supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

So, I finally got my car back together and put my weather stripping in last night. I didnt have any hardware on it so I had to go adjust everything. What a pain. Anyways, the t-tops have to be forced into the T bar and when I adjusted everything they dont seem to be tight but the glass looks like it is bowing in the middle and not sealing against the new weather stripping. I did remove the plastic edge molding since most of it was gone or craced. Is that normal to be that tight in the T bar until it gets formed?

Also, this kit looks totally different from my original weatherstripping and the corners are rock hard and dont allow me to roll my windows up while the doors are closed. I have to open the door, roll the window up, then push on the glass and slam the door at the same time. I can still see little gaps on the corners where it is not touching the window glass (where the top meets the glass). Is that normal?

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

Where did you get the weatherstripping - what brand is it?

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

I picked it up from summit. It was the large kit and came with everything. Dont recall the brand, but it said GM parts restoration certified on the box. Fit was excellent compared to the Soft Seal door weatherstripping which I was not happy with.

Went out at lunch today and things seem to be forming where they need to. The windows still wont roll up for a good seal and they are tight. Maybe another day in the sun then re-adjust the tops and go from there. I am pretty sure they are going to leak a little though, no car washes for this car.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

If they came in a black and gold box, they are OER. Those are the same ones sold by Hawks. Glad to hear that they seem to be working out because I was leaning towards buying these. Post up some pics of your results, if you get a chance.

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, they are OER. There seem to be some good ideas in them for water control. It would be hard for me to explain, I would just have to post up some pictuers tonight. I need to update my build thread anyways.

RyanEricW

I just replaced mine, and I tell ya.....it took all 270lbs of force I can give to get it seated the first time. You really have to shove it in there while being carefuly not to scratch your paint or t-bar, but once you get it on, leave it there for a day or two to let it form.
I seriously thought I did something incorrectly when I went to put on my t-tops, you just need to push it, and perhaps have a friend help push as well.

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Thanks Ryan. That post makes me fee better. I adjusted mine kinda up and I seriously thought something was wrong cause I was shoving the t-tops so hard into the T panel. I will just make an adjustment in a day or two after things settle.

My car may be fast, but it is an ugly F-body. I am not too worried about the paint.

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

This is a pic of the installed weatherstripping.



This is the section that is hard and pushes the window out unless I open the door, roll the window up, push on the glass, and slam the door.



The little nub sticking up is a rain guard. It seals up against the T-top, should work pretty well. Notice the little cubby for the T-top weather stripping in. It dosent quite fit well on my car, the corner is real stiff.



This is the rear section. You can see the little lip just behind the window, it runs all the way down to direct water. This is all stuff that my original didnt have.

RyanEricW

No problem, I know we all have been there once or twice if we were brave enough to do the work ourselves.

By the way, is that a clock in your center console area? LoL
Ballin dude

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, it works too! Found it in a 84 base model V-6 camaro. Had a stick and everything. All I did was get the 6spd sticker from Hawks and a shifter boot from ebay.

scottmoyer

Glad I bought GM originals. Absolutely no fit issues at all. The ttops lock in the exact same as they did before. You shouldn't have to shape the weatherstripping or apply 270 lbs of anything to make them work.

RyanEricW

You paid GM price for that convenience. lol

jkrustchinsky

ill tell ya, ive read alot of threads and im gonna pay the gm price, once i find a set i wont hesitate to pay whatever it takes

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

I think I may go the same route. OER changed the design in the front of the seal. It might be worth the extra money to avoid the hassles.

scottmoyer

Not sure what you paid for the OER, but OEM (GM Stuff) cost me less than $250 for the set!

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

Scott - where did you buy that, and how long ago? Most GM sets I have seen that include the body seals and the t top edge seal are around 450 bucks.

scottmoyer

Bought it 2 years ago from the local dealer. Look at GMpartsdirect and the prices are similar to what I paid. Just see if your dealer will give you a good deal. You never know unless you ask.

Oh, and I only bought the body weatherstripping, not the piece that is on the ttop itself.

RyanEricW

Just the body? I bought the complete set of weatherstripping for the entire car. Doors, trunk, tops, drip edge, body, even the triangles (Which i didn't end up needing on a 92) lol. Was like $400~

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

What brand weatherstrip did you use on the t top?

jeff_blake

iTrader: (1)

haha yeah, iroc has one too. not wired up though.

jeff_blake

iTrader: (1)

nice install, looks clean. I'm curious as to how it all works out. unfortunately it's that time to re do mine again.

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

Well after leaving the car in the sun for two days, then readjusting the t-tops to fit properly, this kit sucks! Now mt T-tops sits right, but the -top seal is about a 1/4" away from the window. That wasnt the only problem, I thought the main problem was where I was pointing, it is, but the bigger problem is by the rear of the door, the rubber is so hard that it pushes the window out right off the bat! It never has a chance to get in the groove and seal. Guess I am going to have to break down and get a new set of weather stripping!

I did the google thing and it led me to plenty of threads where people had too many issues with OER stuff not fitting, leaking, hard to install, and improperly sealing. Expensive lessons learned the hard way! I heard the metro had good seals, on par with GM stuff.

