Weatherstrip options, Vendor recommendations Options

[SWH]

Both of my new weatherstrips provided by a well known supplier for my front and rear trunks do not fit well. These parts have been on for months. Both stand too high and do not allow either lid to close to align with fenders. Looking for people in this group that can recommend vendors that you have used to your satisfaction. Thanks in advance.

[ConeDodger]

Sometimes, if you can close the lid and leave it closed for an extended period of time, it gets compressed enough. I say that because it worked on my 240Z. My front and rear weatherstrip lid seals from “a well known vendor” fit fine on my 914.

Are yours installed correctly?

[SWH]

Sometimes, if you can close the lid and leave it closed for an extended period of time, it gets compressed enough. I say that because it worked on my 240Z. My front and rear weatherstrip lid seals from “a well known vendor” fit fine on my 914.

Are yours installed correctly?

The rear seal only goes one way that I know of. The front is correct but challenge to keep glued in the track.

[worn]

Both of my new weatherstrips provided by a well known supplier for my front and rear trunks do not fit well. These parts have been on for months. Both stand too high and do not allow either lid to close to align with fenders. Looking for people in this group that can recommend vendors that you have used to your satisfaction. Thanks in advance.

Me too. A bit too much rubber. But they are better than what I replaced.

[Matty900]

This is a video that Mark made a few years ago, installing the seal.
https://youtu.be/f6_fPjX4b8A?si=AZZ2bKi9SmIM99P8

Let me know if this helps at all.

I have taken over as of the 1st of the year, and I am working on a lot of things to improve production and the consistency of what we make. So I am happy to hear feedback so we can catch things and improve them when they come up. It's a lot of work to sort through 20 years of parts we have made in collaboration with the community. The cars have come up in value drastically since where we started, and what may have been ok when a car was a $2,500 car has changed, and we have continued to improve things along the way. I have a lot planned to improve things for you, but know that we will always take care of you like we would want to be treated when we buy parts for our cars.

Happy to help you where we can

Matt (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Tbrown4x4]

That’s good to hear Matt. I have hesitated to buy a front trunk seal based on other people’s comments about the poor fit.

[JamesM]

Front Trunk seals
Rear Trunk seals
Triangle window seals
Main Targa seal

I always insist on seals directly from Porsche for these areas specifically on any restoration. The current 914rubber parts are serviceable but have some minor issues for these applications. The few URO main targa seals I have attempted were just unusable.

Triangle window seals, any non Porsche seals I have used here wound up cracking within a year.

Windshield trim clips, those absolutely have to be Porsche as well.


False economy not to if your time has any value at all.

[Matty900]

That’s good to hear Matt. I have hesitated to buy a front trunk seal based on other people’s comments about the poor fit.

I loved how well they went on my car when we first made them. We did struggle a bit with the fitment on Frances' hood here a few weeks ago, and I thought it was the seal, but it was the hood alignment. That being said, I do have the Orange GT car that will be starting to put seals on shortly and will be re-testing all of the current parts we have. We have the capacity to make amazing rubber seals domestically, and I think that is one of the strongest things we can do. I have brought in someone to help me with proper production-level processes, and it is all ready starting to come together. I am more interested in getting it right than getting it fast right now, so I appreciate everyone's patience.

[Matty900]

Front Trunk seals
Rear Trunk seals
Triangle window seals
Main Targa seal

I always insist on seals directly from Porsche for these areas specifically on any restoration. The current 914rubber parts are serviceable but have some minor issues for these applications. The few URO main targa seals I have attempted were just unusable.

Triangle window seals, any non Porsche seals I have used here wound up cracking within a year.

Windshield trim clips, those absolutely have to be Porsche as well.


False economy not to if your time has any value at all.

I have had our seals on my car since the build-off in 2017 with none of these issues, so they were not on my radar for looking into. Now I will add them to the re-evaluation list. It would be great if you could DM me the details on the dates of purchase for any parts that you had an issue with, so I can try to track things down internally on production runs.

[Superhawk996]

Front Trunk seals
Rear Trunk seals
Triangle window seals
Main Targa seal

I always insist on seals directly from Porsche for these areas specifically on any restoration. The current 914rubber parts are serviceable but have some minor issues for these applications. The few URO main targa seals I have attempted were just unusable.

