1957 Door Weather Strip Installation

[Rogvh]

Well, my next project is replacing the weather-strip on the door. I bought the Daniel Carpenter weather strip as I have read that it's the best. My driver's door when closed sticks out 1/8"+ and I keep getting comments that my door isn't shut. BTW, I have adjusted the latch to a point I have to slam the door. Sooo, the weather strip tears off but leaves fragments and adhesive. While the weather strip seems surprisingly soft, the adhesive is like rock hard. I have tried Goo Gone commercial grade, 3M cleaner (I don't care that the adhesive ends up clean), 3M remover, and a heat gun gently. I work on it for a little while each day because it's miserable! I'm not happy with what I've done so far but now I'm at the front of the door. Being close to the fender and the hinges are in the way, does anyone have a trick to access this area? (No I don't want to remove the door)

 

[zeroroadkill]

Are you referring to the windlace?
Can you post a picture?

 

[Ward 57]

The doors are notorious for not fitting right. My passenger door bows out a bit at the lower rear. Someone else here also has the same issue. All the other edges fit perfectly.

 

[Rogvh]

Are you referring to the windlace?
Can you post a picture?

No

 

[jack-in-sac]

The doors are notorious for not fitting right. My passenger door bows out a bit at the lower rear. Someone else here also has the same issue. All the other edges fit perfectly.

This is so typical. My '57 has a bit of this. the doors are long and heavy, even heavier if you have power windows. This why you sometimes need to replace the hinge pins to cure door sag. the Alignment at the bottom rear of the door may be helped with the use of a 2x4 for use as a fulcrum. When I had my '57 Ranch Wagon painted I spent some time with a 2x4 aligning the doors. It was well worth the time spent.

 

[Ward 57]

This is so typical. My '57 has a bit of this. the doors are long and heavy, even heavier if you have power windows. This why you sometimes need to replace the hinge pins to cure door sag. the Alignment at the bottom rear of the door may be helped with the use of a 2x4 for use as a fulcrum. When I had my '57 Ranch Wagon painted I spent some time with a 2x4 aligning the doors. It was well worth the time spent.

I recently replaced my passenger glass as the person who replace the glass in the frame many years ago he left the lower leading edge out just a fraction of an inch and the glass cracked again. The glass can not take any type of chip on the edge.
I'm afraid if I try to correct the slight bow it with tweak the internals and cause even more problems. I cleaned and re-greased the gearbox and the power window just works perfectly.

 

[oldcarguy34]

Well, my next project is replacing the weather-strip on the door. I bought the Daniel Carpenter weather strip as I have read that it's the best. My driver's door when closed sticks out 1/8"+ and I keep getting comments that my door isn't shut. BTW, I have adjusted the latch to a point I have to slam the door. Sooo, the weather strip tears off but leaves fragments and adhesive. While the weather strip seems surprisingly soft, the adhesive is like rock hard. I have tried Goo Gone commercial grade, 3M cleaner (I don't care that the adhesive ends up clean), 3M remover, and a heat gun gently. I work on it for a little while each day because it's miserable! I'm not happy with what I've done so far but now I'm at the front of the door. Being close to the fender and the hinges are in the way, does anyone have a trick to access this area? (No I don't want to remove the door)

My suggestion would be to put two layers of masking tape with the door closed to protect the back edge of the fender and the front edge of the door. Then sacrifice a cheap putty knife and bend a "V" at the end of it and with the door open a bit, use it to scrape what you can of the adhesive after you have added some of your chemicals. Not a simple job with the door on. Be aware that the Carpenter seals are a little fat and it will be hard to shut the doors for a while. From personal experience, It could take a year or more with the doors closed to get the seals to conform. I've heard of some drilling holes in the seals to reduce their bulk. Also, heat will shrink the seals, but be extremely careful with this because the rubber will shrink AWFULLY fast