In short, get original GM seals, or metro. STAY AWAY FROM OER FOR T-TOPS!!

kitt_me

iTrader: (3)

Anyone has part numbers for GM weatherstrips complete for t top car?
Whats Metro??

thegooseman

navy02ws6

GM seals are nice if money is no object, but I can't justify spending $800 on weatherstripping for a car I paid $400 for. I'll be going with the super-cheap 8 piece kit on eBay for $220/shipped. If it fits, great. If not, I'll make it fit.

And if the interior stays dry in the rain, that's a plus.

Metro is another cheap supplier for aftermarket weatherstripping. Very popular apparently, and not to be confused with Metra, who makes extremely poor quality trim kits and harnesses for installing aftermarket radios.

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

I found GM t-top seals for less than $350 on GM parts direct. Once I get the money, I will probably pick them up. I am going to try and cut some slots into the OER to try and soften it up so I can get the windows to roll up with the doors shut. I will also pull the seals from the t-tops and move the bracket around to try and get them to make contact with the windows again. I tried heating the problem areas with my heat gun last night and compressing it with an extention, but it didnt do anything.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

Do you think if you closed it and left it like that for a few days it would compress the way it is supposed to? The material is not spongy?

supr_fly03

iTrader: (2)

I did leave it like that, for two days in the New Orleans sun, high humidity and it has been between 95 and a 100 the last two days.

The corners and ends are not soft, or spongy. They are rock hard rubber that is hardly not compressable or flexible. It is so hard that when I close my drivers door, it rips the plastic pin out of the door jamb.

865sp

My oer had the same problem and they wouldn't seal to the outer edge of the body at all,i took them off and the place i got them replace them with what they said was a updated set, but i haven't put them on yet, may i should see if they give me my money back to buy some GM's

Jay

iTrader: (2)

Bought the GM kit and installed it 3 years ago. No fitment issues, zero water leaks since.

camaro211z28

I know this is an old thread but I just bought hawks third Gen ttop weather stripping and I have noticed that where the ttop strip meet the corners of the around seal, it's just flat and Butts up against it.. I thought the factory sets have a lip on the body seal and the ttop strip corners sits inside the lip when ttop is on car. that's how 4th gens are and as I can remember my 3rd Gen factory set was like this also. I don't know how to post pictures otherwise I would.

DonW

Yep, thats the way they are and a perfect candidate for a leaking area. Best tip I know is to use black silicone adhesive all down the j-channel and also on that flat spot where there is no j-channel. Yes, its going to **** someone off in 10 years when they go to change them out, BUT, that stuff is great and well worth not having any water get into it to rust things out.

DonW

after re-reading your post, I think I read it wrong...

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

There is no lip on the factory seal where the t top sits.

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

There are a 2-3 factory updates for the seals. The last update (around 91) has a drain lip and gutter on the body side (a and b pillar) seal where the ttop seal sets into it.

camaro211z28

that's exactly what I'm talking about.. so they started this drain lip in 90?

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

Some info here but no pictures
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/exte...92-gm-nos.html

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

The gutter ran down the side of the body, by the window. There was never a lip that the t top fit into. The pic below shows how the gasket should sit.

camaro211z28

not the area I was talking about.. it's the corners on the a and b pillar. where the ttop glass seal touches the surround seal

camaro211z28

but apparently I jut learned that they had different designs of weather stripping through out the years

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

Not much different. The difference was the rain gutter added by the weatherstripping by the windows. It was added to help drain water out of the channels between the inner and outer parts of the weatherstripping.
You can see the gutter in this pic of my car. Most of the repro seals have this, as well as the last GM design.
There are some you should never use such as OER. That seal is crap.

camaro211z28

right area but wrong type of seal.. how do you post pics?

camaro211z28

what I'm talking about is in this thread, it's posted by supr_fly03.. it's the 3rd picture you see his a pillar and steering wheel.. notice his has a lip on the bottom on the seal, as for 82tarecaro see how yours is flat and just cut on a slant. I have the slant right now ( ordered it from hawks. it's hawks brand and I hate it. I want to know if supr_fly03 is factory or aftermarket and where to get it?

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

That pic shows the change made in the t top seals. It was the only change made. So what it is your alluding to, I am not sure. All the rest of the weatherstripping, whether it is GM, or aftermarket, sealed around the t top the same way. The only channel that the t top lip fits into is a metal channel on top of the t part of the roof. It is not part of the weatherstrip. You can see the lip and the entire seal in this pic.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

OK I got what you are looking at now. That seal is OER. For some reason they changed their weatherstrip to their own design and it was the reason the OP had issues. If you look at my pic, the GM and the aftermarket had that angular design where the seal met the outer seal on the t top. I did notice that over the years, GM made that angle more defined so it sat better against the other seal. What do you yours look like?

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

This is how it should seal against the t top weatherstrip. It never fits perfect, but the window closes tight into both parts with no leaks.

BrutalGTA

iTrader: (2)

When typing a message you click the little yellow box with mountains to upload an image.

camaro211z28

mine look like yours with the slant.. I would prefer to have the other style like suprfly03.. that's how 4th gen are Designed also

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

I'll take a pic of the 2nd design stuff when I get home.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

The only one that has that design for third gens is the OER brand. And if you read through the thread, the OP had a lot of problems with it. It is garbage. The other design works fine, as long as you install them properly. My t tops do not leak.