Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 17:48:13 -0400 From: Jane Kleinkramer <janek@orion.dairymans.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <amc-list@scan.si.edu>
After looking extensively for some of the rubber parts for my '61 American convertible, I finally gave up and decided to try and repair what I have. I thought others on the list might be interested in the process, since lots of other AMC's have rubber parts that are not available.
I was able to purchase new extruded rubber door seals, but the "dogleg" portion which fits at the top of the door near the latch was unavailable. I also needed two triangular pieces for the corners of the top, where the convertible top seals against the windshield frame. My original rubbers were crumbly and broken into several pieces. These pieces are molded rubber, with metal mounting tabs molded in. Here's how I fixed them:
First, I cleaned the old parts in solvent to get them really clean. After the parts were dry, I carefully used black RTV gasket maker to sculpt in the missing pieces and return the parts as closely to their original shape as possible. On some of the parts this required letting the RTV dry for 24 hours and then applying a second coat. Once the final coat of RTV was dry, I trimmed any sloppy areas with a single-edged razor blade. This yielded a part in the correct shape, but the RTV leaves a dull, bumpy finish. As a final step, I used black plastic tool-dip (used to put a rubbery non-slip handle on tools) to coat the parts. I simply hung each part by a piece of coathanger wire, dipped it in the tool-dip and SLOWLY pulled it out. This helped even out the bumpiness of the RTV and gives a nice, uniform appearance to the rubber parts. They look almost as good as new! The only real problem I see is that they have quite a bit more shine than regular rubber, but this will probably dull with time.
It remains to be seen how these parts will hold in use, but they appear to be a definite improvement over what I started with. The metal tabs and original hardened rubber core is now covered by a nice rubbery cushion which looks new. I'll keep everyone posted on how this works over the long term. It certainly was cheaper and easier than making a mold an pouring brand new rubber parts from scratch.