Thank you Will. I will admit that I skipped the main page and just took a link straight to here, so I apologize for missing your PM to me. As I said in the PM, thanks for all you do for the Fiero community, and I hope you get some rest after your travels. I'll let you know when the seal arrives!
Will be looking at first impressions too. infinitewill, do you think the bonded corners will last over time?
The plant that extrudes my stock is an OEM fabricator for both GM and Ford so I am going to have to bow to their expertise. When the original seals were designed and built super adhesives didn't exist so they basically melted a bunch of rubber into the corners. From what I can tell the main failure point is inside the trunk area along the long edges (but certainly not always). My corners are bonded with an adhesive that costs $68 an ounce (so it better freakin' work! ) the corners are sealed on the back side as well. Given that the original lasted about 20 years each I am not sure how much longer you could expect it to last. Rubber after all doesn't last forever but the compounds used today are far superior to what was on the market 20-25 years ago.
The plant that extrudes my stock is an OEM fabricator for both GM and Ford so I am going to have to bow to their expertise. When the original seals were designed and built super adhesives didn't exist so they basically melted a bunch of rubber into the corners. From what I can tell the main failure point is inside the trunk area along the long edges (but certainly not always). My corners are bonded with an adhesive that costs $68 an ounce (so it better freakin' work! ) the corners are sealed on the back side as well. Given that the original lasted about 20 years each I am not sure how much longer you could expect it to last. Rubber after all doesn't last forever but the compounds used today are far superior to what was on the market 20-25 years ago.
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Thanks for the prompt answer. You are 100% correct on the failure points as I just did a temporary fix to one on all four sides on the internal edge. I don't think it will last for long. I have yet to see a factory seal fail at the corner. Expect to see my order soon. Knowing that you do a boat load of travel for you real job, how many are you able to glue up when your at home (seems like weekends only if your lucky) and how long does it take to cure?
Thanks for the prompt answer. You are 100% correct on the failure points as I just did a temporary fix to one on all four sides on the internal edge. I don't think it will last for long. I have yet to see a factory seal fail at the corner. Expect to see my order soon. Knowing that you do a boat load of travel for you real job, how many are you able to glue up when your at home (seems like weekends only if your lucky) and how long does it take to cure?
The bonding itself is only in a matter of minutes with the new adhesive now that the weather has warmed up, but I let it cure over night. The problem was getting precision jigs made up and having the raw footage on hand, both of which are now addressed. By the end of April I will have several finished seals on hand to fill orders on demand. I will make them up ahead of time as I already have the raw extrusion material.
Hey DIY_Stu, I just noticed your lack of feedback. What's up with that??
Awe it's no biggie. Most people forget that feature's there and I usually don't have the time to remember it's there either. I think I have over 50 people I need to leave feedback for. but I'd have to make the long list first.
Will those corners look great! nice even and strong looking. Good job on them.
[This message has been edited by DIY_Stu (edited 04-17-2010).]
Will those corners look great! nice even and strong looking. Good job on them.
Stu,
The adhesive I ended up using (black death basically) is unbelievably strong. It didn't need the sealer over it at all but I thought it would look much closer to the original heat vulcanized corners. I was able to ship out several seals today but I am still waiting on my final shipping boxes. Now all I need to do is start building some inventory so people won't have to wait so long but this first run turned out far better than I could have hoped for.
The adhesive I ended up using (black death basically) is unbelievably strong. It didn't need the sealer over it at all but I thought it would look much closer to the original heat vulcanized corners. I was able to ship out several seals today but I am still waiting on my final shipping boxes. Now all I need to do is start building some inventory so people won't have to wait so long but this first run turned out far better than I could have hoped for.
Step right up folk's the store is OPEN
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I'll be watching for my seal. This is like Christmas in April. Larry
[This message has been edited by Larryh86GT (edited 04-18-2010).]
Hello Will I would suggest to you .. Edit your first post and insert price, pic and video of the seal.. that way people wont have to read the whole 11 pages to find the price and shipping. I will be ordering one soon ... but right now I've got alot of work on the Widow beforehand Thanks your canadian friend Danyel
Hello Will I would suggest to you .. Edit your first post and insert price, pic and video of the seal.. that way people wont have to read the whole 11 pages to find the price and shipping. I will be ordering one soon ... but right now I've got alot of work on the Widow beforehand Thanks your canadian friend Danyel
I agree! I posted on front page and when it gets this LONG, it is too much trouble to read through the whole thing. Also Steele Rubber Products are interested in marketing this product as well. I will get you contact info or you can look them up on the web.
Found it so thought I'd put it on most recent page. Looks like a good product! quote Originally posted by deezil:
How Much are they and where do I Order one?
The seal is $95 + $15 flat rate shipping. PM me your name and email address and I will send you a PayPal invoice.
Will
------------------ Life is just SO much better when you own AND drive a Fiero!
[This message has been edited by fierocarparts (edited 04-18-2010).]
Hi Will - looks good. Not sure you saw my previous post but can you confirm shipping to the UK please.
Thanks
I did miss your previous post! I will check shipping rates to the UK and PM you when I have more information!
Thanks,
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------------------ Is your Fastback GT's trunk seal shot? My replacement GT trunk seals are now in production and shipping. $95 + $15 flat rate shipping to the US (contact me for international shipping rates) or buy two and pay only a single shipping rate! More info can be found here GT Trunk Seal Project
Hello Will I would suggest to you .. Edit your first post and insert price, pic and video of the seal.. that way people wont have to read the whole 11 pages to find the price and shipping. I will be ordering one soon ... but right now I've got alot of work on the Widow beforehand Thanks your canadian friend Danyel
Danyel,
Good idea
Done!
Will
------------------ Is your Fastback GT's trunk seal shot? My replacement GT trunk seals are now in production and shipping. $95 + $15 flat rate shipping to the US (contact me for international shipping rates) or buy two and pay only a single shipping rate! More info can be found here GT Trunk Seal Project
The pictures and video make them look great, but I bet it will look even better on my 88 GT. Can't wait to get them and put one of them on it. Thanks for working through this for us, Will.
The first run has shipped and I will send the second run out starting tomorrow morning. Those of you who have already sent in payment, please check you PM's
The first run has shipped and I will send the second run out starting tomorrow morning. Those of you who have already sent in payment, please check you PM's
Will
Will,
My payment was sent on 2/21. (Pg. 9 of this thread.) Haven't heard anything yet. Am I part of the first or second run?
The tooling costs to make the T-Top seals would be outrageous. Will would have to sell 1 set of T-Top seals for every T-Top Fiero made and he still would not re-coupe the costs. The selling price would be so high that no one would buy them.
As JimmyS mentioned the tooling cost of doing T-Top seals is prohibitive (at least for me). The cheapest bid I received was just over $50K for the tooling alone and then a minimum of 250 sets would be another $35K for the raw materials alone. I am not about to front that kind of money on such a limited market and then sit on inventory while people "think about it".
) the corners are sealed on the back side as well. Given that the original lasted about 20 years each I am not sure how much longer you could expect it to last. Rubber after all doesn't last forever but the compounds used today are far superior to what was on the market 20-25 years ago. 
