1962 weather stripping prevents door closing properly

[Richar B]

I have had 3 bullet birds over the last several years. A problem I’ve had with all of them is the door window trim. If it is intact the outer flap makes it almost impossible to shut the door properly. Does anyone have a fix for this? My earlier Tbirds had the outer flap cracked and missing so the windows went up fairly easily.

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[biddle]

You can omit "Thunderbird" from the subject on future posts to shorten it since we are an all Thunderbird site. Also, I updated your subject "1962 Thunderbird window weatherstripping" which could mean anything. The more specific you are, the more responses you will receive.

 

[Hadderz]

I feel your pain! I've restored my car and using a weather stripping set purchased from one of the TBird suppliers, found it a right faf to get the door glass and the door fit correctly. I've tried various rubber lubricants and still, you have to compromise on the window to seal fit or end up having to manually push the glass into line. On one side I have trimmed so of the rubber but I know this shouldn't be done. I recently noted on a forum that it's the 'copy' rubber seals that are crap and you can get better-made versions - I don't know which or where sorry.

 

[Frankie the Fink]

Its pretty universal with classc car repro rubber; its so bad in some cases windshield stainless trim can't even be installed properly.
I know some Chevy owners actually "shave" the trim to get an acceptable fit, in some cases the rubber will take a "set" after a while and allow doors to close and windows to operate, but not always.

 

[Richar B]

I feel your pain! I've restored my car and using a weather stripping set purchased from one of the TBird suppliers, found it a right faf to get the door glass and the door fit correctly. I've tried various rubber lubricants and still, you have to compromise on the window to seal fit or end up having to manually push the glass into line. On one side I have trimmed so of the rubber but I know this shouldn't be done. I recently noted on a forum that it's the 'copy' rubber seals that are crap and you can get better-made versions - I don't know which or where sorry.

Nice to kno it’s not just me. My other two Tbirds had old window gaskets that were so cracked the outer flap was mostly gone and the windows closed fine. This new one was so bad that I decided to by replacement gaskets. The new gaskets look beautiful but the glass just jammed against the outer flap if you tried to close the door with the glass all the way up. I finally took a razor and carefully cut the outer flap to a narrower depth. It’s better but not perfect. Since I’ve seen this problem in all the bullet birds I’ve owned, I think it was a design flaw in the cars. I’d love to see an original car that worked to see if they all do it or if it’s a flaw in the shape of the reproduction gaskets. Thanks for your input.