Door Seals

[scrappy70]

I just replaced my door seals with the "clip on" seals from classic parts of America. I'm having trouble closing the doors now and I've made several adjustments on the door side of the hinge including the door striker. The driver side will close if I slam it hard, and the passenger side will latch but then pop out on its own. Has anyone else had the same issue and if so, what did you do to fix the problem?

[jocko]

Ha. Welcome to the club. If you do a search on here, you'll find MANY threads of folks with the same problem. I have the same problem with GMC Pauls press on. High quality, Lonnnnng break-in. The most success I've heard folks have was with Dodge Dakota seals. Sorry, wish I had better news. One recommendation I received on here that made a LITTLE difference was to armor all the seals (every little bit helps). Another recommendation is to poke pinholes at regular intervals to allow air to escape. Haven't done that yet, but new (modern) seals are like that so it might work.

[leftybass209]

I agree with above. There's lots of little tricks people try to get these seals to fit better, but the fact is they were never designed for these trucks. They only collapse so far before they start to give resistance, and in our case that's well before the doors are closed.

On a side note, I was waiting for my wife at the Dr office and someone parked next to me with a 67-72 truck. He closed his door softly, and with a dull thud it latched perfectly, like a new car. I immediately hopped out and asked him what door seals it had. He didn't know, but they had been replaced.

There's some seals out there that work for these trucks, and that thing proved it! Now I need to find them!

[scrappy70]

Thanks you guys. I will try the armor all and the pin holes. GMC Paul is where I got them from. For some reason, I thought it was classic parts of America. Either way, thanks for the advice. Good luck on finding those seals.

[OregonNed]

I had great luck with the Sofseals I put on mine, but they had to be sealed with the black 3M adhesive. I just glued them a foot or so at a time and used masking tape to hold them as the adhesive set..

[cooperhw]

After reading all the horror stories on new rubber I found a guy parting out a 93 dodge Dakota. Called and asked about the door seals and he said "come on over and I'll give em to you". Put em in my 68 truck and was still just a tad tight, so I marked where it looked tight, slipped em back off, tapped the metal they clip onto in a few spots and put em back on. Now they close like a brand new truck. Seals perfectly. The used dodge seals are broken in but still look like new.

[mdeal]

Originally Posted by cooperhw

After reading all the horror stories on new rubber I found a guy parting out a 93 dodge Dakota. Called and asked about the door seals and he said "come on over and I'll give em to you". Put em in my 68 truck and was still just a tad tight, so I marked where it looked tight, slipped em back off, tapped the metal they clip onto in a few spots and put em back on. Now they close like a brand new truck. Seals perfectly. The used dodge seals are broken in but still look like new.

Did you have to cut them in any certain location? Are they molded in the same similar shape as the C10s?

[5567Cruiser]

I installed the same brand and they were tight at first and after about 2 months of using the doors and leaving in the sun a few times they now work perfect and sound like Cadillac doors when shutting.Good Luck.

[leddzepp]

Used Dakota seals worked great on my 68. Gmc Paul's took a while to break in on my 72 but they work well too.

[picklito]

I've got GMCpauls on mine and they're just too tight. Really have to slam. Getting a little bit better now, but it's been almost 3 months.

Has anyone noticed the "new" seals GMCpauls is listing on their website? S'posta be much better fit, but not available until Jan. 2016.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Is it just me or does the subject come up often?

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by 5567Cruiser

I installed the same brand and they were tight at first and after about 2 months of using the doors and leaving in the sun a few times they now work perfect and sound like Cadillac doors when shutting.Good Luck.

Seems to me the solution is to cook them in the sun just right before install.

[picklito]

Too often. The doors have been the worst part of my build. So frustrating.

[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by 71chevyshortbed402

is it just me or does the subject come up often?

x2

[cooperhw]

Originally Posted by mdeal

Did you have to cut them in any certain location? Are they molded in the same similar shape as the C10s?

they are just a little bit longer so you start at the bottom and start slipping it on the pinch welded lip fitting it as you go when you get back where you started at you cut a few inches off and slip this little piece back in that connects the two. When you put you sill plate on it will cover this joint.

[REEDS 72]

I had 3 sets of aftermarket one of them being the press on style tons of problems with all of them finally shelled out the cash for a set of nos ones problems solved........