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280ZX weatherstripping...anyone actually sell any?


80LS1T

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Now that the body work is coming near completion its got me thinking about what I need to put the car back together after its painted! One thing deffinetly comes to mind...WEATHERSTRIPPING! I thought I had a vender lined up but apparently http://www.zedshop.com/index.htm is either not selling stuff anymore or just doesn't return emails? Either way I need weatherstripping for my car and I'm going to need it pretty soon!

 

So does anyone know anyone else who sells weatherstripping for 280ZX's? I need the t-top bodyside seals the most. MSA has a few of the WS that I need but not all of them.

 

Heck does anyone have a 280ZX parts car with T-Tops that wants to sell me the 2 body side weatherstrips?

 

 

Guy

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Pierre' Z Service Center in Hawthorne, CA sells a complete weatherstripping kit that actually fits. His address and phone: 12579 Crenshaw Blvd. Hawhtorne, CA 90250. 310.644.3645 Fax: 310.644.3647 Email: Pierrezman@aol.com

 

THANK YOU for that, I'm in the same boat. I've seen them listed in he black dragon catalog, but it only lists left side.

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Pierre' Z Service Center in Hawthorne, CA sells a complete weatherstripping kit that actually fits. His address and phone: 12579 Crenshaw Blvd. Hawhtorne, CA 90250. 310.644.3645 Fax: 310.644.3647 Email: Pierrezman@aol.com

 

 

Is that for an S30 or an S130? I have never seen a kit for a S130, it sure would be nice though!

 

Guy

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Guy, have you contacted http://datsunrestore.com/datsun_stuff.html? He atleast has them listed which is more than most places. If you order some please let me know what you find out. I tried to pull my door seals that go around the t-tops off the other day and I'm sure you can guess what happened to them after being on the car for the last 25 years.

 

I guess I need to get out into the garage and caught up to you on my body work.

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I sent an email last night to datsunrestore.com, I'm just waiting for a reply. I asked if they had them and if they would cosider throwing a package together at a discounted price. We'll see what happens!

 

Yeah I know what happen Cody, samething as me...they came off in a dozen pieces of shredded rubber! LOL

 

Guy

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they came off in a dozen pieces of shredded rubber!

 

And to think that I've removed 3 sets, WITHOUT damage by simply spraying brake parts cleaner between the seal and the body. It melts the adhesive, without hurting the seal, cleans the seal itself (after wiping the gook off with a towel) and makes them plyable again. It dries almost instantly, so you may go through a whole can per side, but it does work well. Use a DULL putty knife to slip under the seal once you start lifting up on the seal and keep spraying the brake parts cleaner. This is for removing them from a car that you don't care much about the paint on as the putty knife may leave some scratches in the painted surface, but it does work well. Just be careful not to pull too hard on the seals themselves while removing them as once they're stretched out of shape (takes alot to stretch the thick parts, but the thin parts will stretch relatively easily) they may not go back to their original shape.

 

If for some reason, you happen to break the seal itself (meaning a clean tear without a bunch of rubber missing), you can use 3M Windshield adhesive (available at automotive paint stores, comes in a white tube for use in a regular caulk gun) to repair the split, break or tear. Lay the seal on some wax paper, use a dab of the adhesive in the split. Use a WET (with water) finger or small spatula to form the sealant into the split, break or tear. Form it back into it's original shape (meaning basically wipe the majority of it away, leaving the adhesive only where you want it when you're done). Be sure to smooth it to the shape you want to be in, not leaving any gobs of it and let it cure 24 hours. After the 24 hour period, it will be cured and you can simply peel it from the wax paper (that's why you use wax paper, so the seal itself doesn't get glued down to the surface you're doing the repair on). The split, tear or break will now be virtually invisible and it will still be plyable. You can also use this sealant to form missing small parts of the rubber seal should it happen to get gouged somehow. It will replace the rubber, remain plyable and depending on your skills, be virtually invisible once you reinstall the seals on the car. BTW, this is the same sealant you should be using to adhere the windshield and rear side windows to the body. I'll edit this later today to provide you with the 3M product name and number.

 

Hope that helps somebody.

 

Warren

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And to think that I've removed 3 sets, WITHOUT damage by simply spraying brake parts cleaner between the seal and the body. It melts the adhesive, without hurting the seal, cleans the seal itself (after wiping the gook off with a towel) and makes them plyable again. It dries almost instantly, so you may go through a whole can per side, but it does work well. Use a DULL putty knife to slip under the seal once you start lifting up on the seal and keep spraying the brake parts cleaner. This is for removing them from a car that you don't care much about the paint on as the putty knife may leave some scratches in the painted surface, but it does work well.

 

Hope that helps somebody.

 

Warren

 

I thought about that but, I knew that they needed to be replaced anyway. So I wasn't as careful as I could have been. I used a heat gun and a little plastic scapper on one side and it can out intack but, had a few holes in it were one peice decied to stick to the car.

