37 Ford LS2 Continuation thread

[kwhizz]

One of the big problems I had left to deal with was the rear quarter window seals......when I took the car apart 10 years ago, I threw the seals out figuring that I would just buy new ones........Lesson Learned.....(never throw anything out until you have a replacement as good or better than your old part).....Well....when it came time and I was ordering all the parts for the car I found out that these seals were not being reproduced and weren't available anywhere........The quarter windows on this particular model are of the "Swing Out" style and are unique to the Club Coupe......standard Ford coupes had a fixed window in that position.......(Club Coupe has a rear seat and the standard does not)......So.....What to do.....
This seal attaches to the garnish moulding and seals the window as its pivots and also has a outer lip that seals the window opening to the opening in the body.........After looking thru catalogs I seen that the 46-48 Ford coupe had the same type of window......Humm!!......I decided to take a $100 gamble and buy a set hoping they would be close to the profile I needed......when they showed up I noticed that they were much larger but the cross section profile looked like it was close and I thought I would be able to modify them somehow....Well!!.........Today was the day......Here are some pic's of the process...........

Starting point.....Garnish moulding and window assy........Missing the seal between the window frame and the moulding.........



As you can see the seal is larger than the moulding



After sectioning the seal I test fit it into the channel and it fit and sealed perfectly (the lip on the seal in this pic should be on the other side)



I started with the Pivot holes and started working around after cutting some sections out



The shape followed the radius pretty good without any puckering



I got it figured out to fit with only two seams or joints....But....trying to cut soft rubber and get a perfectly square end were the two parts came together was not that easy..........I didn't want any leaks or to be able to see the jointed area



So..........Being a "Spoiled Brat" again............I made up a block that had the same shape as the seal channel and slid the seal into the block which I had mounted on a surface grinder and ground the end perfectly square





Then I cut the upper piece to fit the upper pivot hole and fit and ground the ends and made this piece to be slightly longer than need be to provide a little compression (about a 1/32&quot at the joint.......Bingo.....a finished seal.....I love it when a plan comes together.........





Another thing crossed off the list...........Now I can get all the garnish mouldings painted for installation when the car comes back from the upholstry shop.........

Ken