Topic: Best trunk lid gasket? Coupe/Conv

[CharlesTurner]

Can anyone recommend a good reproduction trunk gasket for a 67/8 mustang coupe/conv?  I had a perfect fit on the trunk lid of a '68 convertible until the gasket I installed threw everything off, looks like crap.  Front corners are down tight, back end sticking up.  If I pull the latch down, it is very difficult to close... sometimes the key will not release.  Trunk lid and qtrs are original to car.

[ruppstang]

I had the same problem with the 68 HCS. The Drake seal was over sized and rock hard. I ordered a Carpenter seal; and it was smaller and softer. I have also heard a brand called Steel was good.
Beautiful car I enjoyed seeing it.
Marty

[CharlesTurner]

Thanks, I ordered a Steele products gasket, will see if it's better.  I have used the Carpenter gasket on earlier cars with good results.  The gasket on there was in a Carpenter bag when received, but it was open, so not sure what the deal is with that.

The '68 is a nice driver, not concours.

[ruppstang]

It seems like there may be a Carpenter USA made one and a off shore one but am not sure.

[67gtasanjose]

Eventually, I will be looking into ALL the weatherstips, including this trunk one as well on a Coupe. Is there any one recommendation on where to buy them? Carpenter products had been my choice at least up till now, but if there are off shore copy-cats, who would be the best source to better ensure a trouble-free set? I wish to wait to buy till the paint is on so should there be issues with fitment, a return would be easier to do.

Richard

It seems like there may be a Carpenter USA made one and a off shore one but am not sure.

[drummingrocks]

Thanks, I ordered a Steele products gasket, will see if it's better.  I have used the Carpenter gasket on earlier cars with good results.  The gasket on there was in a Carpenter bag when received, but it was open, so not sure what the deal is with that.

Charles, will you keep us updated on how the Steele gasket works out?  I thought about ordering one a while back but ended up going with the Carpenter weatherstrip.  I still haven't installed any of the weatherstrip yet.

[Oz390]

Some of Steele's seem to be just rebadged from a common manufacturing site... I compared a few of theirs to "other brands" and could find no differences...

[67gtasanjose]

Some of Steele's seem to be just rebadged from a common manufacturing site... I compared a few of theirs to "other brands" and could find no differences...

So we circle back to the age-old "nothing really works" answer? ...and just Fake it till somebody makes it?

Everytime I read comments about weatherstrips, no matter WHAT the car is (and personal experiences with buying them on other cars) we seem to never get this detail right when buying re-pops and then NOS is both outrageous in price and likely brittle from age and unusable. Originals rarely survive or also are unusable.

another catch 22 like dash pads etc. on the 67-8's?

I will ask a little differently this time,  Is there a reputable vendor of reliable reproduction weatherstrips for all locations on 67-68 Mustangs? (every body type) If there is no one vendor or manufacturer who has, sells or manufactures 67-68 weatherstrips that ALL are usable and recommended, is there at least a recommendation of weatherstrips that are "known to work good" and a list of "known to not waste time and money on" for the various locations on all 3 body types that anyone might be willing to comment on?

There might be another thread out there on this issue, but as time goes on, vendors change inventory and suppliers so  things change.

I'll need to be getting these soon enough, so it would be nice to have at least a "Do not do it this way" guide on this (these) item(s).

Richard

[TLea]

As much as we would like this to go away it wont. I have resorted to using only Ford ones and even those are a crapshoot. Sometimes you get them and they are rock hard as well. I think of the repops the carpenter is the better but still lacking

[ruppstang]

As much as we would like this to go away it wont. I have resorted to using only Ford ones and even those are a crapshoot. Sometimes you get them and they are rock hard as well. I think of the repops the carpenter is the better but still lacking

+1 and I would specify the USA made. I can personally testify that there is a large difference in size and hardness of the Drake ones. I did have a section of both, I will try to find them.

[Oz390]

Well, on the "works good" I can recommend the Branda Shelby ones, a very soft trapezoidal one. I used it on my Cal Special and it did fine.  But as this is the concourse forum did not think that would be what you were after...

