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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ do the repro front hood seals suck?
Posted by: siverson Oct 7 2014, 11:46 PM
yuck...
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Posted by: siverson Oct 7 2014, 11:47 PM
914
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Posted by: eitnurg Oct 8 2014, 01:23 AM
yuck...
Yes, basically. In x-section the seal is like a "2". When it's cut for the corners, the seal squashes flat before it parts. This distortion is maintained when the ends are glued together. On the genuine item the correct profile is maintained thoughout the manufacturing process, so it fits properly.
Posted by: jmmotorsports Oct 8 2014, 02:43 AM
yuck...
I HAVE TRIED THEM ALL THEY ARE ALL JUNK NONE HAVE THE MOLDED CORNERS LIKE THE PORSCHE ONES SO THEY NEVER FIT RIGHT
JERRY
Posted by: balljoint Oct 8 2014, 05:10 AM
Posted by: Johny Blackstain Oct 8 2014, 05:27 AM
I uninstalled mine because it was so poorly glued in it was easy. Now after I wash the car I lift the unglued seal up & dry underneath, then plop the worthless POS back in place & let it just lay there. Thanks George! 
Posted by: mepstein Oct 8 2014, 06:07 AM
My plans are to leave the seal unglued so I can let water dry out of the channel
Posted by: BeatNavy Oct 8 2014, 06:12 AM
I have one I purchased from 914Rubber several months ago. Just never got around to installing it yet. Anyone have luck with that one?
Posted by: bandjoey Oct 8 2014, 08:29 AM
The 914 rubber seal fits much better than others (have tried 3) but still not a great fit. A smidgen too short at the corners makes it a stretch fit so the corners pucker some. I un-glued mine and just lay it in the track. It also sticks to the lid when opening so I rub on a thin coat of vasoline to stop that problem.
It does keep the trunk dry.
Posted by: Philip W. Oct 8 2014, 12:01 PM
i have never thought this was a good way to seal the trunk. it seems like it just traps the water in the channel. I think it should be more like we use on the rear trunk, that would seal the trunk and keep the channel open for water to easily run out. I was thinking of just ordering a piece from mark (914 rubber) that has that metal clip in it like the rear one... long enough to go all the way around.
Posted by: bandjoey Oct 8 2014, 04:15 PM
I tried a piece of his rear trunk seal and it's too tall. Very little clearance in there. By not gluing I take the seal out after a rain to dry the channel. It does seal good.
Posted by: Mikey914 Oct 8 2014, 11:25 PM
I tried a piece of his rear trunk seal and it's too tall. Very little clearance in there. By not gluing I take the seal out after a rain to dry the channel. It does seal good.
I do have the tall profile and the OEM, the tall will definitely close the gap, the OEM tends to crush down over time.
Posted by: Philip W. Oct 9 2014, 06:58 AM
I tried a piece of his rear trunk seal and it's too tall. Very little clearance in there. By not gluing I take the seal out after a rain to dry the channel. It does seal good.
I do have the tall profile and the OEM, the tall will definitely close the gap, the OEM tends to crush down over time.
I'd like to try this . Mark , if you can cut it to the correct length for the front to go all the way around, i'd like to get that from you . it would be just like the one i got from you that is in there rear trunk.
PM me if you have time. if it works good on the rear, why not the front? that way the channels can drain the rain, not trap it and still keep the trunk dry.
I am just not sure which height is needed, the OEM or yours. Seems like there is not much of a difference and the taller would still work better.
Phil
Posted by: bandjoey Oct 9 2014, 10:39 AM
I tried a piece of his rear trunk seal and it's too tall. Very little clearance in there. By not gluing I take the seal out after a rain to dry the channel. It does seal good.
I do have the tall profile and the OEM, the tall will definitely close the gap, the OEM tends to crush down over time.
Sorry. I ment to say I tried the rear clip on seal in the front trunk. (Perfect rear fit!). It prevented the front trunk lid from closing. Just my experience.
Posted by: johnhora Oct 9 2014, 10:44 AM
If anyone needs a used OEM one I have this one....was keeping as a spare but really just taking up space...decent shape for a driver 914......let me know..
Posted by: Mikey914 Oct 9 2014, 01:32 PM
The problem is that most of these are being purchased from a wholesale source that makes them at a price point that you can retail at $45. I can't make them for that. I had looked into making these and to make a quality seal it's about $68 per unit in large quantity.
I have made the tooling to cut and bond these, but when I went to neoprene it didn't compress as well as it should and held the trunk up. I can make a killer seal that isn't like OEM, but would dramatically improve the sealing ability. The problem is I don't think the price point will support making it.
Yes mine currently come from the same source. It's why I can sell the set at $59
Posted by: dknechtly Oct 9 2014, 02:56 PM
PM sent
Posted by: bandjoey Oct 9 2014, 06:05 PM
If it will lay in the track without stretching it and lay flat and the corners are square and don't pucker up I 'll pay $100 and I think most will pay more for quality.
Posted by: altitude411 Oct 9 2014, 06:44 PM
If it will lay in the track without stretching it and lay flat and the corners are square and don't pucker up I 'll pay $100 and I think most will pay more for quality.
Posted by: Mikey914 Oct 9 2014, 07:09 PM
If it will lay in the track without stretching it and lay flat and the corners are square and don't pucker up I 'll pay $100 and I think most will pay more for quality.
I'll revisit these. I want to keep prices reasonable, but yes I agree the current product needs improvement.
