Help me help you Seal fitment, Started a new thread to deconstruct this Options

[Mikey914]

This was brought us as an issue and I'm really trying to figure this out. Any ideas of why the window would look lower and have a gap here.


Here were my thoughts -

I keep looking at this and something doesn't look right. Given that the blocks are identical to the factory ones in shape and durometer, what would the solution be here?

There appears to be a 1/2" section of rubber not fully seated, Is it holding it out?

Could the amount of butyl behind the "chrome" be holding it down slightly? I don't think that would be the whole story.

The triangle window looks like the top is seated deeper than the cap. Almost like if the top of the triangle window was shimmed out more it would push the bottom of the cap out more to "close the gap". This appears to be where the failure is - at least in my eyes. I've seen many of the caps worn and look slightly deformed from the top of the glass pushing it out, but not here. It looks like it's barely engaged.

Why it would sit lower is beyond me. The initial complaint was it was too tight, which would hold it up.


Submitted to the brain trust

[wonkipop]

i got very curious after looking at @rhodyguy 's replacement porsche part seal with correct later part # on it.

i have at least worked out the seal in my 74 is the later seal - its original to the car, i do know that, so its the later seal but one that went into the car in 1974.

my car's seal is exactly the same as this seal i found on a very original 75 (from BAT).
mine has the same 45 degree corrugations for water seal.
the joint between the corner block looks to be in same place up close to the block.
(but its hard to know for sure - i've looked at mine real close and the joint is definitely not where it is on rhodyguy's newer seal from the porsche.



here is a 73 that a new member bought recently (another member had a thread on it when he was cleaning it up). a very original and intact white 73. looks to have its original seal. seems early seals don't have the corrugations and maybe the profile of the windscreen frame to roof is a little different in terms of shape and ridges. i stand to be corrected on that as i don't see many 914s down here and its 30 years since i looked at a 73. so i never noticed these kinds of details.



and here is the yellow 914/6 that was recently for sale on BAT.
a restored car.
looks to me like its got new seals in and they appear to be very much like the one rohdyguy posted above in plastic bag.
these are probably a run of seals done for porsche at a much later date (80s/90s?) by perhaps a different manufacturer?
the way the pillar seal meets the corner block is different. the joint appears to be further from the corner block.
so------- even the genuine porsche parts that were around may not have been manufactured exactly the way the original seals were done back in the 70s?




not sure how that helps things.
but the way they were made looks a little different in the 70s and a secret has been lost? seal may be hard to duplicate in terms of just how it was made but it went into the cars a lot easier on the assembly line?