This article will walk you through restoring Chevy Corvette weatherstripping, step by step. The victim here is a 1976 L82 C3 Corvette. The weatherstripping that was in place had tears, gaps and dry rot essentially everywhere. Total time was approximately 10 hours, however its broken up due to drying times. Actual labor time is only a couple hours, depending on the condition and scope of your job.
Now, before we get started here was my parts list:
3m weatherstripping adhesive (black). Factory original is yellow. You decide. This is the good stuff.
Order 1976 firethorn red corvette. CorvetteForum member
Products
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1 x Weatherstrip Clip Pillar Inner 69-82 (x2416) = $8.55 (This went unused, so you don’t need this. This is the rusty metal clip mentioned below)
1 x Pillar Post. Firethorn LH (405534) = $79.99 (This was NOT part of the weather stripping project)
1 x Weatherstrip Screw Set. Windshield Pillar Post – 8 Piece 73-82 (K1004) = $3.20
1 x Weatherstrip Screw Set. T-top 8 Piece 70-82 (K1199) = $7.48
1 x Weatherstrip Screw Set. Door Main – 10 Piece 68-82 (K1002) = $3.20
1 x Weatherstrip Kit 73-77 Coupe (WST01) = $265.00
1 x Weatherstrip Glue Black (08008) = $11.00
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Sub-Total: $378.42
United Parcel Service (1 x 20.4lbs) (Ground): $20.25
Total: $398.67
Pics of what I got:
The screw set for the door main, T-top and windshield pillar post were all missing 1 or two screws, which is unfortunate. This forced me to re-use a couple of the old screws. I assume this is because the sets are built for a range of years, but if anything this should have meant that I had some screws left over.
Procedure
Removal
The first step is removal. I recommend doing 1 section on 1 side at a time. This way, if you forget how something is routed, you can reference other areas. The old dry rotted rubber material comes off easily, however the old adhesive did not. Keep in mind which parts are fiberglass, such as the doors, so you don’t damage the fiberglass with screwdrivers etc. Here are some before pics of what was removed:
To remove the old material, try to get as much old adhesive to come off with the old weather stripping as possible. Essentially removing all of the old weather stripping is the same procedure regardless of which section you are working on. The vertical pillar strips towards the rear of the windows are the exception to this. I used a combination of flat head screw drivers of various sizes to remove the old weather stripping. I then used goo-gone and green brillo pads to remove as much of the old adhesive as possible. I spent hours removing ALL of the old adhesive, but I don’t believe this is necessary in hind sight. Instead, get 90% of the old adhesive that comes off fairly easily with the goo-gone, and just forget about the remaining 10%.
So now lets talk about the exceptions.
Windshield pillar posts:
Don’t remove the aluminum track or those rusty metal clips shown in the pictures above on the windshield pillars. These clips are part number (x2416) mentioned in the parts list, however they can not be attached without completely removing the entire aluminum track. If you plan on doing this, then I recommend ordering the replacement clips. I did not remove these aluminum tracks, because the aluminum is in fine condition. Instead, if you don’t replace the clips, tape very well around them and hit them with some flat black exterior/automotive spray paint. It makes them look brand new.
Look at the new weatherstrip to find the screw locations, and remove the old screws first. Then carefully remove the old weather stripping starting at the bottom, working your way up, and you shouldn’t have a problem getting it out around the clip. I then cleaned off all the old black putty material with goo gone. Where this putty was located, I put extra 3m adhesive on reassembly. Leave the screws that hold the aluminum track in place and undisturbed unless you plan on replacing the whole thing. If you take them out, they may be stripped out or rusted to the point where they do not go back in well. These screws are shown below, and I don’t recommend removing any of them. To get the rest of the rubber and adhesive off, I used a brass wire brush on the aluminum areas only, not on the fiberglass. This will scratch the aluminum some, but only where it isn’t visible. This probably isn’t the most advised approach, but it got the old adhesive off very quickly.
Rear pillar posts (behind side windows):
These are the tough ones. There are 2 rivets that hold these in place. The rivets were located at the small hole shown in the pictures below, at the top and bottom of the painted aluminum strip/track. Do Not remove the aluminum track. On my car it was painted black. Also, its not easily seen in the picture below, however the left edge of this metal strip/track is a lip, with old rubber that needs to be removed behind it.
To remove the old weather strip, you will need to drill out the rivets that hold it with a drill bit and drill. Use a drill bit that is roughly the size of the inner “hole” or punched area of the rivet. The rivet will likely spin in its hole, but I went ahead with it and worked it out. Be Extra careful not to scratch your paint! Do not remove the two silver rivets below that hold the aluminum track in place, only the two that hold the weather strip. To get the rest of the rubber and adhesive off, I used a brass wire brush on the aluminum areas only, not on the fiberglass. I used a tiny screwdriver and a pick set to get the old rubber out behind the lip.
T-Tops:
Well these are tough. I recommend removing the interior panel before getting started, or risk damaging it. The panel has plastic large Velcro type clips that pull apart, with the exception of two metal clips that are held in with Phillips head screws. Remove these two screws first, then pop apart the Velcro, then get started on the weather stripping. Look at the new stripping for reference locations of the plastic push pins. These pins will need to be removed with small pliers and flat head screwdriver. Be careful what you pry against, and don’t damage the fiberglass. Again, I used a brass wire brush on the aluminum track part only. Don’t remove the screws that hold the aluminum track in place, and don’t remove the aluminum track! The new T-Top screw set was missing two screws, and I had to reuse two of the old yellow plastic push clips as substitutes. So try to save two of the old clips per T-top in decent condition just in case. Don’t get goo gone on the rubber handles of the release levers, as it will make the rubber tacky and possibly damage it.
Doors:
The doors removal was straight forward. Each end has 2 or 3 screws that need to be removed. Reference the new weatherstrip to know where the screws are located. The hardest part here was using goo gone and screw drivers and abrasive pads to remove the old adhesive. I don’t have any tricks for this, just scrubbing. Maybe somebody has a better alternative and can reply in the comments.