Posted by: Garold Shaffer Oct 9 2014, 09:27 PM
To help water run out of the seal channel I cut a notch at the end by the headlight bucket so any water can drain. So far so good, and yes my car sees rain.
Posted by: siverson Oct 9 2014, 09:34 PM
> I'll revisit these. I want to keep prices reasonable, but yes I agree the current product needs improvement.
I'm not sure which version of the repro I have, but if you are selling anything like mine, I'd just stop selling it. I can't imagine with anyone being happy with this quality.
It looks like OEM ones are available from Pelican for ~$140. Maybe I'll just have to bite the bullet and do that...
-Steve
Posted by: 914nola Oct 10 2014, 05:28 AM
If it will lay in the track without stretching it and lay flat and the corners are square and don't pucker up I 'll pay $100 and I think most will pay more for quality.
I'll revisit these. I want to keep prices reasonable, but yes I agree the current product needs improvement.
Group buy maybe?
Posted by: ripper911 Oct 10 2014, 05:46 AM
The problem is that most of these are being purchased from a wholesale source that makes them at a price point that you can retail at $45. I can't make them for that. I had looked into making these and to make a quality seal it's about $68 per unit in large quantity.
I have made the tooling to cut and bond these, but when I went to neoprene it didn't compress as well as it should and held the trunk up. I can make a killer seal that isn't like OEM, but would dramatically improve the sealing ability. The problem is I don't think the price point will support making it.
Yes mine currently come from the same source. It's why I can sell the set at $59
Yeah, I forget exactly who makes them, but they are certainly problematic.
Posted by: Brian_Boss Oct 10 2014, 10:32 AM
Please forgive gratuitous self-promotion but we have the OEM ones for $118 so bullet is a slightly smaller bite.
I don't have one in front of me but the picture in the distributor catalog clearly shows molder corners. I believe it's the exact same as the Pelican one.
> I'll revisit these. I want to keep prices reasonable, but yes I agree the current product needs improvement.
I'm not sure which version of the repro I have, but if you are selling anything like mine, I'd just stop selling it. I can't imagine with anyone being happy with this quality.
It looks like OEM ones are available from Pelican for ~$140. Maybe I'll just have to bite the bullet and do that...
-Steve
Posted by: Mikey914 Oct 10 2014, 10:57 AM
Try the ones available.
I have an idea for a better seal, the question is are the ones out there good enough?
Posted by: bandjoey Oct 10 2014, 01:08 PM
Who has an oem in use? Pictures. Of the fit and your opinion please.
Posted by: Brian_Boss Dec 1 2014, 04:58 PM
I brought in one of the OEM seals just to take a look at it. It has molded corner pieces at the top/rear corners (nearest the windshield) but the other corners are all cut and glue miters. Didn't the factory seal have molded pieces on all the corners?
Quality looks decent but I don't have one of the $50 repro's to compare. I'm trying to work up some enthusiasm to go out and clean the glue out of the channel of one of my cars to test the fit.
Posted by: toolguy Dec 2 2014, 08:50 AM
I brought in one of the OEM seals just to take a look at it. It has molded corner pieces at the top/rear corners (nearest the windshield) but the other corners are all cut and glue miters. Didn't the factory seal have molded pieces on all the corners?
Factory OE was molded on the top corners only
Posted by: johnhora Dec 2 2014, 12:29 PM
here are a few pics of the corners of a used OEM one....
the corners at the headlights are the same pieces just cut at a 45deg angle and glued...the corners at the windshield are a separate molded corner piece that is then cut flush and glued to the length running up from the headlights. This piece is approx 110mm from the cut to the corner tip.
headlight corners
windshield corners
Posted by: SirAndy Dec 2 2014, 12:43 PM
Posted by: malcolm2 Dec 2 2014, 01:14 PM
Has anyone tried to find something from a different model car?
Something you might could get from a pick-a-part JY? Of course it would not be exact, but maybe close enough to seal and allow water to drain, as mentioned in a post above.
I found some door seals from a small Ford truck that fit the rear trunk seal spot on.
and most cars have a cowling seal that matches the wall in front of the gas tank.
Posted by: billh1963 Dec 3 2014, 05:30 AM
As 914 prices start moving up, many of us are willing to spend the money for properly fitting, functioning, and LOOKING parts....Manufacturers take note!
Posted by: RobW Dec 3 2014, 06:59 AM
As 914 prices start moving up, many of us are willing to spend the money for properly fitting, functioning, and LOOKING parts....Manufacturers take note!
Our cars are becoming show pieces.
Posted by: rhodyguy Dec 3 2014, 09:30 AM
A seal that works, and doesn't make you lean on the front hood to make sure it's fully latched, is worth the extra cost. Still much, much, MUCH cheaper than the resulting damage if the hood flies open.
Posted by: Mikey914 Dec 3 2014, 10:12 AM
As 914 prices start moving up, many of us are willing to spend the money for properly fitting, functioning, and LOOKING parts....Manufacturers take note!
I am
Posted by: JmuRiz Dec 3 2014, 02:27 PM
Nice, a frunk seal that fits well and doesn't need to be glued in would be great!
Posted by: michael7810 Jan 24 2015, 09:44 AM
Hey Mikey - where are you at with new seals. Not sure who's is on my car, it seals but is too tall and the lid is higher than the fenders and looks like crap. I'm willing to pay for a properly fitting seal.
Thanks
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