Triangle window seals, any non Porsche seals I have used here wound up cracking within a year.

Windshield trim clips, those absolutely have to be Porsche as well.


False economy not to if your time has any value at all.

I have had our seals on my car since the build-off in 2017 with none of these issues, so they were not on my radar for looking into. Now I will add them to the revaluation list. It would be great if you could DM me the details on the dates of purchase for any parts that you had an issue with, so I can try to track things down internally on production runs.

Agree with all issues JamesM noted - purchased whole car seal kit in 2018 era

Need to stop assuming so much rubber shrinkage and upsizing seals way beyond what OEM was.

Here is example of window seal of what I’m talking about.

OEM On top (torn - base only that goes into extruded aluminum channel)
Reproduction below note width and section thickness differences.

You are spot on about what was previously OK for a $2500 car no longer being acceptable when cars are trading hands at $20k+.

I don’t want to come across as ungrateful, having some part is better than no part but there are a lot of seals in my kit that don’t fit, had wrong durometer, or wrong profile / size vs OEM.

[Matty900]

That’s good to hear Matt. I have hesitated to buy a front trunk seal based on other people’s comments about the poor fit.

Try it out without any weatherstripping glue; see how you like it. If you don't, we will give you your money back, and you will know.

[Matty900]

Front Trunk seals
Rear Trunk seals
Triangle window seals
Main Targa seal

I always insist on seals directly from Porsche for these areas specifically on any restoration. The current 914rubber parts are serviceable but have some minor issues for these applications. The few URO main targa seals I have attempted were just unusable.

Triangle window seals, any non Porsche seals I have used here wound up cracking within a year.

Windshield trim clips, those absolutely have to be Porsche as well.


False economy not to if your time has any value at all.

I have had our seals on my car since the build-off in 2017 with none of these issues, so they were not on my radar for looking into. Now I will add them to the revaluation list. It would be great if you could DM me the details on the dates of purchase for any parts that you had an issue with, so I can try to track things down internally on production runs.

Agree with all issues JamesM noted - purchased whole car seal kit in 2018 era

Need to stop assuming so much rubber shrinkage and upsizing seals way beyond what OEM was.

Here is example of window seal of what I’m talking about.

OEM On top (torn - base only that goes into extruded aluminum channel)
Reproduction below note width and section thickness differences.

You are spot on about what was previously OK for a $2500 car no longer being acceptable when cars are trading hands at $20k+.

I don’t want to come across as ungrateful, having some part is better than no part but there are a lot of seals in my kit that don’t fit, had wrong durometer, or wrong profile / size vs OEM.

I don't take it as ungrateful at all. We all want things better now. At the time the process was a community development process, with the community suggesting the parts and testing them. So one person's version of good vs the next person's was not a great development standard then, but it is what it took to try and figure out all of the variations. What was really interesting was that when I came on in 2014, the general consensus was that there were "Early" and "Late" versions of parts. And that the Late was probably better because Porsche had figured things out through production, and when they superseeded a part, it would be better. It was all new to me, so I had to learn by putting my hands on things. I worked in Cary's shop, where we had every year's 914s to be able to compare the differences, and it quickly became obvious what had happened. The parts got smaller and cheaper over the years. They had to offset a lot of expenses to keep the cars affordable, given what was happening with the exchange rates and the safety and emissions regulations imposed on them.
So things that were metal (like the thresholds) went to plastic, and things shrunk (Like the alternator cooling boot)
So I am curious: what year is the seal that you are comparing that is so much smaller?

[Superhawk996]

So I am curious: what year is the seal that you are comparing that is so much smaller?

My car is a 73’ and seals were original.

Here is another great example.

This is the stuffer from the main targa seal at end.

The OEM stuffer is on right - it’s a closed cell, compressible neoprene type rubber.

The reproduction seal stuffer is on the left. It is hard nearly incompressible rubber.

I had to remove the stuffer to have any chance of the window triangle nesting in the seal. With the stuffer in place it pushed the glass outboard and out of the seal.


I have at least a handful of problems like this that I have photos or videos of that I documented when i did my seal install. I still have a number of seals in storage that I found to be unusable and can document those if that helps at all.

Thank you for the understanding and being willing to look at these things for improvement.

[Matty900]

I have at least a handful of problems like this that I have photos or videos of that I documented when i did my seal install. I still have a number of seals in storage that I found to be unusable and can document those if that helps at all.

