of the bed down under the carpet strip and back up the other side. I bought it locally,from http://thechromeguy.com

I can't find that part in a larger supplier that will ship to me. ie. LMC, Classic Industries, Classic Heartbeat, etc. I will have to keep looking.

[hemi43]

How big of a rush are you in? Once I get my tailgate painted and installed (couple weeks), I'll figure something out. I want my tailgate as air tight as possible because my exhaust exits out the back. Since these Blazers have the aerodynamics of a brick, they will try and suck the exhaust back into the passenger compartment.
SoftSeal make universal extruded seals designed for street rods, and I have a sample pack here. I'm sure something will be very close to what we need.
Hortons is located close to you (I think), and they can get these.
Dan

[tjsblazer]

No rush at all. Dan you will have 3 Blazers done before mine is.
Mine is in Body shop jail. It is "getting painted next week" ... been hearing that for the past 10 weeks.
I have seen some posts of some using some version of a garage door W/S also.

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by tjsblazer

No rush at all. Dan you will have 3 Blazers done before mine is.
Mine is in Body shop jail. It is "getting painted next week" ... been hearing that for the past 10 weeks.
I have seen some posts of some using some version of a garage door W/S also.

Yeah I saw the garage door seal. Great idea, but I'm looking for something a little less visible. I need to find out what the exact gap is between the tailgate and body. Like I said, SoftSeal makes different thickness seals that can be purchased by the foot and have a self adhesive strip for easy installation.

Here's the type of seal I'm thinking about. It's what I used on my last build and worked out perfect.

[ls1nova71]

I got mine at Classic parts, and it's all one piece just like the factory did it, so the one they sell will work. It was only like $15.

Not to hijack, but what is that red car Hemi43? '28 chevy?

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by ls1nova71

I got mine at Classic parts, and it's all one piece just like the factory did it, so the one they sell will work. It was only like $15.

Not to hijack, but what is that red car Hemi43? '28 chevy?

It's a 28 Dodge. There's build pics on my website in link below. That was too big of a project

[hemi43]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the tailgate seal was one piece. I always thought it was 3 pieces.

[1rippen6]

I think the one from LMC is long enough to run down both side and go across the bottom. May want to call and get a length from them to verify.

[pound41]

You can actually use a rubber strip that is made for the bottom of a garage door. Thats what we did when there was no aftermarket. It works better at keeping water out especially across the bottom

[grillzy]

my tailgate seal is/ was 1 piece.

[jobrla]

I have an extra seal I got from LMC, it is a 1 piece. Double ordered by mistake. It is yours if you pay shipping. PM me

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by jobrla

I have an extra seal I got from LMC, it is a 1 piece. Double ordered by mistake. It is yours if you pay shipping. PM me

Would it be too much to ask for you to take a close up picture of it so I could see what the profile looks like? Thanks

[ls1nova71]

Originally Posted by hemi43

Would it be too much to ask for you to take a close up picture of it so I could see what the profile looks like? Thanks

This is what mine looks like, dont remember the brand though, probably Counterpart.

[1rippen6]

Originally Posted by jobrla

I have an extra seal I got from LMC, it is a 1 piece. Double ordered by mistake. It is yours if you pay shipping. PM me

If tj passes I would be interested.

Thanks,
Dwayne

[tjsblazer]

Originally Posted by jobrla

I have an extra seal I got from LMC, it is a 1 piece. Double ordered by mistake. It is yours if you pay shipping. PM me

Thank you very much, I will PM you an address.

[dirish]

Got mine off ebay, was precision brand. Laid in one piece, clamp style carpet strip.

[hemi43]

Here's why I'm getting confused with the rear seal. The pictures show what's left of my original tailgate seal, and it's totally different than the rest of the ones pictured here. The rubber of my seal is molded around the reinforcement, and I'm fairly certain that there were 3 separate pieces to seal the tailgate. Keep in mind that my Blazer is a 1970 which may make a difference.

[IronCanine]

Dan...I've never seen seals with metal like that (which means nothing). Do you have the metal strips that clamp the vertical part of the seal to the bedside? Or was it just the rubber covered metal strips you have pictured? My truck was a '70 as well, and while my carpet/mat strip and the rubber seal were gone, the metal strips (which in the case of my truck appear to have been installed when the bed was painted at the factory) were there. I've attached some pics that I had hoarded from this site and elsewhere on the web for reference. I don't think they answer any questions, but they show a red 1970 Blazer with flat carpet strip (too small to glean much and it's clearly at least had the carpet replaced)...a low mileage yellow 71 Jimmy with clamp style strip...a very nice blue 72 survivor Blazer with clamp style, and another pic of Don's final "re-engineered" set up (his was also a 1970). His truck was very complete and original before he started his resto...though it's hard to say if the wide seal he pictured in his demo thread (the link in my previous post) was a factory piece.

...Dwayne's parted a ton of Blazers and he's got the "holy grail" dealer's parts book...maybe he can help us out on what you have pictured.

[JeffD72]

Originally Posted by hemi43

Here's why I'm getting confused with the rear seal. The pictures show what's left of my original tailgate seal, and it's totally different than the rest of the ones pictured here. The rubber of my seal is molded around the reinforcement, and I'm fairly certain that there were 3 separate pieces to seal the tailgate. Keep in mind that my Blazer is a 1970 which may make a difference.

My 1971 K5 has the same pieces. Sadly, they are in worse shape than yours.

[dirish]

Originally Posted by JeffD72

My 1971 K5 has the same pieces. Sadly, they are in worse shape than yours.

They were molded into the pieces on the sides, but 72 were just secured by the trim pieces. I believe the carpet strips were used in different configurations ( front/rear being same or diferent, mine are different I have seen front strip on the rear also).
All that to say, I would use seal trim, and be done with it.Attachment 1496296

[1rippen6]

I've never had a 70 but I will look in the book and see if I can figure anything out. I have a lead on 2 '69s so if I get them maybe that will shed some light.

[hemi43]

The pictures I posted above are the two vertical strips that go on each side of the bed. I still have the original horizontal strip, and it looks almost identical to the last picture above of the green truck. I'll post a picture of it later today.
Thanks.