Best Weatherstrip
I almost included some weatherstripping in a recent RockAuto order. I'm really glad I didn't.
WARNING: LONG POST. SORRY, I'M BORED AT WORK AND DON'T LIKE WASTING MONEY ON CHEAP THINGS THAT DISAPPOINT OR EXPENSIVE THINGS THAT DON'T LIVE UP TO THE HYPE. IF YOU WANT TO SKIP THE READING BELOW HERE'S THE GIST: REALLY GOOD WEATHERSTRIPPING FOR '75-'91 FORD VANS IS AVAILABLE FROM STEELE RUBBER PRODUCTS AND IT'S CHEAPER THAN I EXPECTED. LIKE, WAY CHEAPER.
I'm as broke as any other college student with a big van can be so I just assumed premium products for my 25-year-old vehicle were out of the budget. While suede seatcovers and mother-of-pearl door handles are definitely out of the question, the best rubber products available are WAY more affordable than I would've ever expected.
Steele Rubber Products is now producing weatherstripping for this era of Ford Van. It's a recent development and I happen to know they have some products available which haven't even appeared on their website yet. They worked with a guy from the now defunct (or at least renamed/moved?) vannin' forum that I couldn't find tonight. He either loaned them his van or shipped them the stock rubber off it, I forget which. Either way, they copied the original weatherstripping and tooled up to manufacture it. I don't have any experience with these particular products from Steele yet; it's just a matter of time/$ but the products I've used from them previously have always been TOP NOTCH. If you watch that TV car show My Car's a Classic or whatever, the one hosted by the guy with the big mustache who's buddy-buddy with Jay Leno you've probably seen the Steele segment where they install weatherstripping as a demo/promo. I just assumed products as excellent as I know them to be and advertised with such flair and so well known in their market must be very expensive. WRONG.
I'm not associated with them at all; I've just been impressed repeatedly by their products. A college buddy in Texas bought a complete set from them for his convertible 60s muscle car and I helped install it. Well, it basically installed itself. All the plastic pushpins were exactly where they belonged, everything was perfectly custom cut and for the fairly complicated convertible pieces, we had their tech support on speakerphone the entire time. That car's been his daily driver for about 4 years now and I rode in it just the other day. We both commented on how quiet the top is when up and he says it's never leaked a drop. I came home the following summer and got a job at an aluminum boat factory building their fiberglass consoles. The 'glass edges were wrapped in Steele's push-on edge trim. So were the edges of hatches and the bottoms of seats and every sharp aluminum edge on some of the nicest aluminum boats on the water. Steele's stick-on extrusions sealed their hatch doors and Steele's plugs and grommets sealed their firewalls and protected cabling. That boat manufacturer was selling boats with a 100% satisfaction guarantee from bow to stern. EVERY thing on those boats was extensively tested in and out of the factory. I personally mounted pleather-wrapped steering wheels from 3 different suppliers on a sheet of aluminum outside so they could evaluate UV and corrosion resistance long-term. The on-water testing of the ski-boats was also part of my job (if you'd call it work). Those were good times. The owners were bringing in 5 year old boats for re-paint-jobs under warranty. I couldn't believe it. Free paint jobs! On 5 year old camouflage duck hunting boats! I'm just saying they are a conscientious company who stand behind their products and chose Steele for good reason.
Here's what surprised me: I'd never been the paying customer in my past experiences with Steele products. I'd gotten paid (either by a buddy with free beer and pizza or a job with a real paycheck) to install them and knew them well but never knew what they cost. As I've said, I assumed they must be pricey. RockAuto (who were selling Fairchild and Metro brand weatherstripping last time I checked) is just a couple dollars under the cost of Steele products. Front door seals for example, RockAuto has for $29.79/ea and Steele has them for $67.20/pr. The RockAuto products may be just fine, but for ~$8 I'd go with what is widely considered THE top name brand of automotive weatherstripping and put my trust in their 100% guarantee.
Sorry for the long post but I get excited when I find out I can afford something really good on my meager budget. It's like finding Bonefish's Bang Bang Shrimp on the menu at Long John Silver's. Nothing bugs me like a wind whistling window so I'm super ready to get mine sealed up with some of that soft Steele. What a weird name for a rubber maker, right?
Hey, boomer builder, what'd you think of the weatherstrip you installed?