Thank you for your understanding and being willing to look at these things for improvement.
[/quote]
Thank you, this is exactly what I need. We have run the business like a co-op, building the things we need for our cars together. Any profits have just been rolled in to make the next part. So the first thing that we had to solve for was operations. We had to get systems in place to budget and plan so the business can run like a business and keep the parts on the shelf you need. We are about there on that part. Next is proper product development and consistent manufacturing processes and QC. I have the right people for this now and look forward to working through all of the parts we are currently making.
This is still very much a community service project, but I am investing in making it so it can serve the community better and for the long term. So I do honestly welcome anything that anyone has had issues with so we can improve things. I am sure that some things will have bigger price tags to improve on, and I need the community feedback. So Thank you.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Matty900]

Let me know if this is helpful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui-GSfUS7ak?si=VmAI8wa4FdyLs-x0


This is how it worked out for me when putting the Main Targa seal on. I have another one for the Triangle window seal that I can dig up too

[JamesM]

I don’t want to come across as ungrateful, having some part is better than no part but there are a lot of seals in my kit that don’t fit, had wrong durometer, or wrong profile / size vs OEM.

Definitely 2nd that sentiment about being grateful. Very grateful you are in the business and even more so that you are looking to improve products.

I have had our seals on my car since the build-off in 2017 with none of these issues, so they were not on my radar for looking into. Now I will add them to the re-evaluation list. It would be great if you could DM me the details on the dates of purchase for any parts that you had an issue with, so I can try to track things down internally on production runs.

Being the 914 nut job that I am it is possible that I have used more 914rubber product than anyone else out there, between 4 of my personal cars that are almost entirely 914rubber seals in addition to the restorations and repairs I oversaw at PMB. Due to the sheer volume of product I have purchased and used I don't think I could say with any level of confidence which specific part came from which invoice/production run. Definitely have seen improvements in some products over the various production runs.


Dealing with high dollar restorations and having to manage labor costs of techs installing the stuff also puts me in somewhat of a unique position that most hobbyists probably wont ever be concerned with. At home tinkering on your own projects allows for a lot more leeway in the time it takes to make a part work vs a production environment where time matters and the end result is expected to be perfect.


I've used every product you offer, in most cases many times over, as well as competitors products and OE Porsche stuff for the same applications. If you want specific notes on anything let me know.



(IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

[JamesM]

This is how it worked out for me when putting the Main Targa seal on. I have another one for the Triangle window seal that I can dig up too

The problem I encountered with the triangle window seals had less to do with fitment/installation and was more one of durability. The material degraded in very short order in Utah heat/sun, even on a car that was stored indoors.


That said, the first time I switched to using Porsches seals on this specific area on a build I was blown away by how good the tolerances were out of the box. No joke I spent a couple minutes just opening and closing the doors in disbelief of how well everything fit on a 50+ year old car. If you really want to know what the benchmark is I suggest getting a set and installing them on a straight tub, the result is oddly satisfying the way everything interfaces.


Porsche sourced main Targa seal and triangle window seal, ZERO trimming(wish I had taken a video):

[mepstein]

Yes, around glass, we only use Porsche seals. Like James said, if my techs take twice as long to install a generic seal, all the savings evaporate.

[Cairo94507]

@Matty900 = Thank you Matt for working to keep our cars on the road and striving to provide quality parts. Cheers, Michael (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Matty900]

Thank you guys. My approach to all of this was learning to do things the right way. That was why I spent so much time and effort at MiddleMotors with Cary. I think the way you do about these parts. When Mark started this business, there were no shops working on these cars, it was a bunch of owners who where all capable to finding ways to make things work with what was available. Mark took on the roll of finding ways to get us an option and we all had pretty low expectations. He did always try and exceed expectations and leverage newer technology, materials and learn from what failed with the original part. I have to give him a lot of credit for having the balls and dedication to the community to do what he did. I don't always agree with him and the way he approached some things but like Eric said to him, he probably did more for the 914 community than anyone. My roll has been to try and improve on what we have done. I can't do that without you guys helping. This is still a community first project and our community now involves shops and dealerships that have very different needs to James point.
But where else in this world do you find something that brings us all together like these cars do.
Lets make better for all of us.