I can dig up the specifics if you want.

And I'd suggest that after seeing Rick Schmidt's collection of very low mile cars at their Ocala store that some of the expectations of fit and finish may be a bit off.  The original low mileage Mustangs he had were not too impressive in fit and finish, based on today's standards. Not many people see true low mile survivors.

I think folks today forget that robotic welding and metrology making cheap cars today to millimeter tolerances are a far cry from the "good-old-days"... And that by its nature maybe some concours restorations, and holding up a handful of cars that are so overdone in comparison to how the factory slapped them together, as "right" may be skewing the view of what these cars were really like, back in the day a bit...

[67gtasanjose]

Well, on the "works good" I can recommend the Branda Shelby ones, a very soft trapezoidal one. I used it on my Cal Special and it did fine.  But as this is the concourse forum did not think that would be what you were after...

I can dig up the specifics if you want.

Please do, if you do not mind.

Looking at that photo, I'm pretty sure Charles' car doesn't have an OE trunk gasket on it. Maybe it is Concours, maybe not, I'm not a Judge. But going by the photo & his original comment and some of the same I have bought, eaten, returned and on and on... I can judge that there really is some garbage parts being passed off as "Concours".

Everything has it's tolerances, even at the Concours level. For example, looking again at Charles' original post. He, like the rest of us seem to, wants a recommendation of a good reproduction trunk gasket for a 67/8 mustang coupe/conv., as well as everywhere else for that matter, on our cars. I think we need weatherstrips or "gaskets" for these cars that do a tadd better than what we see & hear all the time about these cars. Having to return NEW parts that just plain don't FIT the application it is designed to fit on, isn't quite the same as returning a part that "doesn't quite look the same" as an O.E part. Acceptable replacements are what we are all seeking. If these replacements meet or exceed the quality of 1967, 1968 or whatever, in looks and fitment, even better! Technology has evolved at warp speed, quality went down the toilet.

Give it another 50 years or so and see how these old original rubber parts look then, chances are unless these cars are encapsulated in a perfect environment, virtually NONE would be usable at all. You might think at least ONE parts manufacturer could actually attempt duplicating original parts a bit closer than what we find on popular restoration projects as these cars are.

Richard

[CharlesTurner]

This isn't a concours car, but I didn't think the question would make that much difference either way.  When I have a nice body fit and it gets thrown off by a reproduction rubber seal, my first thought is there is an issue with the seal.  Don't recall ever seeing an orginal '68 with the lid sticking up on the sides like this one, it's not acceptable in my opinion. 

Received the Steele products gasket and I don't think it would be any better than the one on the car, the shape looks a little off.

Brant at Va Mustang informed me there is a USA made Carpenter gasket, which I think I'll try next.  Guess I bought the import Carpenter or Drake one before.

[Oz390]

Please do, if you do not mind.

Too easy.

The part I have on my GT/CS and will use on a current EXP500 project is the Branda 68-70 Shelby Trunk Weather-strip. 

Daniel Carpenter, marked

DCM  WS016
68-70 SH CNV TRUNK W/STRIP
Bin# 43G  08/27/12

Trapezoidal, with 3 channels inside, very soft and squishy.  Not the "C" section as with OEM.

It fit well on the GT/CS and had no issues in installing or adjusting the trunk (but as with most '68 OEM fiberglass trunk lids it arcs up in the center along the sides and does not align to the body, but its not the seal, just the way its made)

[Murf]

I had good luck with the Shelby weather strip on a CS,  Attempted to use three other weather strips with dismal results, but the soft Shelby one allowed the fiberglass lid to close properly.  Warning - it is shaped differently and is an obvious wrong application to sharp eyed folks but better than a deck lid that will hardly close and when you do manage to get it shut it looks like the whole works is going to explode.  Even the Carpenter USA part was not thin or soft enough for the fiberglass California Special lid and I am sure would cause distortion of the fiberglass if used for any length of time.