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280zx door seal weatherstripping alternative?


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i sure hope someone that can reproduce these is reading. i posted a couple threads asking the same thing, with no response. just gonna have to piece something together eventually.. i cant just throw my car out because i dont have weatherstripping

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  • 4 months later...

I have an 280zx 83' and remember found a thread saying the kia sportage works, got a pair and its not amazing but it kinda worked lol :P

 

https://www.kiapartsnow.com/genuine/kia-wthstp-frt-door~0k01858760b.html (i think) 

 

and the rest of the weatherstripping was from

 

https://zcarsource.com/weatherstrip-kit-280zx-82-83-coupe-no-t-tops-new

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Zcarsource kit does not include the door seals. These seals are probably the most wanted of all, especially the small one on top of the door that gets smashed after years of use and it's the one that allows water to enter the cockpit floor. I'm trying to Steel Rubber to make some kits and will post my finding soon. 

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On 12/21/2017 at 2:28 AM, Mayolives said:

The Zcarsource kit does not include the door seals. These seals are probably the most wanted of all, especially the small one on top of the door that gets smashed after years of use and it's the one that allows water to enter the cockpit floor. I'm trying to Steel Rubber to make some kits and will post my finding soon. 

cool to hear someone is trying to help out us s130 owners! I've tried to research how to make new rubbers but got no where fast. hopefully you'll have better luck thank i did!

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  • 3 weeks later...
On ‎12‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 10:48 AM, Luke_elkins32 said:

cool to hear someone is trying to help out us s130 owners! I've tried to research how to make new rubbers but got no where fast. hopefully you'll have better luck thank i did!

I spoke with Steele Rubber yesterday.  They are not interested in making ZX weather striping due to only making product for American cars and initial cost of tooling. However, they have ask me to send a set of ZX door seals to them to see if they could match or come close to a match from their existing inventory of door seals. I will remove the seals from my 79, sent them off and post my findings as soon as I hear from Steele Rubber. Fingers crossed!!!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I was given another contact yesterday who may be able to help us with zx weather striping. They are Vintage Rubber Products and show several seals for zx cars on their web site,  but not anything for the doors.  I will call they next week and post my results. 

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  • 7 months later...
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  • 5 months later...

Damn.

 After redoing the struts, performance springs, all the bushings and linkages, my 280zxt is driving great. So I am starting a quest to hunt down the last clanks and rattles.  Tightening all the screws and backings on the trim and dash. Also replacing or repairing weather striping when I can.   I've got the windows sealing well by stuffing other small seals in the grooves behind the original seals to puff them back out.  But my door seals are dry and cracking in half in places. Was hoping to find some on-line.  Guess not. 

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  • 9 months later...

hi!

 

so, I just looked into this thing with the Kia weatherstrip...  People have been using 2000 sportage front door weathestrips to replace the weatherstrip around the hatch, succesfuly..  simply cut it to length and just use it?  I've seen it done on the 1st gen, and  I was curious about a confirmation for a zx model...  Anyone?

 

ALSO, for the t tops and doors, I have the same issue as everyone else, with nothing fitting properly, gaps where the panels meet and a particularly large, 6 inches long gap (about 1/32nd or 1/16th thick) between the top rear of the driver door window and the seal.   

 

I have actually used a piece of tubing inserted inside the weatherstrip, both for the 'strip where the door windows meet the b pillar and also the 'strip on the t-top, the one where the door's window meets the t-top.   For the b pillar 'strip, you unclip the bottom part of it, and if you look behind it where the weatherstrip starts to bulge up (where it starts to become a seal) you can see an opening where it becomes a "tube", the part that that is supposed to push against the window.  I got springy tubing at my local hardware store, (I forget the size, but probably around 1/2 inch OD), lubed it and simply inserted it in the weatherstrip to bolster it.  Did exactly the same to the T-Top 'strip.  

 

My success was...  less than satisfactory.  It did visibly make the weatherstrip bulge up a little when I was inserting the tube, and the shape is a little rounder, but it didn't do much of a difference in the seal quality.   Some, but not much.  And it didn't do anything for the gaps between the panels, as it only bulges up the seal outwards;  I still get drips when I drive in the rain and I stop.... 

 

I'd be curious to see what would happen with larger tubes inserted in (if it is 1/2 that I got, then maybe 9/16 od and not much more, as that would probably stretch the 'strip too much), although I think that would be best done on weatherstrip that has been softened, maybe after a long exposure to the sun, as inserting the tubes I used was.. not a challenge, but let's say the weatherstrip was clearly nervous about it's first time, and not particularly relaxed...  

 

s.

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