tlandoe

I got some weatherstrip for my ttops off ebay for like 300 bucks. When they arrived, I found they were OER, which I have heard nothing but bad about. The seller only accepts returns for exchange, but they don't have any other brand of seals, so I'm stuck with them.

I've read a lot about OER ttop seals and that the quality is awful, but those posts are all like 8 years old. Does anyone know about their current quality? This stuff seams to be really beefy and durable (not sure if that's a good thing when it comes to fitment).

Did I screw myself? Or is the quality mainly in the installation? Any advice would be so much appreciated.

navy02ws6

I think I bought those as well...and here's my thoughts.

As long as they fit, it's not worth me spending 3 times as much for GM rubber. I don't care how much better the GM stuff is. It's not worth the extra $500 to me.

Can't speak for the fitment as they haven't been installed yet, but the ones I bought were by FAR the cheapest set on eBay. Like half the price of most of them.

FNFAL308

iTrader: (1)

Links?

tlandoe

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1982-1992-CA...r#ht_678wt_821

Honestly, they really don't look bad to me. And so far, the company has been more than accomodating

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

the description says OER, so i dont understand the confusion?

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

I don't like the fact that they changed the design of the gaskets on the front edge where the A pillar molding meets the t top. You have to cut the A pillar molding to make it fit. There was also a post here from someone who installed them, and found out the rubber was so stiff that his window would pop out when he closed the door.

tlandoe

That's right, it was my bad, I just didn't read the description well enough

But ya, I've read all the horror stories, and they're all really old. Just curious if they might have corrected some of the quirks

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

Here is a link to the thread I was talking about. This was from last year, so I doubt they changed them from then.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body...stripping.html
Let us know how the install goes. Maybe they made some changes.

tlandoe

Ya, I've read that one. I might just pop them in and be reeally careful to adjust them right. I really can't afford the GM ones and from what I've heard, soffseals suck too so I guess I'll give it a whirl. FWIW the material seems to be decent quality, but I suppose time will tell...

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

what you need to understand, is that this is NEW wether spripping, its going to be a lot firmer than the 25 year old stuff onthe car. I installed OER door seals, and it took a few weeks for them to form and compress to the point where the door closed the first time i slammed it. The same will be with the t-top and windor gaskets, they will take some time to "set". The only gripe i had with the door seals was that the factory seals have hard plastic cores that the mounting screws on the corner go through. the OER was just foam rubber. Putting a screw through foam rubber proves nothing. A little adhesive fixes that problem though.

I have OER t-top weather stripping on my 86. Quality is just fine, but It still leaks like like before, but im not convinced the weather stripping is to blame. I just think these cars are designed to leak....

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

I just checked out an ad from Hawks on Ebay for this kit.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/82-92-Camaro...sories&vxp=mtr
It appears that they changed the design to look more like the original weatherstrip, so maybe they will work out fine.

tlandoe

ya, I'm not doing it to prevent leaking (I know for a fact I will never do that unless my car is covered in hideous caulking).

I just want to fix the surface rust underneath and I know I'll damage the weatherstrip when I take it out and have to replace it. It's a shame cuz the weatherstripping on it is in great shape. So I figured I'd do the headliner and weatherstripping at the same time.

I'm not too worried since I never drive it in the rain and most of the time when I drive in the summer, I take the ttops out. I figured I'll install the weatherstrip and leave the car to sit in the sun for a week or so without driving it to break the window into the seal. Could this work?

scottmoyer

I disagree. I purchased the GM set a few years ago and installed them without any fitment issues. I didn't need to fight with the ttops or windows at all. Perfect fit from day one. You shouldn't have to shape new weatherstripping. Oh, and neither my tops or windows leak.

tlandoe

Scott, don't you go to the dealer for your stuff? I've seen your sight and you Iroc is gorgeous, I would'nt put anything but original stuff on that. But I'm in college and I have an 83 crossfire, which is hardly worth investing too much in.

Maybe someday I'll come back and put in original GM, if I decide to keep my car and not get a different third gen. This will just have to work for now.

scottmoyer

I buy some stuff from the dealer. If you can work out a deal with the dealer for discounts through a club membership, or whatever, it helps a lot. I've posted what I paid for my weatherstripping from GM and I think it was around $260. Look at the whole picture. The factory stuff worked the first time with no issues or adjustments. That's worth something, isn't it? The original stuff also lasted me 20+ years. So if I get 20+ more out of this set, I'm good. I've seen some guys on here buy weatherstripping kits for not much less than I paid, and they've had issues, complaints, etc and ended having to replace the stuff again at an additional cost. They ended up paying more than I did for an inferior product.

Just try to buy the best product for the best price the 1st time and you'll be happier in the end.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

My factory weatherstrip leaked since I bought the car. It wasn't all that great.

Jay

iTrader: (2)

I agree completely. I installed GM set just as the instructions said, used the same 3M products they recommended and had no issues with fit and all leaks stopped. They've been in for over 3 years now and still no leaks.

naf

iTrader: (7)

For anyone else, you can still get the GM stuff through GM Parts Direct for around $300 (just the body set though).

I've installed both kinds, prefer the GM, but if you take care installing, you shouldn't have any problems.