 

 

Sounds like good advise for the next time or someone else.

 

 

While were on this type of subject anyone find a source for the stainless trim that goes above the T-top and attaches to the body on the roof. I thought about welding something on that does the same thing but, it would be less bolted looking.

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Cody,

 

Those parts are NLA Worldwide...don't ask me how I know.

 

Advice on re-using the ones you have, if you still have them or can get a used set:

 

Once you remove them from the car (4 phillips screws that are probably rusted away), clean them thoroughly, removing the "stainless" strip (emphasized intentionally, read on) from the rubber coated bracket that they're attached to (they're glued on).

 

Wire wheel brush, bead blast, scrape, curse Nissan for designing such a sh!tty part, and remove ALL of the old rubber that the bracket is covered with. Be certain to remove any and all rust on these parts as well. Once cleaned, spray paint these parts black with a rust preventative paint, like Rustoleum, or other "grill paint" and let them dry.

 

At this point, you may consider drilling out the 2 rivets that hold the bracket to the strip. You'll see what I'm talking about once you complete the step above. Clean the parts well and set them aside.

 

Polish out the stainless cap strips that you've removed. Don't worry about using a polishing wheel on a bench grinder...it works VERY well for this. Use plenty of rouge or polishing compound on these parts and they'll look brand new again pretty quickly.

 

Now, use the 3M windshield sealant I mentioned above to replace all the rubber coating of the bracket itself (the part with the 4 screws going through it). Lay it on wax paper, do one side, let it cure out, do the other side. You want this coating to be approximately 1/16-1/8" thick. Smooth it out with a wet finger or spatula when you apply it. If you don't put this coating back on these parts, they won't fit the body right when you go to reinstall them.

 

At this point, you'll want to reinstall the riveted brackets you removed earlier. Use 1/8" rivets and make sure they're tight.

 

Use the 3M adhesive on between the stainless cap and the bracket itself to reassemble the 4 parts of these 2 pieces (2 stainless caps and 2 brackets). You can use some masking tape to hold them together while the adhesive cures (24 hours).

 

Now, since the little rim of the original rubber, (seen between the stainless cap and the body before removal) will be gone, there will be a gap which will hold water. When you reinstall these to the body, lay a small (approximately 1/8") bead of the 3M Adhesive along the edge of the body where the stainless cap will be (only at the top if the screws are to be reused, cover the entire contact area if the screws aren't going to be reused.) You'll want to seal up the rusted screw holes in the body after you clean them out. The 3M adhesive works well for this. It is best to lay masking tape along the length of the opening (front to back) to avoid getting the adhesive where you don't want it.

 

Wipe off any excess adhesive and shape it to fill the gap with a wet finger or spatula. Acetone or Laquer Thinner can be used on a cloth rag should you get too much on a painted surface or the stainless trim itself. Just be careful not to damage your paint. (If you laid down the masking tape as listed above, this shouldn't be much of a problem).

 

Now, when you install the brackets (with stainless trim already attached) to the body, you'll want to use the install the T-Tops back in the opening to align and hold these parts in place until the adhesive cures out. You can use a strip of masking tape to hold the stainless parts to the T-Top itself. This will ensure a good tight fit.

 

If you take your time and be carefully artistic about using the black 3M adhesive, you will come out with what appears to be a "factory" installed part on each side and they won't leak again either.

 

BTW, I had tried using at "Dip It" coating on these parts before resorting to using the 3M adhesive. It didn't work well, and was a pain to get an even coating. It peeled off very easily once it cured and the 3M stuff worked MUCH better in the long run. Just be sure to keep a rag and some laquer thinner around when playing with this stuff. Once it cures, you cannot remove it from your skin. It has to WEAR off, unless you like playing with VERY harsh chemicals on your skin. Latex gloves don't help much because the adhesive sticks so well to them that you'll go through a whole box in less than 2 hours playing with this stuff. This is just one of those "dirty" jobs that you'll thank yourself for going through when you're finished. I know I did.

 

I hope all of that made sense. It worked for me on my car and I have NO leaks, no more rust, and nobody can tell the difference.

 

Warren

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Pierre' Z Service Center in Hawthorne, CA sells a complete weatherstripping kit that actually fits. His address and phone: 12579 Crenshaw Blvd. Hawhtorne, CA 90250. 310.644.3645 Fax: 310.644.3647 Email: Pierrezman@aol.com

 

Woot Woot, Moreno Valley in the house (grew up off of Perris blvd on Myers, yeah it's ghetto.)

 

Anyway, how much does he charge for that kit and how complete is it?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well www.datsunrestore.com did not ever email me back so I don't know if they have them or not?

 

I did email MSA and they say they can get the t-top body side weatherstripping for $480/side imported from outside the US. I also asked them about a group buy discount but they haven't replied about that yet.

 

If I do get new weatherstripping I'm going to try to locate someone who can reproduce these for a decent price. $480/side is rediculous!

 

 

Guy

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